As is befitting a proper wunderkind, sorry wunderkinder, the outside world’s discovery of the Brothers was a matter of happenstance. Martha Stewart was working to develop its first digital issue as part of the early development group for Adobe’s new InDesign for the iPad software, and Ms. Towey contacted RISD president John Maeda.
“The director of the program calls us and says you should probably come down here since they’re looking for iPad people and you’re probably the best iPad people here,” Kirk recalled. The Muellers went to lunch with Ms. Towey and her husband, a fellow designer named Stephen Doyle. “We had a great time and then we looked them up and we were so glad that we didn’t know exactly how big of design powerhouses they are because we would have been nervous wrecks,” Nate said.
“When the brothers walked into the room, I was immediately smitten,” Ms. Towey remembered. “They handed me one résumé, and that did it for me—one résumé. They were clearly smart at marketing themselves. I thought of the Starn twins, and figured that these guys were on their way to stardom.”
Not only did the brothers prove adept at the technical side—finding bugs in the software before developers at Adobe even knew they were there, Ms. Towey said—they made a number of critical design suggestions. Along with other team members, they insisted the peony should be shuffled to the front of the issue.
“They were going to put it in one of the stories and we said, It should go on the cover,” whispered Nate.
“We should be the first to have an animated cover,” concurred Kirk, adding, “The tools were still being developed. The cover almost didn’t go out the door because of some technical difficulties. But we finally got it out.”
After the success of Boundless Beauty, Condé tapped the brothers to make their e-book process more efficient and keep the branding more in line with their individual titles. “They always try and get us full-time,” said Kirk, who also mentioned helping Mr. Dadich with the beta version of Adobe’s software. The Brothers, however, prefer working under the Studio Mercury umbrella, where they also dabble in work for the Guggenheim and the industrial design magazine Core 77.
After setting up e-book production workflows at Conde, “once a title wanted to launch a book, instead of taking a matter of weeks, it took a matter of a week,” said Kirk.
With the New Yorker political website, which is slated to launch this week, the Brothers are employing a Studio Mercury specialty called a “liquid layout,” which easily adjusts from “very large monitors all the way down to the iPad, so it scales seamlessly,” as Nate put it.
It’s easy to see how duo’s cooperative spirit is embraced by publishing design teams, but the world isn’t really built for two separate bodies who want to perceived as one unit. “Our accountant hates us,” Nate admitted.
“If we could, we would get one tax ID number,” Kirk added, wistfully. “And one Social Security number.”
Then he volunteered a mid-century cautionary tale of parents who bucked the standard practice of separating twins to foster individual growth. “The story was that because these twins weren’t separated, they didn’t develop separate identities so they became murderers … and gay,” Kirk said. “Society was saying if you don’t have separate identities—”
“—all this bad stuff can happen,” said Nate.
Although the Brothers have shared a wardrobe since high school, they didn’t start dressing alike until grad school, when, they explained, “we merged our working identity under one name.” That meant a combined Facebook profile and Twitter account, in addition to the email. In their old apartment in Park Slope, they had to institute a morning check-in about what they’d be wearing, to avoid showing up in the exact same ensemble instead of slight variations. The problem was solved with a shared “dressing area” in their Prospect Heights brownstone.
“We often wonder if throughout the majority of the day we think the exact same thoughts,” said Kirk. Or maybe it was Nate.
ntiku@observer.com
They are like the Binars from Star Trek.
boring
Nate & Kirk are great guys doing great things. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
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I’m a twin in my 40′s and this is outright creepy!!!
While I commend their design talents, being so co-dependent on the “identity of being a twin” is narcissistic at best. Tethering their talents to biology means neither is confident enough to stand on their own and have used TWIN as a new branding identity in a era where mass consumerism and duplication is more important than individuality.
I was born in an era where fertility drugs were not common so it was less common to see twins in the late 1960′s. I also had parents who insisted that we not be dressed alike and that we were each referred by our given names rather than “the twins”: we were two people and therefore should be treated as such.
These guys are living in a suspended state of existence that is bound by their own self imposed paradox: dilute their own identity by amplifying the identity as “twin”, half of something else.
My sister and I prefer not to be identified solely as “twins” and have both gone on to formulate unique individual identities which are far more rewarding than being stuck in the bondage of biological similarities which (usually) translates into a visual oddity to others.
We also do not like the attention it brings when we are in public and have a more reserved approach about being twins. We refer to each other as “sister”, letting people find out we are twins in time rather than shoving it in their face to make us seem more important. We have many similarities especially when it comes to design abilities and creative thinking, but there is no reason for either of us to manipulate the public into thinking we are “better” just because we are twins.
The branding (which is borderline incestuous) may fool others, but it is incredibly creepy to someone who is a twin and can stand on their own without being propped up by her twin sister.
Shame on the people who fell for this non-sense, especially the ONE RESUME. I’m going to send my sister’s resume to the person who fell for this and see if get a job.
Please, sir, let’s not judge. How often do you see something this interesting. Casting negative aspersions upon the choices and lifestyles of others (provided they are not harming anyone) is what is arguably creepy. But you are probably a good person, too, I won’t judge you. But if you can swing it with them, I’m “over 30″ and I’d like to date both of them together
While I agree about twins having individual identities, I’ve witnessed first hand (brothers) ties that bind. But lighten up! It’s marketing, baby, marketing, whatever one may think of that in this marketable age….
I happen to be a friend of the father of these two guys and you could not be more off in your comments.
Please lighten up! These are good kids doing fantastic things and the use of their “twinhood” is pure marketing….oh and it works!
These twins were born out of two Parents who were young and in love. Parents are long time neighborhood friends of the early 80′s.
I think they Twins are smart, talented, in fact geniuses! Why are people enraged because they choose to have one resume? What does it matter, whom does it harm if they want to be known as one? Evidently they work together fabulously so get a life. So they are alittle eccentric – again who cares? They are hard workers and do great work, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!! A HUGE fan!
How disgusting. “We like the idea of instead of being ‘living decorative objects’ ” – I can’t even imagine. They’re nothing but two gay hipsters with twee sensibilities and an iPad app for Martha Stewart, of all people. Barely more downtown than an UO. Does RISD really need this type of ‘Project Runway’ publicity?
Gilbert and George, indeed. And as for the twincest digression, I suppose you can take the silly bottoms out of Ohio, but…
you love them.
These two spoke at my RISD commencement and I was blown away! These guys are funny, intelligent, and very captivating.
For those judging from the outside, please take a step back. The article is meant to be funny and inspire curiosity, not rude and hasty comments. No need to get aggressive. Obviously you don’t have an open and creative mind.
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