Work is Play Studio

Congratulations to our client Michael Kirkland on his public launch of 11.18 Communications, a full-stack communications agency focused on infrastructure, developer platforms, and emerging technologies like AI and crypto. We worked closely with Michael to develop a brand and website that reflects the bold, boundary-pushing technology companies 11.18 Communications supports, while also honoring the company’s origin story. A huge thank you to Michael for trusting us with this work. This is just the beginning for 11.18 and we’re excited for all that is to come! ??

Congratulations to our client Michael Kirkland on his public launch of 11.18 Communications, a full-stack communications agency focused on infrastructure, developer platforms, and emerging technologies like AI and crypto. We worked closely with Michael to develop a brand and website that reflects the bold, boundary-pushing technology companies 11.18 Communications supports, while also honoring the company’s origin story. A huge thank you to Michael for trusting us with this work. This is just the beginning for 11.18 and we’re excited for all that is to come! ??

Lunch yesterday with Sofya and Dinesh was sooo fun that we ran wayyy over. (had to hurriedly say bye and jump 3 mins late into a Kondo onboarding call right from the LA sidewalk cafe where we met ??) Should have expected no less from this duo who run a design house named Work is Play Studio ???????? Some of the funnn things we talked about - Taking the l e a p into starting a biz - When building in public works and when it doesn't - What goes into designing apple dot com - Why Kondo's logo is p crappy and what we're gonna do about it - ?? Shrimp feed ?? - Whether mad men style design presentations are actually a thing Can't wait for our next meetup : ) needa catch these folks soon before they become too rich and famous for an LA sidewalk (if you need design help go hire them nowwwww before they 10x their rates) Also...btw we got to know each other through LinkedIn. Who ever knew you could make friends this way ??

We’re all about reimagining the objects that sparked joy in our childhood, bringing them to life through modern web design. One of our favorites? The View-Master – and it’s just as beloved by our clients! Stay tuned for an exciting new launch that brings nostalgia and innovation together in a fresh way.

Watch us WiP, watch us nae nae! Nothing better than when great work gets great feedback! We've teamed up with Novo, a modern bank for small businesses like ours, to breathe new life into their brand story and website. Let's be honest—handling finances isn't the fun part of running a business, but Novo makes it easier. Their tools help studios like ours manage day-to-day finances smoothly, and we love tackling projects like this because we know the challenges firsthand. We're collaborating closely with our friends at Dawn on messaging, voice, and tone. We just wrapped up the homepage design, and their Director of Design shared some kind words. Here's to an exciting partnership ahead!

We’ve had such a great time collaborating with you Jon Schafer! Grateful for the kind words, energy and talent you bring to the team! Cheers!

We love a dream teams, and excited to partner with Dawn on Novo's journey. More to come!

I got to work with Work is Play Studio but for a hot minute. Long enough to know they are legit, they are fun, they have their s#*$ together, and that whoever matches this description should jump all over it.

PlayDay? — Episode 2 Over the last few weeks, I’ve been diving into our studio Work is Play Studio Play Day? Fridays to understand creative pipelines with new tools and emerging creative apps to push the boundaries of web development and experiences. I pride myself on being a sort of Creative Edward Scissorhands, always keen to follow the red thread and connect the dots when it comes to ever growing creative tools. In the past decade, we've been introduced to numerous tools—Sketch, Figma, Spline, Framer, Webflow, and so much more. Sometimes, the sheer variety of tools can feel overwhelming. As a creative with a barrage of different tools at my disposal, part of the job is figuring out the best way to accomplish a task efficiently, while also embracing new tools and possibilities as they emerge so we can continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. Oh, what a joy it is to learn again! Since I last shared, Spline has unlocked a whole new side of my brain, allowing me to build 3D experiences for the web without needing to be a creative coder. I’ve been modeling and creating subtle interactions and animations for a client who wants to push the boundaries of what we can do online. But how do I bring these creations to the web? Enter Framer—a powerful web-based tool that has intrigued me for a while. I've been jumping into the app, rapidly building prototype and learning from tons of YouTube resources. It's been super fun and surprisingly easy to pick up; it essentially looks and feels just like Figma. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to learn new tools and work with a team eager to push the boundaries of web experiences by incorporating these new tools and practices.

I completely agree with Roman that deep collaboration between both disciplines is essential to creating a successful and cohesive voice across all touchpoints of a company. However, in my experience, many product designers are brought in with very little understanding of brand design. PD's face high-level churn, aggressive timelines, and the pressure to meet numerous OKRs often lead to situations where product managers embed brand designers into their projects, and vice versa, but without a clear understanding and strategy of why brand, visual design, and storytelling are so important. This can result in pushback or a lack of understanding from the product side, leading to politics and both both designs feeling validated in their discipline while brand work being left on the cutting room floor to hit metrics. What do you think needs to happen to build strong collaboration between both disciplines? Should we have a design-led PM who understands product, or a product-led PM who understands design? These groups often end up working in silos. At Work is Play Studio we believe that successful products have great branding and marketing behind them at every touchpoint. Apple exemplifies this perfectly. From hardware creation to marketing, dot-com storytelling, retail experiences, and finally opening that box with your shiny new iPhone, there's a brand story behind it. We aim to bring that same level of cohesive storytelling and magic to the projects we work on. Slide in my DMs to learn more about how we can do that for you.