Isometric Studio
Aro Ha_0986.jpg

about (archive)

STUDIO PROFILE

Isometric unites graphic design and architecture to create empowering visual identities and spatial experiences.

 

Based in New York City, we collaborate with leading cultural institutions, universities, tech companies, and nonprofits to reinvent the way they present themselves visually and strategically. We express the missions of these organizations through visual identities, exhibitions, websites, and signage programs that convey intellectual rigor, aesthetic sophistication, and memorable storytelling. We believe in design that transcends existing expectations by challenging cliches and stereotypes in visual culture.

In collaboration with our clients, we shape narratives and spaces of belonging. Through design, we advance an ethos of inclusion, equity, and justice, centering the lived experiences of marginalized people. Our projects often address complex social issues, amplifying activism on gender equity, climate change, racial justice, LGBT identity, and immigrant rights. Our more well-known clients include the USAID, Google, Museum of the City of New York, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. We have also collaborated with 15+ departments and offices at Princeton University.

SERVICES

Branding and Visual Identity
Exhibition Design
Signage and Wayfinding
Architecture
Website and Digital Design
Editorial Design
Strategy and Copywriting
Illustration
Photography

 

SELECTED PRESS

Isometric Studio is Rethinking What it Means to Design for Social Good
AIGA Eye on Design

Type Drives Culture Keynote Interview: Isometric Studio
Type Directors Club

Isometric Creates Toolkit for Safely Reopening Museums
Dezeen

Can Manuals and Toolkits Help Us Design a Safer Present or Future?
Metropolis

Equity and Justice: Poster Design in the COVID Age
Poster House

Trying to Find a Narrative of Resistance
First Gen Burden Podcast

Scratching the Surface Podcast

Finding the Right Place to Work from Home
The New York Times

SELECTED AWARDS

2022 — Society of Typographic Arts
STA 100 Selection / The Utopian Avant-Garde
STA 100 Selection / Ethel Reed: I Am My Own Property
STA 100 Selection / City of Faith

2022 — Type Directors Club
TDC 67 The World’s Best Typography / Hey Barista by Oatly

2021 — Society for Experiential Graphic Design
Vanguard Award

2021 — Type Directors Club
TDC 67 The World’s Best Typography / Confronting Unjust Policing
TDC 67 The World’s Best Typography / Company
TDC 67 The World’s Best Typography / AIANY Design Awards

2020 — Society for Experiential Graphic Design
Honor Award / Rising Together Exhibition
Merit Award / Who We Are Exhibition

2020 — Type Directors Club
TDC 66 The World’s Best Typography / Who We Are Exhibition

2020 — Graphic Design USA 
Winner, Package Design Award / Junzi Kitchen

2019 — Society of Typographic Arts
STA 100 Judge’s Choice / Happy Family Night Market
STA 100 Judge’s Choice / Rising Together Exhibition

2018 — Type Directors Club
TDC 64 The World’s Best Typography / Princeton International Atrium

2017 — Society of Typographic Arts
STA 100 / Princeton International Atrium

2017 — American Association for State and Local History
Award of Merit / Charles and Anne Lindbergh Exhibition

 

SELECTED CLIENTS

 
 
 

TEAM MEMBERS

Andy Chen

Partner

 

Andy studied sociology at Princeton University, where he was awarded the Pyne Honor Prize, the university’s highest general undergraduate distinction. He then studied graphic design at RISD, where he received his MFA as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. Andy started his career at Pentagram, where he worked on the rebranding of Bausch + Lomb with partner Paula Scher. As a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal College of Art, Andy conducted ethnographic research on aging, sexuality, and social stigma. He is a contributor to Design Observer, Design Taxi, and Open Manifesto.

Andy has spoken at international conferences including the London Design Festival, Design Indaba, RGD DesignThinkers, and Kyoorius Designyatra. He has served on the faculty of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of Visual Arts.

Waqas Jawaid

Partner

 

Waqas received his undergraduate degree with highest honors from Princeton University and a Masters in Architecture with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. At Princeton, he was awarded the Frederick White Prize for his thesis on architectural apartheid in the Paris banlieus. Waqas previously worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, SANAA, Harvard Art Museums, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He is a founding organizer of Climate Collective, a NYC-based organization that sparks civic discourse about climate change through design and storytelling.

Waqas has lectured at venues including Harvard University, the Center for Architecture, and Princeton University Art Museum. He has served on the faculty of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of Visual Arts.

Paolo Fabbri

Senior Graphic Designer

Abhishek Thakkar

Architectural Designer

 

Kate McBride

Content Director

Ana David

Graphic Designer

PAST TEAM MEMBERS

Daniel Abary, Eleni Agapis, Corinne Ang, Hoi Chan, Reyna Clarissa, Marissa E C de Baca, Janina Engel, Nicole Fischetti, Elle Han, Jessica Huang, Yongkyu Hong, Elena Kim, Maria Loes, Daedalus Li, Renald Louissaint, Hannah Meng, Kyle Picone, Madi Ritenburgh, Alexis Rodda, Ingrid Schmaedecke, Shantanu Sharma, Taylor Simpson, James Tsang, Jihye Um