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Caspar Lam
Partner, Synoptic Office and Director & Assistant Professor of Communication Design, Parsons
Professional Background
Caspar Lam is a renowned designer and writer, known for his innovative approach and interdisciplinary perspective. As the co-founder of Synoptic Office, a multidisciplinary design consultancy, he adeptly navigates the convergence of design, technology, and education. Under his leadership, the studio has produced work that has garnered international recognition, being published and exhibited across various platforms worldwide. With a commitment to pushing the boundaries of design, Caspar has developed a diverse portfolio that reflects his deep understanding of the field and its potential to impact culture and society.
Prior to his venture at Synoptic Office, Caspar played a significant role at Artstor, a respected Mellon-funded non-profit organization. As the Assistant Director of Design and Digital Strategy, he was pivotal in designing digital products revolving around metadata and publishing, catering to prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, Cornell University, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His experience also includes an impressive collaborative history with top-tier organizations, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Yale School of Architecture, as well as significant contributions to fashion brands such as Ohne Titel and Vogue China.
Throughout his career, Caspar's work has been recognized by prestigious organizations, including Adobe and AIGA, earning accolades like the ID Annual Design Review. His commitment to design excellence is mirrored in his roles as a visiting critic and educator, where he has shared his expertise with the next generation of designers.
Education and Achievements
Caspar holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Graphic Design from Yale University, where he honed his artistic and theoretical foundations in design. Prior to that, he obtained dual undergraduate degrees in Biology: Honors and Design from The University of Texas at Austin. This unique combination of facilities indicative of his interdisciplinary approach, blending scientific inquiry with creative expression.
In addition to his academic credentials, Caspar has served in various distinguished roles within the academic community. He has been a visiting critic at the Hong Kong Design Institute, providing valuable insights and mentorship to aspiring designers. Further, he has made significant contributions to Parsons School of Design, where he has held multiple positions, including Program Director and Assistant Professor of Communication Design. His longstanding connection with Parsons highlights his dedication to education and the development of future design leaders.
Caspar has also actively engaged with the design community through leadership roles, serving as the Education Committee Chair and Board Member of AIGA New York, which reflects his commitment to advancing the field of design education and practice.
Achievements
Caspar's portfolio is a testament to his versatile skill set and innovative mindset. His achievements include recognition from leading industry authorities such as Adobe and AIGA, which underscores his contributions to the design discipline. His work has played a crucial role in the development of digital products that enhance access to art and educational resources, evidencing his impact on the cultural landscape.
His exhibitions and publications have not only adorned galleries and design platforms but have also expanded critical dialogues about design's intersection with technology and education. As Caspar continues to shape the future of communication design through his teaching and practice, he remains a figure of inspiration, driving discussions around the evolving role of design amidst the challenges of the modern world. With a commitment to fostering the next generation of designers and a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, Caspar Lam exemplifies the spirit of innovation in today's design landscape.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.