J • Train is the interdisciplinary design offering of Jason Marder and a curated group of exceptional collaborators who also happen to be exceptional people.

It’s a one-stop-shop for companies navigating complex opportunity spaces who see great design and storytelling as a powerful way to build trust, accelerate growth, attract top talent, and achieve their business goals.

We’re drawn to hard problems and “world-positive” companies navigating uncharted opportunity spaces. In these market conditions, excellent storytelling, brand-building, and design execution tend to have outsize impact by making novelty approachable and complexity surmountable.

The studio has an intentionally broad focus because it’s driven by the relentless curiosity to keep learning new domains and the observation that the impact of exceptional storytelling, brand-building, and design is industry-agnostic.

A brief intro

Our breadth of experience and expansive network of director-level ICs enables us to provide excellent service and exceptional outcomes that are not only scalable and beautiful, but immediately impactful to the business. Specifically, our clients look to us for the following.

In-house

Network

Services

Jason Marder is a multi-disciplinary designer with 10 years of experience building brands, websites, systems, and spaces. He’s driven by a deep love for craft, strong business acumen, and an insatiable curiosity.

Throughout those 10 years, Jason has consulted for Fortune 500 companies, led in-house teams and cross-company initiatives at high-growth, late-stage tech companies (like Stripe and Gusto), partnered with startups at their earliest stages, and everything in between.

Jason often invests in the companies J • Train partners with and continues on as an advisor to the founders after the engagement ends. Actually, this is preferred. Jason only partners with companies he believes in and aims to build long-term relationships with them. And he wants to be thought of as an ongoing strategic advisor as opposed to a “see-you-later” contractor.

Who’s jason

Though we’re now officially bi–coastal, our roots and our spirit are firmly rooted in a New York state of mind. Our name pays homage to the timeless aesthetic of the “New York School” of graphic design and the miraculous NYC Subway system.*

The former seeks to prioritize relatability, universality, and humanity in design. The latter gets you from where you are to where you’re going in short order.

When you hop on the J • Train, we aspire to deliver both. Our mission is to get your company to its next big step – whether that’s a rebrand, launch, fundraise, or acquisition – in short order and have the outcomes bear fruit for many years thereafter.

*Also, Jason’s dad nicknamed him “J Train” when he was a toddler.

Why J • Train

We tend to work on a flat fee basis for projects, so we’ll quote by project versus by hour. We find that aligning on value (rather than time) leads to the best working dynamic and the best outcomes.

Engagements can last anywhere from multiple weeks to many months depending on your specific needs. We’re very willing to work with founders to find the sweet spot, though most projects will cost somewhere in the region of ~$30k – $100k.

How we work

We curate the company we keep. The people are as important as the project.

We believe in the power of hospitality. We care about every last detail and strive to deliver a client experience that feels thoughtful and caring.

Values

J•Train is an inter-disciplinary design offering led by Jason Marder, drawing on a decade of experience, most notably leading largest-scale projects and teams at Stripe and Gusto.

We partner with "world-positive" companies working on complex problems in uncharted opportunity spaces. Those who also believe that exceptional design can materially impact their business and influence markets at large.

a16z, Acctual, Angstrom, Daylight, Dorsal Health, Eclipse, Era, Fragile, Gusto, Hume, Ionic, Medallion Health, MIT, Moth Fund, Nuha, Open, OpenAI, OpenBlock, Portal, Seifdune, Stationhead, Stripe, Tango, Tome, Verse, Wingspan

Thanks in advance for filling this out. It’s hugely helpful in determining if we’re good fits for each other. The more you can share, the the easier it will be to do so.

Take your brand
somewhere new.

TL • DR

Ongoing list of partners

Take your brand
somewhere new.

TL • DR

Ongoing list of partners

Take your brandsomewhere new.

TL • DR

Ongoing list of partners

Take your brandsomewhere new.

TL • DR

Ongoing list of partners

Take your brand
somewhere new.

Take your brand
somewhere new.