Jon Matlock

Instructor

Jon Matlock brings over twenty years of industry experience to CAT’s Graphic and Web Design department, ranging from web development and digital design to print and packaging design. Jon holds diplomas in both Graphic Design and Information Technology and Applied Systems from Vancouver Island University.

Before opening Spun Studios in 2004, Jon worked for a web development agency and also freelanced.

Jon is an avid mountain biker and has been fortunate to work with many clients in that industry. from large, international bicycle manufacturers (like Cannondale and GT Bikes) to highly acclaimed mountain bike filmmakers (like The Collective and Anthill Films) to local bike shops and regional manufacturers.

Jon loves to teach and it shows. Helping students get the most out of their time at CAT is his number one goal. Jon especially enjoys passing on his knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign.

Kiko Carisse

Instructor

Kiko is a talented, passionate Web Developer and Graphic Designer with a broad range of experience in the web and graphic design industry. He has experience working with larger web agencies, as well as freelancing, and working as an in-house developer/SEO specialist. Kiko’s Graphic Design skills are in such programs as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and many other programs from the Adobe Suite to create web designs, business cards, brand assets for print and web, and more. His web skills are in MySQL, PHP, Node Js, jQuery, Javascript, HTML, CSS, Linux, WordPress, and in using the Cake PHP framework. Kiko’s passion lies greatly in his love for graphic design and web development, but even more so in his desire to teach. Teaching at the Centre for Arts and Technology allows Kiko to keep one foot in the industry while following his passion for sharing his knowledge and experience with the new generation.

Kat Bensler

Instructor

With a degree from the University of Toronto in Semiotics and Communication Theory in hand, Kat set her sights on an Advertising and Graphic Design diploma from Humber College Institute of Technology.  Her creativity has since taken hold and led her to a successful career in graphic design, marketing, and print.  Kat’s skills span all of the applicable graphic design software systems, including In Design, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark, Dreamweaver, Flash, and Final Cut.  Kat’s interest in extreme sports has pushed her towards companies with similar values, designing for West 49, Billabong, and Big White Ski Resort.  While teaching at the Centre, Kat can also be found mountain biking, snowboarding, or wakeboarding.

Carrie Mayhew

Instructor

Carrie Mayhew has established herself as a strong presence in the design community.  Graduating with a Bachelor of Design from the Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD), Carrie has put her skills to work by creating her own design company and magazine.  Carrie’s company, Ginger Creative, specializes in corporate branding, layout design, website design, editorial design, wedding invitations, and wedding day-of details.  Along with her design company, Carrie also started ‘Adore’ magazine, an Okanagan wedding & lifestyle magazine that is a community hub for the local Okanagan wedding professionals. Carrie loves taking unique ideas and translating them into creative communicative and tangible visual forms.

Elizabeth Dykosky

Instructor

Internationally Renowned Artist and Art Instructor.

Elizabeth Dykosky’s work is unique and shows extraordinary colour use and remarkable talent wielding the brush or the pallet knife. Her work has been exhibited at various galleries throughout the world, among others in Italy(Rome), Canada(Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Kelowna), the USA(Detroit), as well as the United Arab Emirates(Dubai and Salalah). Her paintings belong to the private collection of the Vatican, Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, and Shanfari Group of Companies in Salalah, UAE.

Her pieces capture the essence of the subject to a degree that leaves a lasting impact on the viewer.

Jamie Cottington

Instructor

Jamie moved to Kelowna from London, England in 2013 after a very successful career spanning around 17 years with BMW UK.

He had been successfully ‘playing’ at being a photographer for around 10 years, never committing to making it his full-time gig. However, when everything seemed to align perfectly, he couldn’t ignore the opportunity for a radical change of direction in life. Jamie resigned from his perfectly good job, jumped on a plane, and headed to explore what Canada had to offer.

He enrolled at the Centre for Arts and Technology, graduating from the Digital Video Fusion Program in 2014, as a way of broadening his creative offering. He has since formed a successful Photography, Videography, and Events Management Company, called Pinstripe Productions Ltd., producing work across North America with his two Co-founders.

Aside from his own productions, Jamie is also hired as a Camera Operator for live TV, sporting, and music events and is an experienced Gimbal Operator. He has worked on small and large production films and documentaries filmed in the Okanagan and in Europe.

Peter Singh-Vigilante

Instructor

Peter is constantly pushing himself to become an expert in his field. His passion and talent have led to a strong knowledge base and successful career in website design, graphic design, and website development. Before becoming head of Lifeblood Marketing Peter was the CTO and Senior Developer at Hiilite, the National Distributed Learning Manager and Lead Instructor for the Graphic Design and Web Development programs at CATO. He is also active in the non-profit community, doing work with Opera Kelowna, The Grindstone Award Foundation, and the Fat Cat Children’s Festival. With over a decade of experience in the multimedia industry, Peter possesses an expert level of understanding and knowledge of technology and education. If Google was a person, he would be Peter-Singh Vigilante… seriously, what can’t he do?

Maurizio Cattaneo

Instructor

Maurizio Cattaneo is a career Graphic Designer and Art Director with over 25 years of experience covering the full spectrum of design disciplines. He is a visual storyteller with a deep understanding of marketing principles and an ongoing love for great design, he has a keen eye for design and extensive experience in designing including corporate brand identities, marketing collateral, website designs, and both print and digital ads. He is a creative problem solver, loves a creative challenge, and is always eager to learn more and continue to develop his skills.

Maurizio has been an entrepreneur for almost all of his career, as a freelancer predominantly, and he also ran his own agency in Milan.

Maurizio has a multicultural and multilingual background. He was raised and educated in Italy, spent 10 years living in Spain, and has lived the past four years in Canada. This is a great asset when it comes to design as he is able to share the experiences, flavors, and aesthetics of these cultures providing additional insights and depth to the teaching.