How does impact look to you? 

For me, impact is something that makes you pause and almost takes your breath away because it really catches your attention. I perceive impact based on whether it is thought provoking and how it makes me feel.

How does innovation look to you?

I believe innovation isn't only about leveraging new technology or doing something that hasn't been done before. It’s about those two things, but I think innovation is also about being unexpected. It's about the unexpected application of new technology and being bold. And innovation can also be novelty.

Buzzwords and key trends you think are defining this year?

In terms of trends this year, I think that AI is a dominant player within this space. It's a huge trend that's being leveraged across a variety of use cases, and I think AI will not only really dominate the digital experience and creative space this year, but it's going to continue to dominate for years beyond just 2024.

With this, I see concurrently that it's given way to a focus on ethical standards and how to maintain ethics while also simultaneously utilizing AI which includes leveraging data. I think that AI will continue to reign supreme. And with this, we'll see an emergence of the “how do we also remain ethical?” question.

I also think that greater experimentation is something that I've seen as a huge trend where brands are starting to step farther outside of their comfort zone to test more so that they can ultimately deliver better products. More personalized and seamless omnichannel experiences, and this really gives rise to enhanced importance that I see within security in terms of data protection and usage.

As a judge in the digital craft category, what are some of the criteria or standards that you use to evaluate the quality and originality of the entries?

At this stage, I can only speak broadly about the criteria I'm considering for the digital craft category. But generally, the things that I consider are first and foremost, whether it is a transformative idea or not. And then, in terms of looking at the implementation, I like to evaluate how innovative it is, and how creatively it was done to provide the users with a really great experience.

And finally, when I'm evaluating different entries, I consider whether the entry is moving the brand forward or not. For example, has it made a positive impact to society? Has it helped move the industry forward? And is this something that might possibly set the standard of the category for years to come?

How do you balance your personal preferences and tastes with the objective aspects of digital craft, such as usability, functionality, and aesthetics?

I think it can be difficult to balance personal preferences with usability, functionality, and aesthetics, especially in digital craft, because so often I hear people wanting to inject what they think will resonate with people, or how they think it will make them feel, or how they think that the brand will be perceived if a particular idea is brought to life.

And because of this, I like to see use cases that are supported with data and demonstrate appropriate application of data to create a digital experience that hopefully also delivers results. So technically speaking, creative is subjective, and I'm not saying that we should remove all personal preferences, but I think that data should take the spotlight and brands that really get it right are able to balance the art of creativity with the use of that data.