Duality has long been part of how artists understand the world. From Van Gogh’s intensity and solitude to the quiet self-dialogues in Haruki Murakami’s novels, the idea of a dual identity often finds its way into creative work. But for Chenxin and Chenyi Luo, twin sisters and co-founders of GuessWho Studio, dual identity takes a different form. It is not a metaphor or inner conflict—it is a real, ongoing exchange between two people. They are collaborators working in a studio shaped by trust, years of shared experience, and an innate sense of mutual understanding.
Their collaboration began long before they founded GuessWho Studio. Growing up side by side, creating together became instinctive. At the studio, they do not strictly divide tasks. Instead, they co-develop ideas from the beginning, engaging in long conversations, building moodboards, and sharing references. This early phase allows them to align conceptually, emotionally, and visually.
Once a direction is clear, one typically focuses on linework while the other develops color and composition. But throughout the process, they continue to review and refine together. This approach is not just a working method—it is a form of connection. Their level of coordination often feels like one mind working through two sets of hands, a kind of creative intuition that appears to be shared only by those who are closely connected.
Their most well-known projects reflect this closeness. In Dollhouse Dreams, the sisters explored the imaginative space of childhood through a series of illustrations that blend personal memory with fictional worlds. The dollhouse acts as a frame where themes of intimacy and mirrored identity play out. The series has been recognized by Creative Quarterly, Communication Arts, and the American Art Awards, and has been exhibited in multiple venues across New York and abroad. Other projects like Pillowtalk and Cinema Escape continue these themes, using everyday environments as emotional containers. These spaces are often depicted with a gentle palette and a sense of stillness, encouraging the viewer to pause and reflect.
Beyond narrative themes, the sisters also focus on formal elements. “I often work with layered imagery, texture, and symmetry,” Chenxin explains. “These elements help convey emotional balance, especially when illustrating concepts like identity or memory.” Chenyi, too, emphasizes atmosphere and transitional space: “I think a lot about rooms, windows, and liminal spaces—places where something is about to begin or has just ended.” Their visual choices reflect a shared focus on emotional tone and understated narrative.
Their shared creative language is also shaped by a cross-cultural background. After growing up in China, both Chenxin and Chenyi studied at Pratt Institute in New York. This background influences how they approach composition, tone, and communication. They often draw on elements from Chinese visual tradition such as symbolism, restraint, and layered meaning, while also applying the structure and clarity emphasized in Western design education. This combination can be observed in both their independent projects and client work.
Photo Courtesy: Guess Who Studio / Chenxin Luo and Chenyi Luo
Cinema Escape
One example is their collaboration with Dongyi Dunhuang Hotel & Resorts. Over the course of a year, they created a series of festival posters blending traditional Dunhuang mural elements with modern aesthetics. To ensure accuracy and respect for the source material, they spent time studying references and even traveled to Dunhuang in person. The resulting designs were distributed across digital platforms.
Outside of GuessWho Studio, the sisters also work independently in design and branding. Chenyi is a UI/UX and brand designer at What3ver, where she helped establish the company’s logo, typography system, and user experience. Chenxin’s experience includes roles at Peter Coffin Studio and USWOO Realty, where she worked on books, marketing content, and cross-format visual campaigns. These roles helped shape both artists’ abilities to shift between artistic expression and applied design, and to adapt creative thinking to different audiences and platforms.
Photo Courtesy: Guess Who Studio / Chenxin Luo and Chenyi Luo
Pillowtalk
Looking ahead, the sisters are exploring opportunities to expand their collaborative practice. They are currently developing a character-based IP called Nanameimei and preparing an exhibition and publication titled Twin Size. At the same time, they are pursuing individual paths—not as a departure from their partnership, but as a way to bring in fresh ideas and energy that could support the collaboration’s growth. But at the center of their practice is a quiet consistency: a belief in visual storytelling that is sensitive, clear, and rooted in shared experience.
