About | Website and Content Marketing Design

OUR TEAM

Hello! I'm Thi.

Thi Bui | Junior Designer

I’m a junior designer for Kanyon Designs with an Integrated New Media degree and a passion for telling stories through good design. I enjoy the creative process of turning concepts into visuals that connect with people and leave lasting impressions. I’m interested in 3D animation, digital art, and creative media that combine storytelling, technology, and visual design.

Outside of design, I enjoy DIY crafts, collecting trinkets, fashion, photography, and exploring new places for design inspiration. I draw inspiration from everything, like my favorite movie, Howl’s Moving Castle—a beautiful example of the importance of imaginative design and visual artistry. Listening to music also keeps me focused and inspired as I create new visual ways to connect with others through my work at Kanyon.

Oh, hi! I'm Olivia.

Olivia Minnes | Marketing Coordinator

I’m the marketing coordinator for Kanyon Designs. I graduated magna cum laude with my Associate’s in General Studies and a focus in interpersonal communications. Although I did not major in design, it has been part of my life in many ways, including my experience working on film sets, making collage art, and creative writing.

I enjoy coffee, reading, acting, running, and collecting physical media. I also love watching movies, my favorite being Sherlock Holmes: Games of Shadows. Music has a profound impact on me, especially Billy Joel’s album 52nd Street. As a writer and creative, I try to live by a simple quote by Martin Luther, one of the most influential revolutionaries of all time: “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”

Hiya! I'm Mali.

Mali Bonnell | Design Intern

I’m a design intern with Kanyon Designs, and I am majoring in Graphic Design with a minor in Business. I think what fascinates me most about design is how complex all design truly is, no matter how simple it looks. It’s amazing that so much work goes into every design project—even the most minimalist designs.

When I’m not designing, I love working with other art forms like knitting, crocheting, drawing, and illustration. I love animals too, and I have two orange cats and two chocolate labs at home. I also enjoy movies like The Princess Bride and listening to music, such as the album Blue by Joni Mitchell. It’s great to meet you!

Hey! I'm Joel.

Joel Mattern | Owner & Designer

I’m the owner and founder of Kanyon. I attended Indiana University South Bend and Ball State University as a Fine Arts major. Later in my academic career, I returned to school to pursue creative writing. What’s most fascinating about design is that we are all capable of producing it at its most fundamental level. Design is, most simply, a creative solution to a common problem. As the great Milanese designer Bruno Munari put it, “The job of the designer is to supply the solution suggested by the ‘thing’ itself and its intended use.”

In addition to design, I enjoy music of the jazz/art rock variety and have been producing my own tracks for decades. Much of my own music even graces our motion work at Kanyon. I am also an avid vinyl and cassette collector. Some albums I most enjoy include Harold Budd’s Pavilion of Dreams, Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music For Airports, and The Sea and Cake’s The Biz. I’m passionate about film as well, a few favorites being David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Inland Empire, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day.