About the Creators:
Founder and CEO
Susan Bonner (she/her)
A mom, professor, and animator. She helped her child use baby sign language to communicate. Susan has been involved in the children's market designing characters for toys and books for Baby Leapfrog and created a children's book with her dad and son.
She teaches Game Design at Michigan State University. She produced and directed many award-winning digital products as part of The EPIC Project (external link). These include the game, Miner Madness, Dig into Code Theory (external link) that won the Most Meaningful Student Created Game of 2018 as well as Powderkeg! A Revolutionary War Card Game (external link) that won gold at the 2020 Serious Play conference.
Previous to teaching, she worked as a researcher for the Department of Education at the University of Cincinnati and the National Association for the Advancement of the Arts in Education. Find out more at SusanBonner.com (external link)
Advisors:
William Fischer (he/him)
A Professor at Kendall College of Art and Design, where he founded the Digital Art and Design program, he is the executive producer for the EPIC project (external link) and author of the I-See-U design guide (external link).
His career began designing toys and automotive components at Duramold Corp. Then, buildings at GE Associates Architects.
At Lear Corporation, as a product design manager, working with his team, he created automotive control panels that were incorporated into three Motor Trend “Cars of the Year” and received seven patents.
He formed an award-winning multimedia design studio, BlackBox that enjoyed clients like Delco Electronics, Wolverine International, SRAM, and The American Institute of Architects.
Kelly L. Vigants PhD (she/her)
A long-time advocate for young children and their families and an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at Ferris State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Education and Human Development through Western Michigan University. She has been in the early childhood profession for over 25 years as a parent educator, preschool teacher, special education director, and early childhood consultant.
Her interests include trauma-informed teaching practices, social and emotional health of young children and families, promoting high-quality caregiving, and diverse learners, particularly children diagnosed with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
As a mother of four children, she has previously advocated for families in Ottawa County as a board member of the Great Start Parent Coalition. As a professor, she focuses on educating the next generation of early childhood teachers using up-to-date research, hands-on learning, and educational theory.
Chris Brown (he/him)
Chris Brown has been creating agency and direct client digital projects since 1998. He has delivered content managed, e-commerce and multimedia websites, mobile and web applications, 2D and 3D animations, virtual and augmented reality experiences, computer-based training modules, online games, and video productions.
Chris Brown has been creating agency and direct client digital projects since 1998. He has delivered content managed, e-commerce and multimedia websites, mobile and web applications, 2D and 3D animations, virtual and augmented reality experiences, computer-based training modules, online games, and video productions.
Chris has mastered an array of software programs and programming languages to design and develop many different projects with various scopes.
Chris has also taught for over twelve years in the Digital Art and Design department at Kendall College of Art and Design. His courses include Interactive Multimedia Design, Web Design I & II, Maya 3D, Motion Design and Professional Studio mirroring an agency production environment where he manages group projects that are often professional collaborations.
Sneha Bang (she/her)
Sneha Bang’s journey into UX and product design is one of creativity and a relentless pursuit of excellence. It began with a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design, where she mastered the art of creating functional, user-centric designs. Her curiosity then led her to a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at Michigan State University, where she explored innovative methodologies, designed responsive interfaces, and created engaging animations for kids' interactive music apps.
Sneha Bang’s journey into UX and product design is one of creativity and a relentless pursuit of excellence. It began with a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design, where she mastered the art of creating functional, user-centric designs. Her curiosity then led her to a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at Michigan State University, where she explored innovative methodologies, designed responsive interfaces, and created engaging animations for kids' interactive music apps.
In her professional career, Sneha focused on Edtech and healthcare, leading design teams to create empowering and user-friendly interfaces. She’s proficient in tools like Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, and her skills in HTML and CSS ensure her designs are both beautiful and functional.
Sneha is a lifelong learner and continuously embraces new tools and technologies, sharing her knowledge through mentoring. Now, she’s eager to take on new challenges, driven by the belief that user-centered design can make a real difference.