∨ about us
∨ our work

Studio Kudos: Design Partners is dedicated to helping you negotiate all means of communicating with your audiences—in print, on the web or with live environments. We are an intercultural team based in NYC. Our studio can translate the goals, mission and values of your business visually and with purpose. We begin by understanding the context of your world—internal goals, competition and audiences—then we translate those ideas into physical and virtual spaces that communicate clearly and with intent.

RECENT PROJECTS
→ GoalMine (teaser)
→ Sotheby's, Collection of Patricia Kluge
→ Sotheby's at Sudeley Castle
→ Casa/Brutus Magazine
→ Mark Borghi Fine Art

RECENT NEWS
→ John Kudos is mentioned in Brain ブレーン magazine, in an article "NEW CREATOR in the world"
→ John Kudos Online Exhibition at DGI-Indonesia
→ Yuka Suzuki business card is included in the book "NICE TO MEET YOU TOO
→ John Kudos' commentary on the state of graphic design in Indonesia
→ Candy Stripe '08 Wrapping Paper will be featured in the Tokyo TDC Annual Book 2010

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∧ our studio
∨ our work

We are enthusiastic to collaborate with clients and colleagues who see the value of our experiences in bringing meaning to the design solutions that engage them, their constituents and customers. Our clients work directly with a design partner to reach their long-term strategic goals.

Prior to founding Studio Kudos in 2008, John Kudos was a designer at Pentagram, where he managed various art, cultural and institutional projects during his seven-year tenure. He is one of the recipients of the Art Directors Club's Young Guns 6 in 2008 and was named an emerging design talent by STEP Inside Design magazine in 2006. He is the founder and designer of Splotch, an online art and culture publication that was awarded a silver medal by the Society of Publication Designers in 2005. John holds a BFA in Graphic Design with Digital Media Concentration from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He is a regular guest critic at SVA, The New School, and Cornell University. John’s work has been recognized by the Webby Awards, D&AD, the Society of Publications Designers, the Type Directors Club, AIGA, Graphis, Print Regional Design Annual, I.D. Annual Design Review, Communication Arts, Black Book AR100, and the New York Book Show. John spends his free-time on self-initiated art and design projects.

Kiki Katahira, co-founder of Studio Kudos, was previously a designer at 2x4 in New York, where she managed projects for art, architecture, fashion and cultural clients worldwide. Prior to 2x4, she worked with Stefan Sagmeister and Harry N. Abrams. Kiki holds an MFA in Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York and a BFA in Visual Communications Design from Osaka University of Art in Japan. She was featured in HOW magazine’s “Five Fresh Designers to Watch” in 2004 and was mentioned in high regards in Print Magazine’s Regional Design Annual from the same year. In 2002, she came in first place in the Adobe Design Achievement Award. Kiki’s work has received design awards from the Art Directors Club, the Tokyo Type Directors Club, the New York Type Directors Club and Communication Arts.

CLIENTS LIST
Agua Brasil, BossSounds, Casa/Brutus Magazine (Japan), Element Markets, EX-sport (Indonesia), FreeState (UK), Gion, Gratio Capital, Guggenheim Foundation, Idea-Sandbox, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, Julie Soefer Photography, Mark Borghi Fine Art, Macy’s Merchandising Group, Metropolis Magazine, Mobi3, MoMA, NYC Waterfalls, Princeton University Art Museum, Steuben Glass, Sotheby’s

WRITINGS & INTERVIEWS
→ John Kudos' commentary on the state of graphic design in Indonesia, March 2010
→ New Design Magazine (China), April 2009
→ Video Interview Designing Minds: ADC Young Guns 6, January 2009
→ Interview by Frames Magazine, Number Two, December 2008

MENTIONS & SIGHTINGS
→ Marjorie Strider's painting from MBFA is one of the highlights in the Armory Show, March 2010
→ Candy Stripe '08 Wrapping Paper will be featured in the Tokyo TDC Annual Book 2010
→ LA Weekly: Mercedes Matter book is "impressively unwieldly", Feb 2010
→ ArtNet: Mercedes Matter book is "curiously unwieldly", Nov 2009
→ Cooper Union building signage (progress) in New York Times.
→ Studio Kudos Identity featured in Tokyo TDC '09 Exhibition (DDD Gallery)
→ Guggenheim Foundation's website awarded best cultural institution by webby awards, May 2009
→ Superheroes book is a winner of AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers 2009
→ Superheroes book is featured in Creative Review May 09
→ This Is Newark Public Discussion, May 6, 2009
→ Sotheby's E-Catalogue praised in NYTimes, May 2009
→ Sotheby's E-Catalogue praised in Art Observations, April 2009
→ MoMA's Joan Miro online exhibition is praised in Modern Art Notes, March 2009
→ This is Newark Design Workshop, Columbia University, December 7, 2008
→ Lecture: Graphic Design, Typography and Space, Cornell University, October 8, 2008
→ Exhibition: Art Directors Club Young Guns 6, September 5-18, 2008
→ Lecture: Adobe Presents the Backstory: ADC Young Guns Live, September 18, 2008
→ Award: Superheroes book is featured in Type Directors Club 54 and Communication Arts Design Annual 49
→ Award: Studio Kudos identity is featured in Tokyo Type Directors Club 2009, Type Directors Club 54 and Print’s Regional Annual 2008
→ Award: Kiki Smith Press Kit is featured in Print Magazine’s Regional Design Annual 2008