Base
About
Studio Size
Medium (6-20)
Year founded
1999
Borough
Manhattan
Studio Bio/Philosophy
Base creates brand solutions using strategy, creativity, and innovation. We specialize in not specializing. Any industry, discipline, or media. With studios in New York, Brussels, Santiago and Geneva, we are an expanding international network that partners with best-in-class collaborators to make the complex simple and the informative entertaining.
Elsewhere
The Team
Base has 7 people. Of those, 2 are studio heads and 2 are managerial.
24% of studios are medium-sized (6-20 people).
Gender Breakdown
57% male
43% female
Average height
5’7”-5’9”
Shortest: 5’3”
Tallest: 6’6”
Average age
30-35
Youngest: 27
Oldest: 43
Number of freelancers/year
1-5
Number of interns/year
11+
Average: 1-2
Studio Disciplines
Breakdown of Work
Number of studio projects
26–50
Pro-bono projects
1–5
Strategy/Execution
35% Strategy
65% Execution
Primary Specialties
- Art Direction (58)
- Brand Strategy (42)
- Branding & Identity (77)
- Broadcast Graphics (18)
- Editorial/Publication Design (51)
- Environmental Design (38)
- Exhibition Design (33)
- Experience Design (33)
- Interaction Design (36)
- Mobile Design (30)
- Packaging (45)
- Print (75)
- Web Design (59)
- Web Development (25)
Outside the scope of the studio
- Illustration (18)
- Industrial Design (35)
- Motion (35)
- Product (18)
- Sound Design (49)
- Typeface Design (20)
Clients’ Industries
- Education (40)
- Fashion (45)
- Local & community organizations (41)
- Products (32)
- Restaurants & Food (29)
- Retail (43)
- Technology (37)
- The Arts/Cultural Institutions (71)
Biggest Competition
Time
Base’s Clients
- Chanel
- Children's Museum of the Arts
- City of NY
- Common Bond
- Fleur du Mal
- French Embassy in the US
- Haus der Kunst
- Kanye West (2)
- Kiki de Montparnasse
- Le Pain Quotidien
- Milk Studios
- Museum of the Olympics
- Neuehouse
- Pantone
- Wellesley College
Geoffrey Cook, Partner
Demographics
Age 43, Male, from Strafford, PA, US, now lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY. Formal education is undergraduate degree, primary design education is self-taught.
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
Prior to Base, Geoff was at DKNY from 1992-1998 as Director of DKNY International Menswear, a combination of sales, marketing, store openings…It was a huge influence on his career in that:
- He met his current partners through DKNY.
- Of the five partners, he is today the lead on marketing and strategy for Base's clients, both of which tie back to his roots at DKNY
- It gave him an in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry, one of the key sectors in which Base operates.
- He had enormous international exposure (spent more than 50% of his time traveling overseas) which directly influenced the decision for Base to expand with small offices globally as opposed to vertically in one location.
Years in Design Industry
13 years
Average: 17 years
Industry before design
Director of DKNY International Menswear at Donna Karan
Previous Design Employment
- DKNY
Time spent designing
10% actual
10% desired
Min Lew, Partner
Demographics
Age 34, Female, from Seoul, South Korea, now lives in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, NY. Formal education is graduate degree, primary design education is school (Yale MFA in Graphic Design).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
Min was at BIG (Ogilvy Brand Integration Group). Her time there influenced her career in that at BIG she was the designer but realized she wanted to have her hands on the business as a whole. Meaning how to run a design business, develop strategies, conduct meetings with clients, and more. She yearned to have a more holistic experience. This led her to Base.
Years in Design Industry
12 years
Previous Design Employment
- Ogilvy (Brand Integration Group) (2)
Board Member on Professional Design Organizations
- AIGA — 2 years
Time spent designing
50% actual
50% desired
Location
Brussels
Belgium
Geneva
Switzerland
Santiago
Chile
The Space
The studio is about 3200 square feet. It’s rented and they’ve been there for 12 years. They share a space with 3 other companies/individuals.
Approximately 178 square feet/person. The average is 210 square feet/person.
37% of studios share a space.
Number of times moved
1
Total people in space
18
Base: 7, Other: 11
Other businesses in the space
- Web development
Amenities
- Cleaning service (44)
- Coffee maker (53)
- Elevator (54)
- Free booze (28)
- Freezer (43)
- Library/book collection (67)
- Private bathrooms (34)
Number of conference rooms
0
Client meetings held in studio: Approximately half
Number of plants
6-10
Type of chair
Ghetto Office Max-style
Decorations
Books and bookshelves, Our work, Photos, Process materials for ongoing projects, "Posterity" poster, A blonde wig, Left over tape
Desk Policy
To each their own: some keep their desks tidy, while others like it messier.
Space Satisfaction
We like it, but plan to make some changes to the space
Working Days
Working week
The work week is 50-59 hours/week, core hours are 9:30-7:00, with the first in at 8:30am and the last out at 8:00pm.
31% of studios work 50-59 hours/week.
The average is 40-49 hours/week.
Paid Vacation
11-15 days
41% of studios in this range
Paid Holidays
9 days
Average: 7
Work Weekends?
Once a month
Take Summer Fridays?
No
Busiest Time of day?
It’s high intensity all day
Favorite Typefaces:
- Austin (3)
- Baseville Bold
- Brown (4)
- Helvetica / Helvetica Neue (14)
Culture
Music
Plays music for 90% of the day at an average volume. Currently obsessed with Fresh out of the box alternative, and most played over the last year is Bon Iver or Phoenix.
Biking to work
3
127 bikers across all studios
Pick your poison
Beer
Overall Noise Level
Loud
4% of studios are loud
Working groups
Encourage freelance work?
Indifferent
Internal studio meetings
A couple times/week
Lunch Habits
Eats in small groups
Favorite delivery/take-out: Smile To Go
Eat out for lunch?
Once a week
Favorite sit-down lunch: Thai Angel
Critiquing Process
Studio Outings
Drinks after work
Favorite Place(s): The Room, Soho