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Erik Neergaard

2022-07-22T17:23:41+00:00

William Alton Chief Creative Officer Erik is the Chief Creative Officer and COO of THG, an experience design and production studio based in Pasadena, CA. He has acted in a host of creative leadership and advisory roles for signature parks and attractions for some of the world’s most high value brands, IPs and developers such as Universal, Dreamworks, Paramount, Sony, and McKinsey to list just a few. Whether cultural, entertainment or a blend of the two, Erik is able to elevate an experience to the delight of the audience and the success of the developer. Highly accomplished and well respected within his industry, Erik is recognized as a dynamic, creative visionary with a long history of developing innovative and award-winning experiences all over the globe. Back to team

Scott Sinclair

2022-07-22T17:30:38+00:00

Scott Sinclair Executive Director of Design Scott has played leadership roles in the conceptualization and design of many high-profile themed entertainment projects, including the Dragons Wild Shooting interactive dark ride at Lotte World in Seoul, Korea; the Hello Kitty Theme Park in Anji, China; Tokyo DisneySea; Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland; Sony’s Metreon retail entertainment center in San Francisco and Mediage in Tokyo; and multiple live shows and parades for Disneyland’s Marketing and Entertainment Division. He has served as lead designer on numerous other ambitious projects, including Paul Allen’s Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, The National Ag Science Center in Central California, Ski Dubai indoor ski resort, and Paul Allen’s “Flying Heritage Collection,” a WWII fighter plane display in Seattle. EDUCATION B.A., Theater Technology/Set Design, California State University, Long Beach NOTABLE PROJECTS & CLIENTS Magic Kingdom, Tomorrowland Tokyo DisneySea Ski Dubai Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle Abbey Road Studios Chicago Museum of Science & Industry Dollywood Universal Studios Shanghai Disneyland Dreamworks Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Back to team

William Alton

2022-07-22T17:31:21+00:00

William Alton Senior Director of Design William Alton is Senior Director of Design with over 25 years working in the Theme Park, Hospitality, Retail and Restaurant industries. He has been Design Team Lead for the Universal Studios Hollywood Jurassic World. the Dodgers Stadium Renovation and Entertainment Plaza projects, the Atlantis The Palm Dubai Aquaventure and many other projects in the United States and internationally. He served as Vice President of Design for Paramount Pictures Parks and Resorts where he supervised the creative and design development of all other national and international aspects of recreation and hospitality for Paramount Pictures. He had development oversight on many R&D projects, including VR and AR themed entertainment experiences based on Paramount Films. Alton also worked with major game companies in developing Next-Gen Gamified experiences for theme park applications and worked as a creative consultant and concept designer for Walt Disney Imagineering in the development of attractions and resorts for Disney’s Anaheim, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Back to team

Connor Sinclair

2022-07-22T18:22:14+00:00

William Alton Senior Graphic Designer Connor Sinclair is a Los Angeles based graphic designer specializing in environmental graphics, marquee signage, and brand identity. As the senior graphic designer at The Hettema Group, he helps to create a wide array of projects ranging from experiential show graphics to marketing collateral material and client presentations. Outside of work, Connor’s interests include typography, Japanese robot anime, rollerblading, and modified cars. EDUCATION B.A. Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) NOTABLE PROJECTS Motiongate, Dubai Bollywood Park, Dubai Dragons Wild Shooting Seoul, South Korea One World Observatory, New York City Back to team

David Lepor

2022-07-22T18:22:41+00:00

William Alton Designer With experience in the world of theatre and a background in art, David feels right at home in the themed entertainment industry.  Whether concept design, color work, or illustration, David strives for quality, beauty, and consistency. As an illustrator on Motiongate Dubai, David developed the visual design for a wide mix of dark rides, flat rides, play areas, retail spaces, and restaurants. He has additional experience in interiors, art direction, production design, and model making. While not working on theme parks, David spends time designing sets and props for regional theatre productions. EDUCATION Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design & Illustration, Communications Minor - Grace College, Winona Lake, IN Master of Fine Arts, Scenic Design - University of California, Irvine NOTABLE PROJECTS Motiongate Dubai Bollywood Parks Dubai Back to team

Estephan Quass

2022-07-22T18:23:24+00:00

William Alton Dimensional Designer With professional experience in the entertainment business, Estephan provided art and creative direction in TV production for a major network in Brazil. In the US, he has designed sets for corporate businesses, exhibits, sports and music events. His work includes global theme park development, facility and attraction design, food & beverage and retail development, rock work, landscaping and ride vehicle design. With the use of 3D models, realistic renderings, animations, scale models and drawings, he serves as the bridge between the concept stage and the project production. EDUCATION F.A.A.P.Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, Sao Paulo, Brazil B.A., Industrial Design M.F.A., Interior Design Art Institute of California, Hollywood CA S., Set & Exhibit Design NOTABLE PROJECTS X Games Mega Ramp Red Bull Extreme Cliff Diving - ICA, Boston Design Stages for Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Phish, Coachella, Tomorrow Land, Bob Dylan Back to team

