Happening Studio

hi@thehappening.us

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Shaping tomorrow’s diverse cultures.

『Art Direction』【Identity】「Web Development」

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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】
10761 Northgate Street
California 90230
USA

Previous Cities We Worked In

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

【Zurich】
Tischenloostrasse 19
8800 Thalwil
Switzerland

Activities

Faculty	Otis College of Art & Design, Present
Workshop & Lecture	RISD Graphic Design Spring Visiting Designer, 2025
Workshop	USC MFA Graphic Design, 2024
Practicum	CalArts MFA Graphic Design, 2024
Lecture	CalArts Graphic Design Program, 2023
Lecture	University of Southampton, 2022
Panelist	Google VISD Summit, 2022
Award	Society of Typographic Arts (STA) 100 Winner, 2022
Mention	Brand Identity, 2022
Panelist	Museum Next: Growing Audiences Summit, 2022
Mention	It’s Nice That, 2022
Award	STA 100 Winner, 2021
Panelist	San Diego Design Week, 2021
Workshop	Southland Institute, 2020
Award	STA 100 Winner, 2020
Mention	Slanted #35-LA, 2020
Award	TDC 66 Certificate of Typographic Excellence, 2020
Faculty	CalArts Graphic Design Program, 2019, 2017
Award	STA 100 Judge’s Choice, 2019
Mention	Communication Arts, 2019
Acquisition	LACMA Collection, 2018
Mention	AIGA Eye On Design, 2018
Mention	Commarts, 2018
Attendance	I Never Read Art Basel Book Fair, 2018
Mention	IDEA Magazine No. 368, 2015
Mention	It’s Nice That, 2015
Interview	VCFA Perpetual Beta, 2015
Lecture	Temple University Japan, 2015

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