Leadership
Sean Carton: Co-Founder & CEO
Dr. Sean Carton is a highly accomplished leader, insightful analyst, and recognized thought leader with over two decades of experience at the intersection of digital strategy, user experience, and academic innovation. With a Doctor of Communications Design degree and an extensive background in both business and academia, Sean is adept at transforming organizations by identifying opportunities, fostering connections, and driving strategic growth through data-driven insights.
Throughout his distinguished career, Sean has spearheaded digital transformation and marketing innovation for a diverse range of clients, including major higher education institutions like Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Colgate. As Chief Strategist at idfive, LLC (2006-2024), he developed and implemented advanced research frameworks, led comprehensive market research and UX studies, and guided online strategy that optimized website performance and user engagement, contributing to millions in annual revenue growth.
Beyond his agency work, Sean has held significant academic and senior administrative roles. As the founding Dean of the School of Design + Media at Philadelphia University (2004-2006), he oversaw the reorganization of multiple design departments, managed budgets, and launched new research-driven curricula. Prior to this, as Chief Experience Officer and Managing Partner at Carton Donofrio Partners (1996-2006), he led user experience and behavioral research, developed award-winning consulting practices, and was instrumental in growing digital agencies to national prominence. He also served as the founding Director of the Center for Digital Communication, Commerce, & Culture at the University of Baltimore (2011-2015), focusing on creating the next generation of digital leaders and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
A prolific author and speaker, Dr. Carton has penned eight books, including "The Dot.Bomb Survival Guide" (2001) and "University X" (2013), and hundreds of articles in industry and academic journals on topics ranging from digital engagement to marketing analytics. He is a frequent keynote speaker at national conferences on UX research, digital behavior, and marketing.
Sean's expertise encompasses qualitative & quantitative research, digital transformation & UX strategy, market & consumer behavior analysis, higher education & B2B research, and data-driven decision-making. He is a creative thinker, persuasive communicator, and innovative problem-solver known for his ability to bridge academia and industry to drive research-backed insights for business growth and technology..
Claire Carton: Co-Founder & Chief of User Experience
For more than two decades, Claire has worked at the intersection of digital strategy, UX research and design, and organizational leadership—helping teams and institutions build technology that actually works for people.
Claire began her career in the early 2000s as a technical project manager when the internet still felt like the Wild West. Since then, she’s worn many hats: VP of Operations at a growing agency, founder of her own UX and strategy consultancy, and senior consultant on high-impact digital transformation projects for federal agencies and Fortune 500 clients. Her portfolio includes strategic work for institutions as diverse as Johns Hopkins, Treasury’s FSOC, DocuSign, Adobe, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Claire specializes in bringing clarity and order to messy systems—particularly in legacy-rich, politically complex environments. She’s led enterprise SharePoint modernization projects, spearheaded full-scale content and IA overhauls, and built end-to-end user testing programs from scratch. She’s especially drawn to work that involves accessibility, AI integration, and solving the “people + process” problems that pure technology can’t fix on its own.
Claire is known for getting things done without steamrolling people, for strategic thinking without the hand-waving, and for building user-focused systems that also respect organizational complexity. Clients and colleagues say Claire is a natural facilitator—someone who listens deeply, speaks clearly, and gets the right work in front of the right people at the right time.