Sean Oakes Studios interactive branding experiences

Sean Oakes  has over 15 years of interactive design and project management experience. As principal of Sean Oakes Studios, Inc., he has created award-winning work for a broad range of clientele, from NYC non-profit institutions like the American Museum of Natural History to education giants like Scholastic. Before opening his own studio in 2000, Mr. Oakes was the Art Director for the children’s educational media company, MaMaMedia for five years. There he created the comprehensive look and feel for everything from online games to a quarterly print magazine. He hired and managed a 13-person design/illustration department. He also provided senior level art direction of online products including site-wide interface design, advertising and games. Prior to MaMaMedia, Mr. Oakes worked for Icon/Nicholson and on AT&T’s Interactive Television trial as an interface designer. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts, The Webby Awards, Business Week, The Smithsonian, and Apple. Sean is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

After graduating from Harvard University with honors in Mathematics, Sam Nelson worked as the computer coordinator for the Casablanca American School. Returning to the United States, he became the Senior Software Engineer at Small World Software, a startup Web development company, and helped it grow from three employees to more than 50. He then became the Director of Software Development at The New York Times Electronic Media Company, where he managed a team of 30 Java developers, database managers, and Solaris system administrators maintaining and developing applications for the Times’ online properties.  He left the Times to become an independent consultant and developer, primarily providing open-source content management and publishing solutions to companies like Condé Nast and non-profit organizations, like the National Center for Children in Poverty.

Lani Offen has sixteen years of experience as a database programmer and Information Architect. Recent work includes developing a Drupal-powered site for the City of Beacon, as well as providing IA work for many SOS projects.  Prior to her work with SOS, she was a project manager with Civic Actions, where she managed Drupal development projects on behalf of MIT and the ACLU. Before that, she served as a senior producer with Team Articulate supporting Conde Nast titles including House and Garden, Bon Appetit, Jane, Golf Digest, and GQ; a partner at Mathematicus Labs, a software development firm providing custom solutions to financial services corporations; a senior project manager at Pedestal Capital, an online exchange for mortgage-backed securities; the technical director for Innovative USA, a children’s publisher and educational toy importer; and the Director of Operations at Hamilton-Stone Consulting, a small technology consulting firm. Lani studied engineering at The Cooper Union and received her BA in Political Science from CUNY.  

With over ten years of experience as a Senior Designer in interactive, print, branding and advertising design, Jana has a remarkable talent for transforming complex information into intuitive and usable solutions. Much of her most celebrated work at SOS has been for our educational and non-profit clients, like Scholastic and Urban Education Exchange. She has always had a strong personal drive to create work that make a difference and provides tangible benefits to others. Previous experience includes a senior position at Big Duck, a design agency also catering to non-profits and educational clientele. Before that, she managed the online and print presences of Amy Press, a children’s multimedia publishing company.