NEW YORK, 17 APRIL 2025 — 2x4 joins The Independents, adding design and brand strategy capabilities to the group.
c. Brigitte Lacombe
2x4 was founded in 1994 by Michael Rock, Susan Sellers, and Georgianna Stout on the premise that design has evolved to be a central organizing principle of contemporary life. For over three decades, the design studio has been expanding the potential of brand strategy, design, and activation for global clients in culture, art, fashion, luxury, business, and technology. This move integrates 2x4’s wide-ranging design practice into The Independents, one of the luxury world’s largest communications, experience, influence, and digital marketing groups.
2x4 is recognized as a perpetual creative innovator and, through extensive involvement in education, journalism, and criticism, a leading voice in design discourse. While the studio is known for long-term relationships with top luxury and lifestyle brands Prada, Miu Miu, Chanel Arts and Culture, and Ginori 1735, their expansive roster of clients includes industry leaders such as Apple, Google, Instagram, YouTube, JPMorganChase, Hyundai, Target, and MillerKnoll, to major cultural institutions such as Fondazione Prada, MoMA, LACMA, Triennale di Milano, Lincoln Center, and Fubon Art Museum, to long collaborations with architects Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Their work touches on all aspects of cultural and professional experience, bringing brand stories to the public through compelling design systems, activations, and experiences.
“We know that everything from business and politics to art, culture, and personal identity is actively shaped by design and branding. The future of branding will surely involve deeper engagements with diverse audiences, content creation, and tangible narrative experiences that make brand values tangible. We have always sought out opportunities to apply our methodology, rigorous thinking, and exuberant creativity to a wide range of challenges worldwide. We have been fortunate to work with the most inspiring thinkers and makers around the world to realize those opportunities in ways that expand the conventional notions of design. Joining The Independents is the next stage in decades of collaborations.” – Michael Rock, Founding Partner
“We first collaborated with Isabelle in Beijing over twenty years ago, and we have regularly worked with many of the other agencies in the group on complex assignments. As our business has grown and evolved over the years, the scale of our work has exploded. The kind of projects we take on now require teams of experts. Working with our partners in The Independents will allow us to tailor multi-discipline teams to take on any scale of challenge.” – Georgianna Stout, Founding Partner
“Joining The Independents represents a significant milestone and opportunity for our business. Our unique vision, philosophy, and methodology, honed over decades of practice, will remain in place. We are unwavering in our commitment to our incredible team and wonderful clients and running our studio with the values we built our business on – creativity, collaboration, fearlessness, and mutuality. The Independents share and support those values, and we look forward to working with a cohort of collaborators representing the top of the respective fields.” – Susan Sellers, Founding Partner
“We are excited to welcome the 2x4 team to The Independents . Their depth of knowledge and experience in brand strategy and design gained working with some of the most creative partners anywhere, will be an immeasurable asset to our collective. A deep understanding of brand dynamics undergirds every communication project so we anticipate they will assume a critical role in our constellation of businesses. And their wide experience working beyond luxury and lifestyle expands the range of our practice. We’re thrilled to have them on board.” – Isabelle Chouvet, CEO of The Independents.
2 x 4 adds new design and brand strategy services to strengthen the Group’s offering while The Independents’ wide network of expert entrepreneurs will enable the design agency to actualize more unparalleled, cross-cultural projects across the luxury, fashion and lifestyle industries.
For media enquiries:
Jael-Aaliyah Fowakes
jael-aaliyah.fowakes@the-independents.com
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENTS
The Independents is a global collective of groundbreaking creative partners bringing together 2x4, Atelier Athem, Atelier Lum, Bureau Béatrice, Bureau Betak & Bureau Future, Ctzar, Inca Productions, k2, Karla Otto, Kennedy, Kitten Production, Kitty Events, Lefty, Lucien Pagès Communication, Prodject, Sunshine, and The Qode. Providing
clients with end-to-end solutions to become key culture brands, the group aligns a global perspective with on-the-ground, local insights. As such, the collective is powerfully positioned to work across brand strategy and experience, communications, digital strategy, talent and entertainment, influencer marketing and analytics for leading brands across key markets, by way of its presence in Milan, Paris, London, Munich, Barcelona, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah. Since June 2023, The Independents Group is backed by Banijay Group and Towerbrook Capital Partners.
More information: www.the-independents.com