Barrel
About
Studio Size
Large (21+)
Year founded
2006
Borough
Manhattan
Studio Bio/Philosophy
Barrel is an interactive agency in New York. We create websites and web applications that help our clients achieve their goals and build their brands. Since 2006, our company has established a strong culture and process to deliver effective and impactful user experiences to our clients’ customers.
The Team
Barrel has 28 people. Of those, 2 are studio heads and 5 are managerial.
15% of studios are large-sized (21+ people).
Gender Breakdown
43% male
57% female
Average height
5’7”-5’9”
Shortest: 5’1”
Tallest: 6’2”
Average age
26-30
Youngest: 20
Oldest: 31
Number of freelancers/year
1-5
1-5 are long-term freelancers
Number of interns/year
3-4
Average: 1-2
Studio Disciplines
Breakdown of Work
Primary Specialties
- Branding & Identity (77)
- Interaction Design (36)
- Mobile Design (30)
- Web Design (59)
- Web Development (25)
Clients’ Industries
- Education (40)
- Fashion (45)
- Finance & Investment (26)
- Real Estate (24)
- Technology (37)
- The Arts/Cultural Institutions (71)
Barrel’s Clients
- Armenian General Benevolent Union
- Columbia University (7)
- McGraw-Hill Education Labs
- NCR Corporation
- New Music USA
- New York Genome Center
- Penguin Speakers Bureau
- Postable
- Princeton University (3)
- The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Peter Kang, Principal
Demographics
Age 30, Male, from Edison, NJ, United States, lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. Formal education is undergraduate degree (Columbia University).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
I love the design thinking of 37signals (the makers of Basecamp) and their emphasis on good copywriting as interface design. I've also always been a fan of Paul Rand and his approach to design and problem-solving.
Years in Design Industry
8 years
Average: 17 years
Industry before design
Finance at Lehman Brothers
Sei-Wook Kim, Principal
Demographics
Age 28, Male, from Rockville, MD, United States, now lives in East Village, New York, NY. Formal education is undergraduate degree (Columbia University).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
Around 2005 the shift towards table-less and standards-based HTML made a huge impact on the detail of design that was able to be created. From that point web design took shape as a discipline with a focus on fundamentals like grids and typography.
Years in Design Industry
8 years
Location
The Space
The studio is about 4000 square feet. It’s rented and they’ve been there for 1 year, 1 month.
Number of times moved
3
Total people in space
28
Amenities
- Bike storage (26)
- Cleaning service (44)
- Coffee maker (53)
- Dishwasher (24)
- Elevator (54)
- Free booze (28)
- Free drinks (27)
- Free snacks (27)
- Freezer (43)
- Large format printer (19)
- Library/book collection (67)
- Photo/video equipment (45)
- Ping pong table (6)
- Private bathrooms (34)
- Waiting area / reception (26)
- Whiteboard (23)
Number of conference rooms
3
Client meetings held in studio: Always
Number of plants
6-10
Type of chair
Aeron
Decorations
Books and bookshelves, Our work, Poster artwork
Desk Policy
To each their own: some keep their desks tidy, while others like it messier.
Working Days
Working week
The work week is 40-49 hours/week, core hours are 10:00-6:00, with the first in at 9:30am and the last out at 8:30pm.
50% of studios work 40-49 hours/week.
The average is 40-49 hours/week.
Busiest Time of day?
It’s high intensity all day
Favorite Typefaces:
- Benton Sans (4)
- Brandon Grotesque (5)
- DIN (13)
- Freight Sans
- Meta (2)
- Omnes Pro
- Proxima Nova (6)
Culture
Music
Plays music for 40% of the day at a quiet volume.
Side Projects
ProjectFlow, Launch Effect, MixItUp, Seasons Shopify Theme, DPM Connect
42% of studios have side projects.
Biking to work
6
127 bikers across all studios
Pick your poison
Whisk(e)y
Overall Noise Level
Quiet
36% of studios are quiet