Designing How We Gather
kind of
Year
2025 - Present
Role
Co-founder & Creative Director
Focus
Experience Design
CAFE / DESIGNING THE SETTING
Creating a familiar, welcoming atmosphere that encouraged people to stay.
Inspired by the growing interest in apartment cafes, we wanted to recreate the familiarity of a home on a larger scale. We prioritized the atmosphere over convenience, choosing a venue that reflected the experience we imagined despite its less accessible location.
We initially introduced conversation prompts, but as the space filled, they became secondary, Guests stayed longer than expected, with many remaining until the event ended.
kind of began with a simple curiosity:
what if we created the kinds of gatherings we wanted to attend ourselves?
What started as an experiment in hosting became an ongoing exploration of social experiences. Across different formats and scales, we considered how the environment, activities, and interactions could influence the way people participate.
Rather than following a single formula, each gathering offered an opportunity to try something different, observe what happened, and carry those learnings forward.
WINE NIGHT / DESIGNING THE EXPERIENCE
Making a curated social experience feel special without being exclusive.
Inspired by intimate, highly curated brand dinners, we wanted to create an experience that felt special without requiring an exclusive invitation.
We transformed an open gallery through music, food, spatial arrangement, and a shared visual atmosphere. At entry, guests answered “What are you looking for?” on their name tags, introducing a personal intention to the evening.
Although many overlooked the instructions shared beforehand, the entry activity gave everyone a common starting point for participation.
BREAKFAST CLUB / DESIGNING THE INTERACTION
Using small interventions to make it easier for strangers to connect.
With limited time to organize another large gathering, we experimented with a smaller format that brought together people who largely didn’t know one another, many of whom were new to New York.
Rather than changing the diner itself, we focused on the social structure. We encouraged conversations beyond age and occupation, introduced light prompts, and rotated seating twice so guests could interact across the table.
The shared experience of being relatively new to the city helped people find common ground, while the structure created opportuntities to meet beyond their immediate neighbors.
Design doesn't create connection on its own, but it can create the conditions that support it.