The Independents Group Acquires Design Studio 2×4

2×4, the renowned New York and Beijing-based design studio, joins forces with leading international communications group The Independents

18th April 2025: 2×4 was founded in 1994 by Michael Rock, Susan Sellers, and Georgianna Stout on the premise that branding 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 2×4's wide-ranging design practice into The Independents, one of the luxury world's largest communications, experience, influence, and digital marketing groups.

2×4 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, ACMAT, Triennale di Milano, Lincoln Center, and Fubon Art Museum, to long collaborations with architects Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Diller Scofido Renfro. Their work touches on an aspect of cultural and professional experience, bringing brand stories to the public through compelling design systems, activations, and experiences.

"2×4 is singular: a sophisticated, ambitious design studio with an integrated strategy practice and an innovative spatial team. For us, design is a form of thinking that alternates continuously between research and expression. The result is a powerful merger of logic and creativity - a cross brand, technology, content, and space -producing enduring, compelling, and purposeful work." - Susan Sellers, Founding Partner

"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 and Olivier (Chouvet of The Independents) 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 2×4 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.