Design for a Better Experience.

About us

At Two Twelve, we believe in the motto: “Good Design for the Public Good.” Since 1980, our wayfinding has provided information that is accessible to people of all demographics — considering age, ethnicity, cognitive or physical capabilities — to make navigating complex places easier.
Through consensus-building and collaboration, we design public information signage systems that are logical and intuitive. Our systems are easy to access and culturally attuned to their contexts. Each one conveys consistent and accurate information, improving movement in spaces and situations, today and into the future.
It’s what we call Design for a Better Experience℠.
As a minority- and woman-owned agency based in New York City and Honolulu, we’re committed to continuing to make diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do—from how we approach information design to how we build our team. Join us.

Our Approach

Our wayfinding considers people first. We examine the where, when, and how people need information to successfully navigate a place before creating our strategies and designs.
As part of our process, we consider the cultural context of every project. With a deep understanding of Hawaiian values, worldview, and knowledge systems, CEO and Managing Director Ann Harakawa prioritizes incorporating multicultural approaches to information design whenever possible.
At every step, we prioritize technology-driven solutions that are adaptive to the way people orient themselves. From digital signs to app integrations, our clients receive digital toolkits that are innovative, future-minded, and utilize the mediums the public uses to discover information today — all so diverse communities can self-navigate to their intended destinations.
clients
392
Projects
2962
Sectors
10

Our history


When Two Twelve was established in 1980 at Yale University, the alma mater of the founding partners David Gibson, Juanita Dugdale, Sylvia Woodard and also our current Managing Director and CEO Ann Harakawa,  the world of graphic design was in its formative years, and Yale was the epicenter. The birthplace of graphic design as we know it today, Yale’s program generated the movement to visually design the presentation of information for clarity and depth of understanding. Influenced by instructors including Paul Rand, Walker Evans, Bradbury Thompson, Armin Hoffman, Norman Ives, among others, the program shaped Ann and David as designers. 

Wayfinding as a discipline and widely used terminology – the combination of where, when and how people want and need information to navigate places – evolved out of David’s background in both architecture and graphic design. Ann’s approach to wayfinding is influenced by growing up in Hawaii, and her education in both the fine arts and graphic design. Her work on pivotal infrastructure projects, both in New York City and Hawaii, has supported the accessibility of information across demographics, illuminating the voices of indigenous cultures and enriching a person’s experience of a place.

Currently under Ann’s leadership, this foundation continues to guide our projects and practice as the need for wayfinding evolves and increases. In remaining curious and resilient, Two Twelve continues to  thrive across the worlds of education, transportation, healthcare, corporate and culture. 
Two Twelve Founders, David Gibson, Juanita Dugdale, Sylvia Woodard (above, left), Wreckage from Two Twelve's former studio after 9/11 (above, right, and bottom).