2x4 Design LLC is a multidisciplinary studio focused on brand strategy, design, and activation for cultural and commercial partners everywhere, based in New York and Beijing, and was founded by Michael Rock, Georgianna Stout and Susan Sellers. Their work is holistic, tracing a coherent narrative from research and strategy to integrated visual, linguistic, interactive, and spatial experiences. They are a member of The Independents, a global group of groundbreaking creative partners working across brand experience, strategy, design and production.
Michael Rock (Partner, Executive Creative Director) is a founding partner and executive creative director at 2x4, where he leads cultural and commercial strategy and brand projects for Apple, Nike, Prada, Chanel, Target, Vitra, JPMorganChase, Harvard Art Museums, and CCTV. He is an adjunct professor of Brand Strategy at the Yale School of Management and has held faculty positions at Rhode Island School of Design, Yale School of Art, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, The Netherlands. He currently serves on the board of trustees of Rhode Island School of Design. His writing on design, strategy, and branding has appeared in publications worldwide, notably The New York Times, T Magazine, Bloomberg, ID Magazine, and Eye Magazine. His book “Multiple Signatures” was published by Rizzoli International in 2013. Michael holds an A.B. in Humanities (Literature) from Union College and an M.F.A from Rhode Island School of Design. He received the 1999/2000 Rome Prize in Design from the American Academy in Rome and was a resident of the Academy in 2023.
Georgianna Stout (Partner, Executive Creative Director) is a founding partner and executive creative director at 2x4, where she leads projects across the cultural and commercial sectors, from large-scale brand identity and packaging programs to retail and corporate environment and digital-experience programs. She has led brand identity and exhibition design for Cooper Hewitt, Brooklyn Museum, Dia Art Foundation, The Clark, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, and directed product development for Knoll, Maharam, and Tarkett. Her clients include Target, Starbucks, Instagram, Nike, Tiffany & Co., Intuit, Hyundai Motor Group, Tom Ford, and Malin + Goetz. She has been a visiting critic at Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, MICA, The Cooper Hewitt, and Yale School of Art. She holds a B.F.A from Rhode Island School of Design.
Susan Sellers (Partner, Executive Creative Director) is a founding partner and executive creative director at 2x4, where she leads projects across the cultural and commercial sectors, from brand strategy and identity to brand experience and exhibition design. Her clients include Samsung, Hyundai, Google, Lincoln Center, and the Fondazione Prada. From 2012 to 2016, Susan was head of design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she led design initiatives across the museum from brand identity and visitor experience to exhibition design and permanent gallery installation. A senior design critic at Yale School of Art, she has taught and lectured widely, including at Rhode Island School of Design; Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; SCI-ARC; Harvard Graduate School of Design; and the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy. Susan is on the board of the art and technology magazine Triple Canopy and on the advisory board of The World Around, an incubator dedicated to sustainability and new forms of architecture and design practice. She holds a B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design and an M.A. in American Studies from Yale University. In 2023, she was a resident at the American Academy in Rome.
