An exhibit for the Aspen Ideas Festival by the Walton Family Foundation—an institution that believes the solutions to education’s deepest challenges live with the people closest to the work.

Imagine an education system that makes every teacher come alive.

The deepest aspiration of education is not only to ignite students’ potential—but to sustain the aliveness of those who guide them.

Yet this isn’t happening. We’re not even close.

Too often, we anchor the future of education in systems and policies, not in the people who carry its soul.

What we know for sure is this: We need teachers to come alive—now more than ever. And we need an education system designed to make that possible.

So we asked teachers: What brings you alive?

Studio Otto is an architecture firm in New York City that specializes in design that emerges naturally from the goals and lifestyle of their client. This commitment to personalized design ensures that every space they create is an intentional reflection of its inhabitants, combining functionality with an unmistakable, bespoke style.

Further is a monthly digital magazine about the things you love: culture, food, style, design, art, wellness, adventure, and the pure, unbridled joy of travel.

Paper Plane Studio developed the overall brand look and feel for Further—from the logo, color palette, typography, imagery style, print and website design.

There are as many definitions as there are forms of design. One useful definition is to focus on the outcome of design: To make something, someone, or some way of doing something—better. Better how? More joyful. More effective. More effortless. More gentle on mother earth. More useful. More usable. This list of ‘betters’ is long. Design is a noun—a better thing we made. But design is also a verb—the process of making something better: Envisioning what can be, and making it so.

Interactive poster series to accompany brainstorming work sessions for the Cooper Hewitt. A collaboration with Keith Yamashita.

Millennium School is an innovation lab exploring the intersection of Developmental Science and Adolescent Education in the heart of San Francisco. In partnership with professors from leading universities, Millennium is developing an integrated educational program based on neuroscience and developmental psychology.

Equipt Women is a Member-driven community for young professional women seeking early career and life momentum. They’ve curated decades of real-life experience into short bursts of interactive learning to provide foundational skills, coaching, and the ongoing support of an inclusive peer community.

Indr is a human-centered digital transformation platform that listens and engages with people and ecosystems, creating lasting benefits. We created a new brand for Indr, evoking the idea of transformation with a mix of human elements and ecosystems.

Can you connect more deeply with your neighbors? Even if you don’t always see eye to eye. Can you listen to them with compassion, not skepticism—with curiosity, even in the face of disagreements? When we are present with each other, we create space for empathy. And forgiveness. And infinite mutual possibility.

The One Conversation at a Time / Radical Conversation Kit

Brand identity system for Ritten Software.

Ritten delivers cutting-edge medical records software that helps clinicians and administrators provide personalized, data-informed care.

Brand identity system for GreenSpark. GreenSpark is building modern software for metal recyclers to help them streamline operations, save time and money, and scale their business with powerful, easy-to-use technology.

The Future Project is a growing national community of young people building the life and world they imagine. Paper Plane Studio designed a large-format brochure that showcased their project principles and mission. Posters and large-scale graphics were designed to adorn their offices in Manhattan.

CRE Income Fund is a commercial real estate investment fund designed to generate long-term capital appreciation.

The sound of The Genuine is flowing through you. Don’t be deceived and thrown off by all the noises that are a part even of your dreams, your ambitions, so that you don’t hear the sound of the genuine in you, because that is the only true guide that you will ever have, and if you don’t have that you don’t have a thing.

Identity system designed for The Genuine, including logo, photography and graphics library, typographic standards, color palette, and presentation templates.

Matter Together taps into the wise love—and sometimes confronting honesty—of some of the greatest partnerships of our lifetime: Friends. Business partners. Siblings. Romantic partners. Even partnerships with Mother Nature. What these relationships all have in common is that they show us how we can bring wonder into our lives—and the lives of many others through the partnerships we commit to, nurture, and shape. And it is through being together we can have a positive impact in, and on the world.

