Christopher Simmons, founding principal of MINE, is a designer, writer, and educator. He is an instructor in identity design at California College of the Arts and at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and is a frequent lecturer on design issues at colleges, universities, and professional organizations. Simmons is president of the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). His first book on identity design, Logo Lab, was released in 2005. He lives in San Francisco.