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Happening Studio is shaping ideas into compelling visuals and experiences while championing content, craft and purposefulness.

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 practice is an intricate dance between:

Form … Content
Design — Client
Preservation … Archival
Marketing … Branding
Emotion — Logic
Mediation … Facilitation

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

Co-Founders

Karen Nakada LinkedIn
Masato Nakada LinkedIn

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

Lectures & Workshops

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

Clients

Education & Cultural Institutions
Armenian Image Archive
Art Center College of Design
CJA Creative Collaborations
CalArts/Redcat
Carlthorp School
Color Factory
Historic Resources Group
J Paul Getty
LACMA
Laurence School
MCA Chicago
Machine Projects
Museum of Contemporary Art SD
Orange County Museum of Art
Otis College of Art & Design
Sage Hill School
SoCal Museums
Sundance Film Festival
UCLA The Promise Institute
Whitney Museum
Windward School
Woodbury School of Architecture
Zurich International School

Startups
Coinbase
Intrinsic
Ritual
SportsLex

Government Agencies
Los Angeles Mayor’s Office
NASA

Studios & Agencies
72&Sunny
Amplify
Jack Morton
Polymode
Roger
TBWA\Chiat\Day
WK Tokyo
enso

Corporations
Apple
Google
Just Energy Japan
Mattel
Nike
Patreon
Youtube

Internships

We are not offering internship positions at this moment. Please check our LinkedIn company page for updates.

Colophon

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