PRINCIPLES Six beliefs we actually hold.
Every studio has values. Ours are the ones we use to make decisions when an engagement gets hard — not the ones on the About page.
Taste is a skill.
Taste is built — by looking at a lot of great work, and a lot of bad work, and naming why.
Craft shows at 10×.
The first 80% is easy. The last 20% is what clients pay for and what users remember.
Strong opinions, updated weekly.
We'll tell you what we think. We'll also tell you when new data changed our mind.
Calendars are a scarce resource.
Three recurring meetings max. Async-first, written-first, Loom-before-meeting.
Ship to learn, not to launch.
Every release is a question we're asking the market. We build the measurement into the surface.
Hire slowly, fire quickly.
Team is our only real moat. We protect it jealously.
THE TEAM Eight leads. Twenty more behind them.
Every engagement is led by a principal. The rest of the studio sits behind, plugged in as the work demands.
THE PATH HERE Nine years, sixteen chapters.
2017
Maren + Kai launch the studio in
Brooklyn
with two clients and a sublet.
2018
Kindred ships to the App Store. Hits
100K
installs in six weeks.
2019
First full-time hires in design and
engineering. Move into a real office.
2020
Pivot to distributed in March. Never
went
back. Team across three time zones.
2021
Spin up a dedicated brand team. First
full
identity engagements.
2022
Cross 20 full-time. Open a strategy
arm.
Shift to retainer-forward model.
2024
First European and APAC clients. Studio
Portrait project wins FWA.
2026
Twenty-eight strong. Four continents.
Booked through Q4.
Got Questions
Clear responses to common questions about how we work and what we deliver.
Yes, we offer short-term engagements perfectly suited for urgent UI needs, one-off tasks, or overflow support when your internal team is at capacity.
Yes.
Yes.