Two Twelve
About
Studio Size
Large (21+)
Year founded
1980
Borough
Manhattan
Studio Bio/Philosophy
Two Twelve develops sustainable, user-centered designs to help people understand an increasingly complicated world. We design to engage, inspire, and solve real communication problems. Working in collaboration with our clients, we create meaningful, elegant, and sustainable designs across a range of media: we call it Design for a Better Experience.
The Team
Two Twelve has 28 people. Of those, 2 are studio heads and 10 are managerial.
15% of studios are large-sized (21+ people).
Gender Breakdown
32% male
68% female
Studio Disciplines
Breakdown of Work
Two Twelve’s Interactive work encompasses two-way systems of communication within physical environments, as well as digital communication tools.
Strategy/Execution
48% Strategy
52% Execution
Primary Specialties
- Art Direction (58)
- Books (52)
- Branding & Identity (77)
- Editorial/Publication Design (51)
- Environmental Design (38)
- Exhibition Design (33)
- Experience Design (33)
- Information Graphics (41)
- Interaction Design (36)
- Mobile Design (30)
- Motion (29)
- Print (75)
- Typeface Design (25)
- Web Design (59)
Clients’ Industries
- Education (40)
- Finance & Investment (26)
- Healthcare (18)
- Local & community organizations (41)
- Media & Publishing (58)
- Real Estate (24)
- Retail (43)
- Sports (22)
- The Arts/Cultural Institutions (71)
- Transportation (9)
Two Twelve’s Clients
- Bloomberg (2)
- Citibank (3)
- Emaar
- Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Macy's
- MetLife Stadium
- New York City Center
- New York City Department of Transportation (2)
- New York Mets
- NJ Transit
- NYU Langone Medical Center
- Port Authority of NY & NJ
- Princeton University (3)
- The Empire State Building
- Yale University
Ann Harakawa, Principal
Demographics
From Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, now lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. Formal education is graduate degree, primary design education is school (Yale University).
Previous Design Employment
- Takenobu Igarashi Design
- Eiko Ishioka Design
Board Member on Professional Design Organizations
- Art Director’s Club (ADC) — 8 years
- Design Trust for Public Space — 1 years
David Gibson, Principal
Demographics
From Montreal, Quebec, Canada, now lives in Lincoln Park, Jersey City, New Jersey. Formal education is graduate degree, primary design education is school (Yale University).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
My Yale education introduced me to the broad sweep of the design profession and the different ways that designer can intervene in the social and business landscape.
Previous Design Employment
- Eskind Waddell
Teaching Design
- Philadelphia University of the Arts — 3 years
Board Member on Professional Design Organizations
- Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) — 4 years
- AIGA — 3 years
Location
The Space
The studio is about 5000 square feet. They’ve been there for 12 years, 6 months.
Number of times moved
4
Total people in space
28
Number of plants
26+
Decorations
Books and bookshelves, Our work, Photos, Process materials for ongoing projects
Working Days
Working week
Core hours are 9:00-6:00, with the first in at 8:00am and the last out at 8:30pm.
31% of studios work 50-59 hours/week.
The average is 40-49 hours/week.
Take Summer Fridays?
Yes
Busiest Time of day?
It’s high intensity all day
Favorite Typefaces:
- Apex Sans
- Arial (5)
- Avenir (6)
- Benton Sans (4)
- Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk (5)
- DIN (13)
- Futura (12)
- Gill Sans (2)
- Griffith Gothic
- Helvetica (10)
- Netto
- Syntax
- Trade Gothic (14)
- Verdana
- Whitney (5)
Culture
Pick your poison
Beer
Overall Noise Level
Quiet
36% of studios are quiet
Extra-curricular activities
Green Team, Fantasy Football League, and Baking
Working groups
Internal studio meetings
A couple times/week
Critiquing Process
Studio Outings
Attend conferences, Drinks after work, Team building activities
Favorite Place(s): MOMA Queens, Citifield, Any NYC Cultural Institution