Default Value

Default Value is a design and technology studio in Minneapolis, run as a partnership between Jen Evans and Trevor Carr. The studio takes on clients anywhere, building forward-thinking, research-based products and websites rather than working from a fixed template. Work often starts with historical and contextual research before moving into naming, brand and identity strategy, or design audits and consulting for clients trying to figure out what they're actually building.

Services span the full arc from idea to launch: developing a concept into a viable product, planning content and technology, and building out design systems, interaction and prototyping, and accessibility-focused design. On the technical side, the studio works in JavaScript, Jekyll, p5.js, React, and Shopify, applying responsive web design, user experience, and visual design to both commercial sites and exhibition work.

Projects reflect that range. Alma is an interactive tool built for pregnant people to plan the terms of their labor and delivery. A declarative tool for generating creative ideas shows the studio's interest in systems that produce rather than just display content. For MICA Design League, the studio built an exhibition examining the relationship between systems, context, and the design process, and separately produced a book-as-exhibition centered on the work of Sol LeWitt. Together, these projects point to a practice comfortable moving between client products, interactive tools, and exhibition design.