the studio

A founder, a father,
and the discipline of two.

We accept eight to ten engagements a year, a few of which we keep for the long run.
Each is held, end to end, by the two of us.
We accept eight to ten engagements a year, a few of which we keep for the long run.
Each is held, end to end, by the two of us.


We accept eight to ten engagements a year, a few of which we keep for the long run. Each is held, end to end, by the two of us.

the origin

Twain,
twice over.

Twain Productions began in 2018. After nearly a decade running a graphic design studio, our founder Michelle MJ Liu felt the work had outgrown its name. What she cared about was never design in isolation. It was the strategy beneath it, the writing it carried. She evolved the studio into a branding and digital marketing practice and renamed it for what she had known all along: the work takes two halves to hold.

Twain is an archaic English word for two of a kind. A pair. A yoke. A doubled thread. We treat it as a working method. Every project has a Word lead and an Image lead, and nothing leaves the studio without both signing off.

In practice, Twain is a founder and a father. Liu Wuchiu, a retired feature writer of more than forty years in press and media, leads the Word. The Image, the strategy, and the studio itself sit with his daughter. When a project asks for hands beyond ours, motion, illustration, development, we bring in a small circle of freelancers we have worked with for years.

We are not interested in scale. We are interested in finish.

Twain Productions began in 2018. After nearly a decade running a graphic design studio, our founder Michelle MJ Liu felt the work had outgrown its name. What she cared about was never design in isolation. It was the strategy beneath it, the writing it carried. She evolved the studio into a branding and digital marketing practice and renamed it for what she had known all along: the work takes two halves to hold.

Twain is an archaic English word for two of a kind. A pair. A yoke. A doubled thread. We treat it as a working method. Every project has a Word lead and an Image lead, and nothing leaves the studio without both signing off.

In practice, Twain is a founder and a father. Liu Wuchiu, a retired feature writer of more than forty years in press and media, leads the Word. The Image, the strategy, and the studio itself sit with his daughter. When a project asks for hands beyond ours, motion, illustration, development, we bring in a small circle of freelancers we have worked with for years.

We are not interested in scale. We are interested in finish.


the Team

Two of a kind.

ML

N° 01 / 02

Michelle MJ Liu

Founder
Design, strategy & art direction

Taught sciences and piano, ran a design studio for six years, and served as a travel magazine editor-in-chief before founding Twain. That background shapes how she works: logic in the strategy, rhythm in the identity, judgement across the digital side of every engagement. She signs off every piece of work that leaves the studio.

DISCIPLINE

Image & strategy

REACHABLE

michelleliu@twainpro.com

READS

Briefs slowly, twice

LW

N° 02 / 02

Liu Wuchiu

WRITER
WORDS & EDITORIAL

Spent forty years in mainstream Chinese-language press as a feature writer and editor, covering culture, literature, and current affairs across two of Malaysia's major dailies. Joined Twain in 2018 to lead the Word side of the practice — positioning, naming, voice, and narrative depth. Edits every paragraph of long-form copy the studio publishes, in three languages.

DISCIPLINE

Word & narrative

REACHABLE

hello@twainpro.com

READS

The classics, with a red pen

LW

N° 02 / 02

Liu Wuchiu

WRITER
WORDS & EDITORIAL

Spent forty years in mainstream Chinese-language press as a feature writer and editor, covering culture, literature, and current affairs across two of Malaysia's major dailies. Joined Twain in 2018 to lead the Word side of the practice — positioning, naming, voice, and narrative depth. Edits every paragraph of long-form copy the studio publishes, in three languages.

DISCIPLINE

Word & narrative

REACHABLE

hello@twainpro.com

READS

The classics, with a red pen

ML

N° 01 / 02

Michelle MJ Liu

Founder
Design, strategy & art direction

Taught sciences and piano, ran a design studio for six years, and served as a travel magazine editor-in-chief before founding Twain. That background shapes how she works: logic in the strategy, rhythm in the identity, judgement across the digital side of every engagement. She signs off every piece of work that leaves the studio.

DISCIPLINE

Image & strategy

REACHABLE

michelleliu@twainpro.com

READS

Briefs slowly, twice

THE MANIFESTO

“We believe a brand is a structured argument made beautiful. The Word gives it a thesis; the Image gives it a body. Hold either alone and you have an essay or a pretty picture. Hold both, in tension, and you have something that lasts.”


“We believe a brand is a structured argument made beautiful. The Word gives it a thesis; the Image gives it a body. Hold either alone and you have an essay or a pretty picture. Hold both, in tension, and you have something that lasts.”

HOW WE WORK

Four principles,
clearly articulated.

01

Listen first.

A brief is a conversation, not a contract. We begin every engagement by reading the room: the founding documents, the internal emails, and the things no one has said out loud.

02

Make less, more carefully.

Three considered artefacts beat thirty hurried ones. Restraint is a form of generosity to the people who will use the work after we are gone.

03

Hold the two halves.

Strategy without craft is a memo; craft without strategy is decoration. We refuse the choice; every project has a Word lead and an Image lead.

04

Hand it over well.

Identity work outlives the agency that made it. We document systems, train in-house teams, and stay reachable for as long as the work is in use.

capabilities

Eight disciplines.
One studio.

Most engagements draw on a combination of these core disciplines. While project work establishes the foundation, our social and content capabilities operate as ongoing retainers; several clients have partnered with us in this capacity since 2018.

no.

DISCIPLINE

TYPICAL DELIVERABLES

DURATION

working with

01

Brand strategy & ideology
Brand strategy & ideology

Positioning, manifesto, naming, voice and tone, slogans & taglines, transcreation across languages

4–12 weeks

4–12 weeks

Founders, CMOs

02

Visual identity
Visual identity

Marks, lockups, typography systems, art direction, brand guidelines

6–16 weeks

6–16 weeks

Brand teams,
marketing directors

03

Web & digital
Web & digital

Marketing sites, microsites, campaign hubs, design systems

8–20 weeks

8–20 weeks

Marketing leads,
product teams

04

Social & content
Social & content

Social channel strategy, content calendars, monthly management, paid amplification

Ongoing retainer

Ongoing retainer

Marketing managers, digital leads

05

Video & motion
Video & motion

Corporate & brand films, promotional videos, social cutdowns, motion graphics

3-10 weeks

3-10 weeks

Founders, marketing leads

06

Brand environments
Brand environments

Spatial identity, environmental graphics, signage systems, wayfinding, branded merchandise

12–24 weeks

12–24 weeks

Interior designers, architects, fit-out partners

07

Product packaging
Product packaging

Curated unboxing kits, tactile finishes, custom structural design, foil & emboss detailing

8–16 weeks

8–16 weeks

Producers, FMCG brands, print specialists

08

Editorial & print
Editorial & print

Corporate monographs, annual reports, magazines, books, exhibition catalogues

6–18 weeks

6–18 weeks

Authors, media houses, curators

Start a conversation

Let's make something considered.

We respond to every enquiry within two working days.
No forms-and-funnels — a real person reads what you send.

© 2018–2026 Twain Productions. All rights reserved.

Start a conversation

Let's make something considered.

We respond to every enquiry within two working days.
No forms-and-funnels — a real person reads what you send.

© 2018–2026 Twain Productions. All rights reserved.

Start a conversation

Let's make something considered.

We respond to every enquiry within two working days.
No forms-and-funnels — a real person reads what you send.

© 2018–2026 Twain Productions. All rights reserved.