JELD-WEN has embodied the spirit of possibility since 1960 when five co-workers bought a small factory together and turned it into a global company. Over time, the company grew into new markets across four continents, driven by dynamic leaders and associates who were inspired to deliver high quality products that create a sense of home.

32-page brochure introducing their commitment to the environment, innovation, diversity and safety.

Burford is the world’s largest publicly traded provider of litigation finance and a major specialty finance provider to the legal industry. This Quarterly series was designed to showcase current industry topics and interviews with Burford experts around the world.

Climate change has reached an inflection point–now a topic of presidential debates, classroom discussions, and dinner conversations. Evidence of climate impacts make headline news every day.

With pressure from every side to take action on climate change, businesses no longer can treat it as a “check the box” item, complying with regulatory requirements and sweeping it into broad ESG initiatives. With a topic this complex, the question is where to start.

Plan C informs and guides business leaders so they can catalyze climate resiliency across their organizations.  We pinpoint areas of greatest threat, identify proactive strategies to mitigate impacts, and uncover opportunities.

HP’s vision is to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere — every person, every organization, and every community around the globe. Paper Plane Studio has worked with HP for over 18 years on various branding projects, including the worldwide event and tradeshow guidelines, and Creative Direction for high-profile events.

Paper Plane has worked with the TED Conference on various design projects for the last 15 years. Paper Plane had the honor of being the Creative Director for the 2010 conference—designing everything from badges, to speaker posters.

The origins of the logo can be dated back to the Ancient Egyptians. They originally used hieroglyphics to brand and identify their possessions, until in medieval times when graphic imagery such as coats of arms were used to distinguish between the statuses of different nobilities.

Paper Plane Studio specializes in identity design systems. The core element of that system is the logo, although the system around it creates the voice of the brand.

Oprah Winfrey's 'Live the Life You Want' tour embodies female empowerment and inspiration. This was designed as the official souvenir program for the touring event.

The Poster was one of the earliest forms of advertisement and began to develop as a medium for visual communication in the early 19th century. They influenced the development of typography because they were meant to be read from a distance and required larger type to be produced, usually from wood rather than metal. The poster quickly spread around the world and became a staple of the graphic design trade. Many artists as well, such as Henry Toulouse-Latrec and Henry van de Velde, created posters. 

They were used to promote various political parties, recruit soldiers, advertise products and spread ideas to the general public. The artists of the international typographic style of design believed that it was the most effective tool for communication and their contributions to the field of design arose from the effort to perfect the poster. Even with the popularity of the internet posters are still being created every single day for all sorts of reasons.

Paper Plane Studio has designed posters for clients including Spalding Gray, HP, XQ Project, The Future Project, and Ariba.

OLLY is the only apparel company that tailors each garment’s fit to the demands of the athletic activity. Paper Plane Studio designed everything for the brand, including the logo, photography library, garment patterns, packaging, and website.

XQ is a growing and passionate network of educators, students, families, and civic-minded citizens reimagining high school education in the United States. Paper Plane Studio designed the competition kit that was provided to students or educators to assist them in visualizing the school of the future. The kit consisted of posters, booklets, and interactive flashcards.

The Ariba Top Performer Event was a reward program for stellar employees. Each year, the event would take place in different regions, including Spain and Puerto Rico. Paper Plane Studio conceptualized and designed promotions to get employees excited about the event. Promotions included decks of cards, informative booklets about the destination, and posters for the Ariba offices.

Paper Plane Studio has designed books for publication, and also books for corporate clients. Clients include Chronicle Books, the Eames Foundation, Princeton University, the March of Dimes, Sapient, and Apple.

WMC represents and advises clients in a variety of areas, including business and financial disputes, negotiations and litigation with insurers, litigation concerning intellectual property and theft of trade secrets, whistleblower claims against government contractors, and complex judgment enforcement.

Information design is the practice of presenting information in a way that fosters efficient and effective understanding of it. The term has come to be used specifically for graphic design for displaying information effectively, rather than just attractively or for artistic expression. Information design is explanation design. It explains facts of the universe and leads to knowledge and informed action.