To mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Museum of the City of New York opened The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution in May 2026. The exhibition explores how New York’s diverse population—from revolutionaries and loyalists to enslaved and free Black New Yorkers and Native peoples—shaped the events that gave rise to a new nation.

Through a dynamic mix of historical artifacts, interactive media, and immersive environments, visitors are transported into Revolutionary-era New York, where objects from MCNY’s collection help illuminate the city’s complex and contested past.

KUDOS was commissioned to create “The Toppling of King George III at Bowling Green,” an interactive multimedia installation that reimagines one of the Revolution’s most iconic acts of defiance. Visitors are invited to grasp a pair of hemp ropes and work together to pull down the 4,000-pound statue of King George III, channeling the collective energy of the Sons of Liberty. The statue was later melted down in Connecticut and repurposed into musket balls for the revolutionary cause.

This multimedia installation exceeded our expectations… allowing visitors to experience and understand what the symbolic act meant for the revolutionary people who lived through this time by asking them to work and embody the effort and passion of the Sons of Liberty.

Emerging directly from the gallery wall, the ropes align seamlessly with projected visuals already tied to the statue, blurring the boundary between physical and digital space. Behind the scenes, a custom digitally encoded pulley system generates haptic feedback, allowing visitors to feel the weight and resistance of the monument as they pull.

Because no known visual records of the original statue survive, KUDOS also developed a historically informed digital reconstruction. The team digitized an existing interpretive sculpture of King George III and further refined the model using archival descriptions and historical references to create the most accurate representation possible for the installation.

The exhibition was developed in partnership with the Gotham Center for New York City History.

Shaun Leonardo is a Brooklyn-based artist from Queens, New York, whose work has been featured at the Guggenheim, the High Line, and the New Museum, and profiled by The New York Times and CNN. Leonardo engaged KUDOS to design his website. 

During the design process, our collaboration with Shaun focused on effectively showcasing the complex nature of his artworks. This resulted in a design solution that allowed users to navigate seamlessly through filtered timelines and body of works, ensuring both visual appeal and user-friendly functionality. In addition to its filtering feature, the website serves as a comprehensive source for Shaun’s extensive archive of lectures, keynotes, writings, press releases, and interviews, all thoughtfully organized in a visually polished layout.

View shaunleonardo.com

The Black Homeownership Project aims to expand and protect Black homeownership in NYC by connecting Black homeowners with expert local-housing counseling organizations and legal-services providers at no cost.

Our branding and website design aimed to embody the project’s mission of expanding access to homeownership opportunities for Black communities. The logo, featuring a rooftop graphic housing the logotype, symbolizes the initiative’s commitment to providing more homes for Black individuals. With a vibrant orange palette and a visual language characterized by simplicity, approachability, and trustworthiness, the branding reflects the project’s values of empowerment and innovation, resonating with a diverse audience and inspiring aspirations for homeownership.

View blackhomeownersny.org

Poster House’s “Black Power to Black People” exhibit was an intimate look at how the Black Panther Party harnessed the power of branding and media to control its own narrative, rally community support, and become one of the most influential militant groups of its time.

Our exhibition design began outside the gallery with two oversized protest signs leaning against the wall, amplified with hand-painted lettering reminiscent of protest signs from the Civil Rights era.

Bayard (typeface) evokes lettering from the 1960s Civil Rights protest signs. Condensed, bold and handmade…transporting viewers to that era.

Inside, the exhibit started with an iconic photograph of Huey Newton (1967) and followed the development of Black Panther branding through six chronological sections. In the background, tracks from Seize the Time LP by Elaine Brown played on a loop, capturing the aspirations of the Black Panther Party.

We used bold type, militaristic colors, striking icons, and heroic photographs of Black Panther members carrying exposed firearms to echo the powerfully moving design strategies used by the Black Panthers themselves—and to show how effective those strategies remain, even decades after the party’s rise to fame.

Stand with Asian Americans (SwAA) was established as the largest coalition of Asian American entrepreneurs, investors, and activists. KUDOS was tasked with developing comprehensive branding and a website for the organization.

We achieved an iconic visual identity through experimentation with brushed lettering combined with a modern, dynamic, and progressive look. The resulting identity communicates a sense of urgency while avoiding alienation by maintaining an approachable, inclusive, and universal appeal. This branding was featured in Asian American Justice Rally posters and signage, the organization’s website, and a separate workplace-justice website that gave users the opportunity to share personal stories of workplace discrimination. In our website design, we also utilized animation to express unity among diverse ethnicities.

View standwithasianamericans.com 

View justice.standwithasianamericans.com

Artist Shaun Leonardo’s 2021 outdoor installation “Between Four Freedoms” reinterpreted and celebrated Franklin D. Roosevelt’s seminal 1941 address calling for freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The interactive experience for the installation at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park redefines public engagement with art and social discourse.

Guided by Leonardo’s vision, our branding mirrors the project’s ethos, employing a brown color scheme evocative of human skin tones and the “Martin” typeface, inspired by the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968, to represent a message of non-violence and inclusivity. Leveraging innovative technology such as image recognition, we enabled visitors to engage with the artwork by scanning QR codes, launching the mobile website, and exploring workshop videos led by Leonardo. With over 25,000 images collected, the installation ensured accessibility and interactivity on both the Manhattan and Long Island City sides, inviting visitors to delve into the narratives of vulnerable communities and rediscover Roosevelt’s timeless call for freedom and dignity.

View fdrfourfreedomspark.org

Opened in November 2018, the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center is part of a series of Regional Welcome Centers established by Governor Andrew Cuomo to support the state’s growing tourism industry. Just a mile from the newly designated Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and a short drive from Seneca Falls, the Center highlights statewide attractions related to the ongoing struggle for equal rights.

To serve the Center’s purpose as a launching pad for visitors to explore New York State, we developed four types of interactive iPad kiosks that allow visitors to browse highlights by geographic location, navigate social-justice milestones, and listen to songs and speeches. We worked collaboratively with MTWTF, who was commissioned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to develop the content strategy, design, and media for a permanent exhibition at the Center, “Seeing Equal Rights in New York State.”

The Action to Catalyze Tech (ACT) Report is an ever-evolving repository for accountability and engagement in the tech industry, created in response to an industry-wide call to action to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sector. 

KUDOS created a comprehensive PDF report hosted on a responsive website that features ever-expanding video archives of talks on this topic. We incorporated a call to action for engagement and accountability, along with multimedia integration and annual updates to reflect the organization’s current summit. Engaging visual elements like illustrations and color blocks were used to offset the heavy amount of information, making the report accessible and visually appealing.

View website — actreport.com

By empowering local NGOs and non-governmental organizations to accelerate digital inclusion in their communities, Aspen Digital Equity advances social and economic equality, bridging the digital divide and creating opportunities for all.

This branding project for Aspen Digital Equity reflects their commitment to fostering social innovation and digital inclusion worldwide. Collaborating with Aspen Institute’s Aspen Digital, we crafted a vibrant and inclusive visual identity, characterized by a fun, vivid palette. Custom digital templates and an illustration playbook were also developed, enabling seamless customization and reinforcing the organization’s commitment to inclusivity.