Thought Matter

Thought Matter invites you to leave your apartment, ignore your screen time report, and briefly interact with other human beings. Good Neighbor: Terms & Conditions is an open studio party about the weird systems shaping how we connect, avoid, watch, support, mute, scroll past, and occasionally acknowledge each other. Come by for drinks, music, and questions about what it means to be a good neighbor now. Link in bio. Good Neighbor: Terms & Conditions Thought Matter 19 West 24th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10010 Thursday, May 14, 6 PM — 9 PM

Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. We’re opening our doors once again to party with y’all for NYCxDESIGN Festival. Whether you come for the party or the unexpected, you won’t leave disappointed. Open bar, live DJ, surprises we won’t spoil, and a few hundred of your future neighbors. Good Neighbor: Terms & Conditions — May 14, 6–9PM. You don’t want to miss this one. Link in bio.

Come party with us. Thursday, May 14, Thought Matter is turning our studio into a night of drinks, music, and surprises we won’t yet reveal. Explore with us what it means to be a good neighbor. Link in bio.

“Design Connects Us” is this year’s @nycxdesign Festival theme. We have questions about that. The terms of connection are designed. How we show up for one another is what connects us. That’s why we’re opening our studio on Thursday, May 14 for a night of music, conversation, and a few drinks with our neighbors — the ones down the street and the ones in our feeds. Bring your friends. RSVP link in bio. Good Neighbor: Terms & Conditions Thought Matter 19 West 24th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10010 Thursday, May 14 6 PM — 9 PM

Port Richmond Avenue (@togetheronport ) has a new identity. Evelin Caballero Omaña is the force behind it. The identity was developed through the @van_alen District Design Fellowship with @lacolmenanyc , alongside @thisis_org and our team at Thought Matter. Small businesses are the backbone of New York. This identity is designed to support them, giving the corridor a shared language that builds visibility, pride, and foot traffic. At the center is a butterfly, a symbol of migration and resilience and a reflection of the immigrant communities behind these storefronts. We’re proud to be part of bringing it to life. More soon.

On May 14, join us for our annual @nycxdesign Festival event: 

Good Neighbor: Terms & Conditions What does it mean to be a neighbor right now, to connect or to keep your distance? We’re looking at the systems shaping how we live next to each other: some visible, some not. It will be a night of connection, isolation, and everything in between. Watch out for your neighbor. Register today. Link in bio.

This year, we were awarded the @cooperhewitt National Design Award for Communication Design. It’s an honor that reflects a decade-long, wide-ranging body of work, including partnerships with BIDs, Chambers of Commerce, and place-based nonprofits to help communities show up and feel seen. From brand identities for @lowereastnyc ’s @100gatesproject and @downtownsinyc , to campaigns for @licqns and @visitstatenisland to serving as agency of record for the @timessquarenyc and @unionsquareny , our work spans identity, activation, programs, events, and the everyday touch points that bring places to life. Included in this work is Chinatown Studio — @thinkchinatown ’s intergenerational space — where we developed an identity rooted in preserving and evolving neighborhood heritage. What connects all of this work is a deep belief that strong, thoughtful, community-relevant design is a key driver of economic vitality, cultural expression, and civic pride.

A decade of building, questioning, and reimagining what a creative studio can be. @jessiejmcguire , our Managing Partner, joins the @creativeboom podcast to reflect on Thought Matter’s journey, and why imagination isn’t just a spark, but also a tool. One that shapes culture, shifts behavior, and challenges power, even when it requires pushing through discomfort. Listen via the link in bio.

You are being watched. By design. As more of daily life is mediated through tools that track, guide, and influence behavior, surveillance doesn’t just operate in the background. It’s something we experience everyday. This Friday, we’re sharing Seen / Unseen at @prattinstitute ’s Research Open House, part of an ongoing body of work examining how communication design shapes surveillance, safety, and trust. Developed alongside our Ascenders (emerging designers from Pratt Institute and FIT) this work reflects how we think about practice, education, and shared authorship. If design has a civic role, this is one place it shows up. April 17 · 1–5 PM Pratt Institute Research Yard, Brooklyn Navy Yard Free and open to the public.

Design has long made power look inevitable. Our Managing Partner, @jessiejmcguire , argues it’s time to make power visible instead — and that ethical systems can’t be designed to depend on ethical people. Read her essay in @designobserver via the link in bio.

🔴 My Life in Design with @jessiejmcguire 🔥💥🔴 Jessie McGuire is Managing Partner at design & creative studio @thoughtmatter . This year’s winner of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Communication Design. She’s known for her ability to balance bold creative thinking with real commercial impact. With a career spanning leading studios and global brands, she has built a reputation for delivering work that is not only beautifully crafted, but effective. 🎤 In this episode, Jessie shares her journey into design — from finding her way into the industry to building a career that hasn’t followed a traditional path 🔥 🎤 She talks about the reality of creative work today — why design can’t just look good, it has to work, and how to navigate the tension between creativity and commercial success 💥 🎤 She also discusses leadership in creative environments, the importance of knowing when to push and when to listen, and why the value of design is often only recognised in hindsight 🙌 🔴 My Life in Design is a collaboration between design focused PR agency Red Setter and the Design Business Association (@designbusinessassociation ), hosted by our very own design champion @clairelblyth 🙌 🎧 LISTEN, DOWNLOAD & SHARE >>> from wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio) 🎥 And discover our new YouTube channel 👀 #mylifeindesign #branddesign #podcast #designer #design @cooperhewitt

Huge congratulations to Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, co-director of our client and collaborators @streetvendorproject , who has been appointed by @nycmayor , to lead the newly created Office of Street Vendor Services. Her years of leadership, organizing, policy work, and advocacy are paying off in real, structural change for the city’s 20,000+ vendors. We’ve had the honor of working alongside Carina and SVP over the past few years, and we’re so excited to see what she continues to make possible for NYC and its vendors. Tonight, Street Vendor Project is also kicking off SVP25, its 25th anniversary campaign, with a logo we designed. Join them from 6–9pm at the Museum of Food and Drink @mofad in Brooklyn for an evening of vendor food, wine, and the unveiling of a new wall at their Street Food City exhibition.