Lucas Allen Buick is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. A graphic designer turned entrepreneur. Lucas spent 18 months between college and the founding of Synthetic working as an editorial art director on various publications. These were his only attempts at full-time employment. Since 2006 he has been working at Synthetic which was formed as a design, brand, and web consultancy. In 2009 the focus would shift to mobile software, and Hipstamatic was born on the whiteboards of Synthetic's 400 square foot Minnesota office. Before iPhone, Lucas was shooting with a Polaroid SX-70, which he was given by his mother.

Ryan was born and raised in the corn fields and cranberry bogs of Wisconsin. After graduating from Stevens Point with a BFA in Graphic Design he moved to Minneapolis where he ran a design and branding shop out of the side of a snowbank with Lucas for several years (although Lucas worked remotely from a different snowbank in Chicago). After launching Hipstamatic he decided it was time to move to a warmer locale and began a journey west that ended in San Francisco. In his spare time he enjoys building Legos and playing N64. He also cooks a pretty mean lasagna.

Aravind Kaimal was born in 1980 in the south of India, where, at the tender age of 17, he embarked on a bold new journey to the United States. He obtained his BFA at Columbia College Chicago, and soon started his love/hate relationship with design while working at various publication and ad agencies. His artwork is cognitively influenced by the chaos and simplicity of the two cultures he grew up in. As the Creative Director of Synthetic, Aravind likes to get shot out of a rifle barrel into new and exciting projects with throbbing frequency. He's always moving forward with the Synthetic philosophy of not remaining too comfortable in one spot.

Hailing from Wilton, Connecticut, Josh Symonds graduated from the University of Chicago in 2005 with a BA in Japanese that he never uses anymore. Instead, for the past four years, he's been honing his coding bushido, and now writes really excellent Ruby and Objective-C. He's responsible for the web presence of Synthetic and for a couple of the more awesome features in Hipstamatic, Incredibooth, and Swankolab. Josh lives in Chicago and, when he's not working, plays lots of computer games.

Lover of today. Designer of life.
Mario Estrada studied at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point where he double majored in Graphic Design/Spanish and minored in Photography/Art History. He worked for years as a Designer and Art Director before joining Synthetic to handle their active community. Essentially, Mario went from showing people to telling people and he likes it.

Doug Lambert has extensive experience in organizational design, operations, technology management and human resources across a variety of industries. Before joining Synthetic, LLC., he served as an executive for Errand Solutions, LLC. where he managed human resources, technology and organizational development. Prior to that position, he served as a Vice President of Global Staffing and Development for The Northern Trust Company and helped design and implement strategic initiatives for major lines of business. Prior to that position, he served as a Human Resources Officer for JPMorgan Chase after selling Excelsia Group, Inc., a midsized executive search and technology consulting company, he previously co-founded. Mr. Lambert earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ball State University and a Master’s degree in Organizational Communication from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Sam Soffes started programming when he a wee lad. After bouncing around from several different states, he landed in San Francisco and join Synthetic. He works with Ryan to make all of the Synthetic iOS apps crazy awesome. When he's not building apps, he generally spends his time playing drums or biking around the city.

Laura was home grown next to a cornfield in Wisconsin, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in graphic design. After a few life detours she found herself in San Francisco with these guys. She believes in happy accidents, traveling, sharing meals, fresh air, and getting her hands dirty. She hopes to one day own her own hot air balloon.

As the only native California boy Stuart frolicked on the beautiful coastlines of Pismo Beach in his youth until his parents forced him into the cold world to fend for himself, alone... but never fearL Stuart quickly found his way in life graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography with a BFA in digital imaging. But being the young dynamo he is one degree was not enough, no sir, he continued on to the Academy of Art in San Francisco to obtain a MFA in interactive design/new media. With his masters mere months away from completion Stuart joined Synthetic as a UI/UX designer where he designs all kinds of nifty things like apps and other paraphernalia. When not designing Stuart only does one thing and only one thing, he massacres fools left and right in the game of titans.. UNO!