Our studio was founded on the belief that original, impactful work is best made by using processes that do not feel like work.
Headquartered in San Francisco and designing across all timezones. We apply this ethos to every brand, campaign, experience, and product we shape.
Once when asked to explain his approach to design, Casey stood up, bent his knees, focused his eyes on the ground, and mimed a slow steady golf swing. When asked to elaborate, he headed to the kitchen and began preparing J. Kenji-Lopez Alt’s recipe for late night tortilla jian bing. When asked to put his answer in words, he replied “Excuse me for a sec” and left the room. Moments later he reappeared in a wetsuit with surfboard in hand and said, “Design is so simple. That’s why it’s so complicated. That’s Paul Rand.” And that’s Casey.
In Owen’s perfect world, there would be no war or suffering. But also, swordfish would find more use cases for their swords. Like picking up trash from the ocean floor or conducting orchestras. Popcorn would be served in bottles. Allowing us to tilt our heads back, open our mouths and enjoy movies without falling victim to greasy finger syndrome. Mannequins would be outlawed. Or at least redesigned to look 1000% less creepy. Lastly, in Owen’s perfect world, he’d find time to finally finish reading Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood.
Ellis insists on keeping things very simple. He leads a modest hermit-like existence in Los Angeles, where he enjoys working to the beat of a repetitive ambient drum. When he hits a creative wall, he does the predictable thing. He takes a walk. But even the most humdrum folk have at least one quality that sets them apart. Ellis is no exception. He’s never purchased anything on Amazon.com.
If you’re not listening to horrific tales of paranormal phenomena while designing brand identity systems, are you even designing? Creepypasta is the soundtrack to Kelly’s work life. Kelly herself isn’t creepy. She’s an incredibly loving person. She’d do anything in the world for most people. As long as they ask nicely. And aren’t asking to kill someone. Sorry, Slenderman. Kelly loves you too. Just within reason.
Rosie is a human dynamo. With more sides to her being than Hurme Geometric Sans 3 has weights. First there’s the side that despises typeface humor. Then the side which almost became a vet, dabbled in dairy farming and still prefers animals to humans. Her benevolent side that yearns to design an equitable system for redistributing the world’s wealth in the name of all that’s rosey and good. All these sides live like a queen in a country ruled by a king. Yep. England.
Jaime is Play’s resident UX/UI master. He designs and builds websites, interactive prototypes and countless to-do lists. When he forgets to make a to-do list, he gets very, very irritated. Not rip-off-your-shirt-and-turn-green irritated. But tear-a-sheet-of-paper-in-two-and-make-that-to-do list-you-forgot irritated. We should all be inspired by Jamie’s inimitable composure and dedication to greatness.
You may know Chandler from the concert poster he designed for his favorite band, Beach House. Or maybe you know him from his work as a hand model for a certain stationery company. Wouldn’t that be wild if that’s how you knew him? Who are you? Maybe this should be your bio. No no. This is about Chandler Reed. An accomplished designer who adores Century Schoolbook, is irritated by motion smoothing technology, and to this day, wishes his name was Arnold Shortman. Did you know that? HOW? How could you have known all that?
Rocío is a calendar genie. For eight hours a day, she effortlessly floats alongside her computer screen, magically scheduling meetings that could never be emails. Sometimes she contemplates redesigning the calendar to have 13 months, each starting on Sunday and lasting 28 days. Rocío also enjoys pondering the many wonders of nature. The mountains and trees and hopefully not the discarded packaging of the luxury popcorn brand she once designed. Rocío hopes you’ll find time in your calendar to recycle.
Sammy may be the youngest designer on staff. But he’s by no means the greenest. Though it was his need for green that led him to a career in graphic design. Deep in debt from losing thousands of bets incorrectly guessing the weights of newborn babies, Sammy was forced to make the ultimate bet. Either pay off his debts creating brand identities the likes of which the design world has never seen, or live the rest of his life under an assumed identity. Don’t screw this up, Sammy.
In his brief career, Matthew has already designed a wine label for Molly Baz and typeface for Rolling Stone. At some point he’d like to redesign the IRS tax forms to make them less confusing. Perhaps by infusing them with a healthy dose of whitespace, which is the basis for Matthew’s entire personality. Or maybe inserting a whole maraschino cherry in the middle of the 1040, like it’s a Christopher’s Big Cherry, Matthew’s favorite candy. He’ll figure it out. Then it’s off to his next big design challenge: individually wrapped peanuts.
When asked to describe her job, Xiaoxue said, “I infuse static images with life.” When asked to name her biggest creative influence, Xiaoxue said, “My hairless cat Woody.” When asked if she fears being replaced by AI, Xiaoxue said, “No, I fear living in a world not ruled by cats.” When asked to elaborate why, Woody interrupted and placed his left paw over Xiaoxue’s lips. A perfectly inspired animated response that explains why Xiaoxue is such a master of her craft.
If Kelly had a catchphrase, it would be “I am so hungry.” She says it a lot. But not always in reference to food. Kelly’s hungry for a language that would let humans converse with animals, specifically cats. She’s hungry for sleeves in used books that would invite you to leave notes for the next reader. Mmm…notes. And Kelly’s always hungry to listen to “A Town With an Ocean View” from her favorite Ghibli movie, Kiki’s Delivery Service. Whenever she hears it, she whispers her other would-be catchphrase “This is so yummy.”
When Play needs things written (like these bios) they often ask David. He will then ask his dog Clarence if he thinks he can do it. His dog won’t understand what he’s asking. Leaving David no choice but to start writing. It’s a fairly scientific process. One he learned from his mentor, a typing chimpanzee.
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Unit 213
San Francisco
CA 94110
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