John Payne is Head of Design at Public Policy Lab and Associate Professor of Practice at the Institute of Design (ID) in Chicago, where he developed a series of courses describing a Post-Human-Centered Design approach. In 2002 he co-founded Moment, one of the first digital design firms on the East Coast. John co-chaired EPIC in 2012 alongside Simon Roberts.

John describes the theme of "Renewal" as a response to the previous three years of economic recession and rise of the global Occupy movement. He and Simon wanted to consider how and why ethnographers might participate in the renewal for which protesters were calling. Are ethnographers agents of renewal or do they have a role to play in challenging the agendas pushing for renewal? John highlights several compelling presentations from the conference about seeking renewal from a personal lens, such as Richard Anderson's talk about mental health and his own journey.

This year’s EPIC conference will be held in Los Angeles from August 18-21. Learn more at 2024.epicpeople.org.