Janai Phibbs

2022-12-06T17:51:29+00:00

William Alton Associate Art Director Janai is a multi-disciplined creative talent. Skilled ranging from show set design and CAD drafting for attractions to concept developments and art direction. Alongside her accomplished digital and physical artistic competences, her wide ranging abilities can be applied to many facets of  the industry. She has previously spent productive terms with Walt Disney Studios, Thinkwell and Universal Pictures. As an associate designer for The Walt Disney Studios Special Events, Janai played a fundamental role in contributing to an impressive list of projects including movie ‘world premier’ events for; Captain America Civil War, Jungle Book 2016, Zootopia and The Good Dinosaur. She also designed the excellent Star Wars Exhibit featured in the prestigious El Capitan Theatre Hollywood. Delivering creative content for the attractions industry Janai has provided CAD imagery, 3D modelling and detailed set design on ride attractions worldwide for high profile clients including Universal Studios. In a wider role within the entertainment industry Janai is proficient in set construction, prop and model building. She has had the privilege of working on numerous theatre and entertainment productions for artists such as Rod Stewart, Helen Hunt and Mikhail Baryshnikov. EDUCATION Bachelor of Science Set & Exhibit Design at Art Institute of California - Hollywood, CA. NOTABLE PROJECTS Fiesta Village, Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California Dodger Stadium Centerfield, Los Angeles, California Jurassic World the Ride, Universal Studios Hollywood, California The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, Universal Studios Hollywood, California Back to team

Karen Thompson

2023-02-06T18:39:21+00:00

William Alton Designer Karen has more than 25 years in the themed entertainment and visual effects industries. Her focus has been color design and special effects. Universal Studios projects included color design for Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure, King Kong at USF, and Jurassic Park at USJ. At Walt Disney Imagineering, Karen was Field Art Director for Little Mermaid at TokyoSea, model painter for Toontown, Fantasyland, and Carsland. Karen was on the creative projections team  at Megavision Arts for gala openings of “Pacific Standard Time” at the Getty Museum, LACMA, and Tom Bradley Terminal. She was also lead special effects painter at Digital Domain on Apollo 13 and Terminator 2-3D, taught Matte Painting at Art Center College of Design, and did graphic design for The Tonight show with Jay Leno. NOTABLE PROJECTS Carsland Seuss Landing Toyko DisneySea Apollo 13 Dreamworks Waterpark Back to team

Kolby Ratigan

2023-02-07T23:03:48+00:00

William Alton Designer As a designer, Kolby acts as the bridge between concept design and production design, making ideas into practical and buildable projects. He works with a variety of tools, from Photoshop and hand sketching, to models in Rhino or show set drawings in AutoCAD. Kolby went to the University of Redlands where he studied theater scenic design. While in school, he was an intern at THG and had the opportunity to work on major upcoming attractions. After graduating, he worked at various design firms such as Thinkwell and American Scenic. Kolby’s passion for the unique blend of disciplines in the industry started when we was twelve years old making scale models of attractions in the garage to gain a better understanding of how great attractions are designed.  In his free time he still likes to make scale models, read and research about railroads, spaceflight, and the history of the themed entertainment industry.  EDUCATION B.F.A. University of Redlands NOTABLE PROJECTS Boston 365, View Boston, Boston, MA Back to team

Kristin Showalter

2022-07-22T18:27:51+00:00

William Alton Illustrator A master of illustration and design, and a powerhouse of creative ideas, Kristin develops concepts for THG projects and brings them to life in beautifully rendered illustrations. She first entered the design world as a set designer and scenic artist, applying her expert painting skills to projects for Universal Studios, the San Diego Zoo, The Goretorium in Las Vegas and a variety of television shows, music festivals and movie premieres. Kristin quickly expanded her professional skill set to provide illustration, graphic design, art direction and concept design services for theme park attractions, resorts and television and film projects. She has collaborated on a myriad of projects with RGH Themed Entertainment, Granaroli Design & Entertainment, Global Entertainment Services and the Wyatt Design Group. After working her design magic during the day at THG, Kristin works as an adjunct faculty member at California Institute of the Arts, where she teaches Art Direction I & II in the Theater School. EDUCATION M.F.A., Design and Production, California Institute of the Arts B.A., Fine Art and Technical Theater, California State University Stanislaus NOTABLE PROJECTS The Crystal Lobby Back to team

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