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We shape tomorrow’s diverse cultures.

Art Direction — Identity — Web Development


Intro

We are shaping tomorrow’s diverse cultures.

Happening Studio is an international design studio, cultivating global minds with local sensibility. We lead a fluid, collaborative design practice and research-based approach to make curious form, beautiful content in an appropriate structure.

We always say:

  1. Extract everything from a client by listening.
  2. Pay close attention to nuances & subtleties.
  3. Make something that makes clients feel a little uncomfortable.
  4. Challenge clients’ briefs and expand parameters as much as possible.
  5. Always tackle a project as if this is our last one, we never know when the music stops.
  6. Anywhere can be a workspace.
  7. An ideal project is a state of mind.
  8. You and I share more similarities than differences.

Our compelling insights as a woman-owned, BIPOC company, and our transformative experiences living in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Zurich, Dallas, and Los Angeles, provide us with a responsive, multicultural prospective that informs each dimension of our creative process. From 2019 to 2022, we worked remotely from three different continents, in order to continue broadening the scope of our professional practice and research. Now based in Los Angeles, we have solidified our nimble, personalized process for showcasing vibrant ideas in dynamic global environments and site-specific local landscapes. Our efficient implementation strategies allow us to serve as effective facilitators between in-house design teams, marketing departments, and high-level stakeholders.

We are dedicated to fostering a fearless, collaborative atmosphere, which enables us to explore, test, and refine unconventional ideas with our clients and graphic design students. Our newest initiative, Cultural Inquiry, provides museums with effective procedures for deep listening sessions with diverse constituents in order to promote collective well-being, inclusivity, and sustainability. We then translate that vital feedback into organizational tools and enlightened community resources.

Studio Partners

Karen Nakada LinkedIn
Masato Nakada LinkedIn


What We Do

Technical Skills
Image-making
Typesetting
Custom Typeface
Lettering
Motion Graphics
Book & Poster Design
Web Design & Development

Conceptual Skills
Brand Narrative + Structure
Identity: Research + Development
Collaborative Thinking with Curators, Writers & Editors


Current Office Location

Los Angeles
3705 W Pico Blvd #693
California 90292
USA

Previous Cities We Worked In

Tokyo
3-10-12 Kichijoji Higashi-Machi, Musashino-city
180-0002
Japan

Zurich
Tischenloostrasse 19
8800 Thalwil
Switzerland


Mentions, Awards & Interviews

Panelist: Google VISD Summit 22
Award: STA 100 Winner 2022
Mention: Brand Identity 2022 pt.1
Mention: Brand Identity 2022 pt.2
Panelist: Museum Next: Growing Audiences Summit 2022
Mention: It's Nice That 2022
Award: STA 100 Winner 2021
Panelist: San Diego Design Week 2021
Award: STA 100 Winner 2020
Mention: Slanted #35-LA
Award: TDC 66 Certificate of Typographic Excellence
Award: STA 100 Judge's Choice 2019
Mention: Communication Arts
Interview: Art Directors Club
Interview: Working Not Working
Interview: VCFA Perpetual Beta
Acquisition: LACMA Collection
Mention: AIGA Eye On Design
Mention: It's Nice That 2015
Mention: Grafik
Mention: Commarts
Mention: IDEA Magazine No. 368
Attended: I Never Read Art Basel Book Fair 2018


Clients by Sector

Education & Cultural Institutions
CalArts/Redcat
Orange County Museum of Art
Art Center College of Design
Laurence School
Carlthorp School
Windward School
Sage Hill School
Machine Projects
LACMA
Whitney Museum
MCA Chicago
SoCal Museums
J Paul Getty
Los Angeles Mayor's Office
Museum of Contemporary Art SD
Woodbury School of Architecture
Armenian Image Archive
Zurich International School

Startups
Ritual
Earnin
SportsLex

Studios & Agencies
72&Sunny
TBWA\Chiat\Day
WK Tokyo
SET Creative
enso
Hecho Studio
Roger
ETC
Polymode
State

Corporations
Nike
Youtube
Apple
Google
Mattel
Just Energy Japan


Lectures & Workshops

CalArts
Otis College of Art & Design
Southland Institute
Temple University Japan


Colophon

CMS: Wordpress
WP Theme: Twenty-Twelve
Typefaces: Belleza & Asul

Happening Studio

hi@thehappening.us

LinkedIn

Works

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Happening Studio

hi@thehappening.us

LinkedIn

Archive