Lewis Howard Latimer was the son of self-emancipated enslaved people, a self-taught draftsman, and major contributor to the invention of the lightbulb and the telephone. Some of his own inventions are the early air conditioning unit and the railroad car bathroom.

Growing up, Latimer faced many challenges due to racial discrimination prevalent at the time. He enlisted in the Union Navy in 1864 at the age of 16 and—with no access to formal education—taught himself mechanical drawing which eventually led him to become a chief draftsman, patent expert, and inventor.

The Lewis Latimer House Museum in Flushing, New York is the very same house that Latimer lived in from 1903 until his passing at the age of 80 in 1928. Threatened with demolition, the house was relocated from Holly Avenue in East Flushing to its present location in 1988. It is now a historic house museum owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Lewis H. Latimer Fund, Inc., and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

We worked closely with Isometric, the lead exhibition designer, to produce four interactive exhibitions through a combination of digital and physical experiences that educate, entertain, and inspire—all rooted in Latimer’s legacy as an mold-breaking inventor of his time.

INVENTION MACHINE

Vertical screen displaying inventions Latimer patented, but never built. Oversized blueprints reimagined as 3D objects which brings the inventions to life.

TOGETHER WE RISE

An interactive “family portraits wall” of contributors and leaders integral to Latimer’s legacy. A bench in front of the projection wall holds a hand-crank allowing viewers to navigate to a particular profile by rotating and pressing a physical button.

POETRY MACHINE

A skeletal mechanical crank allowing visitors to rotate between panels of Latimer’s poetry. When cranked to the right position, the selected poetry plays audibly, allowing visitors to experience the poetry as an audio-visual sensory experience.

LATIMER BUZZ SELFIE APP

A selfie app that can be loaded directly on visitor’s smart phones using a QR code on the printed Latimer Buzz magazine. Through the app, everyone can take a fun selfie image as the cover of Latimer Buzz magazine, and actually print a physical sticker that can be affixed to the magazine as a keepsake item—a kid-friendly activity and souvenir from a memorable experience.

Fueled by Texas-sized hospitality, Big Horn dish out the finest BBQ, deliver grade-A customer service, and keep things clean as a whistle in a friendly, family-style setting for the folks in our communities. Big Horn is not just a restaurant, it’s a tight-knit second home for the staff where excellence and warmth intersect.

When tasked to refresh Big Horn’s website, we identified the need to refresh its brand messaging. Without changing its locally known bullhorn logo, we infused a new ethos to the brand by introducing wit to the website copywriting, rendered in newly custom-designed typeface, BH Classy. We also designed illustrations that compliment the new tone of voice, each time combining 2 objects into a playful new icon that looks great on their own and as a wallpaper.

Visit bighorn-bbq.com

Glenn Ligon is an artist living and working in New York pursuing an incisive exploration of American history, literature, and society across bodies of work that build critically on the legacies of modern painting and conceptual art.

We worked closely with Ligon to produce a website that showcases the full breadth of of his work, from neons, paintings, prints, photo-based, to videos and multimedia installations. The website is designed with minimal interface to allow viewers to discover Ligon’s work as if experiencing the work in a physical gallery space.

Visit glennligonstudio.com

This was our invitation design for an annual benefit hosted by the Design Trust for Public Space, a New York–based nonprofit whose members believe in the transformative power of design within urban landscapes.

We crafted a unique invitation in which each panel of the envelope reveals a message as it unfolds. We combined typography, vibrant colors, and the angular shape of the envelope to emulate architectural forms, creating a visual metaphor for the symbiotic relationship between design and public space.

Artist Shaun Leonardo’s 2021 outdoor installation “Between Four Freedoms” reinterpreted and celebrated Franklin D. Roosevelt’s seminal 1941 address calling for freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The interactive experience for the installation at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park redefines public engagement with art and social discourse.

Guided by Leonardo’s vision, our branding mirrors the project’s ethos, employing a brown color scheme evocative of human skin tones and the “Martin” typeface, inspired by the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968, to represent a message of non-violence and inclusivity. Leveraging innovative technology such as image recognition, we enabled visitors to engage with the artwork by scanning QR codes, launching the mobile website, and exploring workshop videos led by Leonardo. With over 25,000 images collected, the installation ensured accessibility and interactivity on both the Manhattan and Long Island City sides, inviting visitors to delve into the narratives of vulnerable communities and rediscover Roosevelt’s timeless call for freedom and dignity.

View fdrfourfreedomspark.org

Based out of New York City, SPIDERHORSE is an award-winning beatbox duo composed of Chris Celiz and Gene Shinozaki. The two have been creating music together for seven years and expanding the capabilities of the human voice in an innovative and exciting way. The group’s symbolic mascot—a character called Mr. SPIDERHORSE—and logotype were hand-drawn by ReepsOne, their artistic idol (who is also a beatboxer).

To develop SPIDERHORSE’s new identity, we digitized that original artwork and developed a complete visual branding system and supporting assets around it that work in various formats, including an animated version. We also designed and developed their new website. We used SPIDERHORSE as a versatile character to narratively accompany the group’s music; animated, he acts as the show’s MC, guiding the event and expressing the music’s mood. (He can even multiply his legs to double as a hair comb!)

We also enjoyed pushing the boundaries of SPIDERHORSE merchandise with unique materials and techniques, including hand-dyed T-shirts, wooden combs sourced from a local woodshop in Indonesia, bamboo-handled fans, and plush toys incorporating a plethora of pastel colors to reflect the group’s vibrant artistry.

View spider.horse