Hyperakt
About
Studio Size
Medium (6-20)
Year founded
2001
Borough
Brooklyn
Studio Bio/Philosophy
Hyperakt is a Brooklyn design studio with a passion for creating work that effects change in the world around us: meaningful design for the common good. We work with clients who fight for justice, celebrate culture and diversity, spread knowledge and engage in social entrepreneurship.
The Team
Hyperakt has 10 people. Of those, 2 are studio heads and 2 are managerial.
24% of studios are medium-sized (6-20 people).
Gender Breakdown
40% male
60% female
Average height
5’7”-5’9”
Shortest: 5’1”
Tallest: 6’3”
Average age
26-30
Youngest: 21
Oldest: 36
Number of freelancers/year
1-5
1-5 are long-term freelancers
Number of interns/year
1-2
Average: 1-2
Studio Disciplines
Breakdown of Work
Number of studio projects
76–100
Pro-bono projects
1–5
Strategy/Execution
50% Strategy
50% Execution
Primary Specialties
- Art Direction (58)
- Brand Strategy (42)
- Branding & Identity (77)
- Environmental Design (38)
- Exhibition Design (33)
- Illustration (45)
- Information Graphics (41)
- Interaction Design (36)
- Motion (29)
- Packaging (45)
- Print (75)
- Product (23)
- Web Design (59)
Outside the scope of the studio
- Industrial Design (35)
- Mobile Design (16)
- Typeface Design (20)
- Web Development (43)
Clients’ Industries
- Education (40)
- Healthcare (18)
- Local & community organizations (41)
- Sports (22)
- Technology (37)
- The Arts/Cultural Institutions (71)
Hyperakt’s Clients
- Adobe (3)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- George Washington University School of Business
- Girl Scouts
- Good Magazine (3)
- Google (14)
- IBM (2)
- Johnson & Johnson (4)
- NBC (2)
- Sesame Street
- TED (4)
- The Ford Foundation (2)
- unicef (2)
- University of Pennsylvania
Deroy Peraza, Co-Founder/Creative Director
Demographics
Age 35, Male, from La Habana, Cuba, now lives in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY. Formal education is undergraduate degree, primary design education is mentor (John Blackford).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
Charles & Ray Eames, Massimo Vignelli, Lance Wyman, Paul Rand, Stanley Kubrik, The Beatles, the city of Barcelona, Rem Koolhaas, Paula Scher, Otl Archer, Steve Jobs, Saul Bass, Otto Neurath, Erik Nitsche, Cassandre, Raymond Loewy
Years in Design Industry
13 years
Average: 17 years
Industry before design
Rubber Stamp Salesman
Teaching Design
- Parsons The New School for Design — 4 years
Board Member on Professional Design Organizations
- AIGA — 5 years
- AIA — 1 years
Time spent designing
30% actual
50% desired
Julia Vakser Zeltser, Co-Founder/Creative Director
Demographics
Age 35, Female, from kharkov, Ukraine, now lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. Formal education is undergraduate degree, primary design education is school (Parsons School of Design).
What’s been the biggest influence on your design career?
Being in NYC has had a huge impact on me as a designer. Where else can one be exposed to such diverse art scene -- museums, street art, and art community? While professionally I have been inspired by the clean and modern aesthetic of Massimo Vignelli, Saul Bass, Paul Rand, and most of Swiss graphic design, it's the experimental, ever-changing design work by graphic designers and design agencies such as Milton Glaser, Sagmeister & Walsh, Marian Bantjes, Studio Dumbar and Wolff Ollins that excites me most.
Years in Design Industry
15 years
Time spent designing
50% actual
50% desired
Location
The Space
The studio is about 1200 square feet. It’s rented and they’ve been there for 8 years.
Number of times moved
1
Total people in space
10
Amenities
- Bike storage (26)
- Cleaning service (44)
- Coffee maker (53)
- Dishwasher (24)
- Espresso machine (23)
- Free booze (28)
- Free drinks (27)
- Free snacks (27)
- Freezer (43)
- Garden (8)
- Library/book collection (67)
- Photo/video equipment (45)
- Private bathrooms (34)
- Whiteboard (23)
Number of conference rooms
2
Client meetings held in studio: Approximately half
Number of plants
26+
Type of chair
Herman Miller, SAYL
Decorations
Books and bookshelves, Our friends' artwork, Our work, Process materials for ongoing projects
Desk Policy
To each their own: some keep their desks tidy, while others like it messier.
Space Satisfaction
We love it, it’s perfect
Working Days
Working week
The work week is 40-49 hours/week, core hours are 9:30-6:00, with the first in at 9:30am and the last out at 7:00pm.
50% of studios work 40-49 hours/week.
The average is 40-49 hours/week.
Paid Vacation
11-15 days
41% of studios in this range
Paid Holidays
14 days
Average: 7
Work Weekends?
Never
Take Summer Fridays?
No
Busiest Time of day?
Afternoon
Favorite Typefaces:
- Akzidenz-Grotesk (13)
- Antenna
- Brauer Neue
- Chevin
- Flama
- Futura (12)
- Gotham (17)
- Helvetica (10)
- Knockout (10)
- Omnes
- Soho
- Trade Gothic (14)
Culture
Music
Plays music for 70% of the day at an average volume. Currently obsessed with Daft Punk, The National, and most played over the last year is Beach House, The Shins, Edward Sharpe, Jack White, Yeasayer, Dirty Projectors, Phoenix.
Side Projects
Lunch Talks, Neighborwoods, Champions Ring, Smidge Co., Refugee Project, Local Character, Nite Flix
42% of studios have side projects.
Biking to work
0
127 bikers across all studios
Pick your poison
Beer
Overall Noise Level
Average
59% of studios are average
Working groups
Work from home?
Once a month
Encourage freelance work?
Yes
Internal studio meetings
A couple times/week
Lunch Habits
Eats in small groups
Favorite delivery/take-out: Nectar, Court St. Grocers, Smith Canteen, Avlee
Eat out for lunch?
Once a week
Favorite sit-down lunch: Frankie's
Critiquing Process
Studio Outings
Attend conferences, Day trips to museums, Dinner, Drinks after work, Weekend trips, Birthday Lunches
Favorite Place(s): Frankie's