The People

Ann is the driving vision behind Two Twelve. Since 1994, she has helped build the practice into a multidisciplinary wayfinding agency with a reputation for simplifying complex, large-scale projects for clients across the arts, architecture, education, transportation, government, and sports.

Ann leads with the conviction that wayfinding democratizes information, and that good design is always inclusive. This ethos permeates the entire culture of Two Twelve, where she encourages the team to improve and iterate on their work to create better brand experiences through information design for clients including the NFL, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and LACMA.

Ann’s wayfinding strategies, masterplans, and environmental graphics have guided millions throughout New York City and the United States. Her work has touched iconic New York City landmarks and destinations like Citi Field, Grand Central Terminal, and the Empire State Building. She has developed large-scale communication and wayfinding master-plan initiatives for events such as the NYC2012 Olympic Bid and for entities including Bloomberg L.P., Goldman Sachs, and NYU Langone Medical Center.

Originally born on the island of O‘ahu, Ann expanded Two Twelve to Hawai‘i in 2017. Her personal connection has resulted in fruitful partnerships that bridge Hawai‘i’s history with modern communication, where the past is present in everyday design. She directed the development of wayfinding guidelines for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) Honolulu Rail Transit Project, Howard Hughes’ Ward Village, The Queen’s Medical Center, and the standards for the University of Hawai‘i’s Hilo Campus.

A keen tennis player and surfer, most early mornings Ann can be found hitting on the courts in Brooklyn or surfing dawn patrol on O‘ahu’s South Shore looking for a long right.

Sooraya keeps Two Twelve in motion. As COO, she connects creative, client services, finance, HR, and legal to ensure Two Twelve’s business operations and projects run methodically. 

Originally from Guyana, Sooraya is passionate about bringing diversity into the organization. She helps hire talent of all ethnicities, genders, capabilities, and skill sets with the understanding that having a wide variety of perspectives and experiences on the team ultimately enriches the work. By embracing this diversity in background and thinking, Two Twelve is able to make better informed and innovative decisions, which in turn drive greater success and forward momentum for the agency and its clients.

Sooraya joined Two Twelve as COO in 2017. Prior to that, she spent 15 years in the fashion world overseeing financial operations for major magazines. She spends her free time walking New York’s many public parks and teaching her daughter the tradition of cooking meals from scratch at home.

Sharmi designs better, less stressful human experiences. She believes design is about problem solving. And that navigating people through complicated places in a way that is both user-centric and captures the client’s brand is the ultimate problem-solving challenge. 

In her three decade career, she has consistently pushed herself and her teams to deliver outstanding work that expands the possibilities of wayfinding design. Her clients respect and value her partnership-first approach: she employs deep listening to understand their vision and pain points, guiding them from point A (idea) to point B (reality) in an easy, collaborative manner. 

Sharmi works with many industries including medicine, the arts, culture, and development. She has led projects for institutions like Drexel School of Medicine, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Downtown Brooklyn Cultural Alliance, Howard Hughes, Hawaii Health Systems Kaua‘i, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

Sharmi joined Two Twelve in 2009, advancing from Senior Designer to Associate Creative Director in 2016 and Creative Director in 2019. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling abroad and making her way through foreign places.

Ben designs for all people. He creates with an inclusivity-first point of view that considers people’s emotional, mental, and physical needs to make places and information more accessible to everyone. 

His focus on accessibility is inspired by his father, Roger Whitehouse, an accomplished environmental designer with a colorblind disability who championed inclusivity in design in the 1990s. In honor of his family legacy, Ben helped author the latest SEGD whitepaper on the ADA in 2012. 

Ben’s multi-perspective thinking makes him a flexible, collaborative partner for clients. He adopts a beginner’s mindset to absorb and understand the project’s needs and encourages his team to try new things and speak up because “good ideas come from every direction.”

Ben’s projects reflect his voracious curiosity about various industries and include the NFL, the YMCA of Greater New York, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Mass General Brigham, Partners Health, Amtrak, Delta, Cincinnati Museum Center, New York University, Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and Worthless Studios.  

Ben joined Two Twelve as Associate Creative Director in 2016, becoming Creative Director in 2021. He loves tinkering with new technologies, being a jack of all trades, and indulging his two daughters in exploring their creative interests.

Andy believes in designing for the greater good. His personal philosophy aligns with wayfinding’s principles since everyone needs to navigate their daily lives — and doing so with less stress, frustration, and confusion is a universal need.

As a leader, Andy values collaboration and dialogue to create more human-centric outcomes. He instills a sense of ownership in his team so each member is personally invested throughout the design process. With his clients, he’s adept at managing the complexities of large-scale projects. He works with robust teams, disciplinary experts, and multiple stakeholders to deliver wayfinding strategies that synthesize their individual visions into a cohesive and easy-to-implement system. 

His industry-agnostic projects include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, SUNY Cobleskill, New York City Ballet, The Santa Fe Opera, Rhode Island School of Design, Jefferson Health, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Dubai Mall Parking Garage, Princeton University, University of Connecticut. 

Andy joined Two Twelve in 2006, advancing from Designer to Senior Designer in 2012, Associate Creative Director in 2019, and Creative Director in 2022. A big time foodie, Andy often seeks out the latest pastry shops in search of the best viennoiserie and enjoys exploring the architecture of Brooklyn neighborhoods on bike.