About Cole Design Works

Cole Design Works (CDW) is a modern design studio founded by architect Stephen Cole, dedicated to exploring the intersection of architecture, art, and engineered play. What began as an architectural practice has evolved into a multidisciplinary platform for creating — a system where form meets function, and curiosity fuels exploration

CDW operates through four connected branches that share a single design DNA:

CDW Studio

Everyday objects elevated through design.
From fine-art prints and apparel to functional pieces for home and workspace, CDW Studio transforms design thinking into tangible form.
Explore Studio

CDW Syntax

Where design becomes language.
The Syntax collections translate modern systems, geometry, and structure into visual syntax, abstract yet precise. Each series (Urban Syntax, Machine Syntax, Material Syntax, and more) is a study in how form can express logic and motion.
Discover Syntax

CDW Marketplace

Design in circulation.
Our e-commerce arm curates collectible and creative systems from LEGO® sets and architectural models to functional storage and display solutions. Every product celebrates the creative process itself.
Shop Marketplace

CDW Media

Stories of making.
Through film, photography, and digital storytelling, CDW Media reveals the process behind design from time-lapse builds to documentary experiments in architecture, art, and craft.
Watch Media

Mission

To make modern design accessible, playful, and purposeful — connecting ideas across scales and mediums while maintaining architectural integrity and aesthetic discipline.

Philosophy

Design is a system. Every piece, project, and product begins with structure, proportion, pattern, logic, and expands into expression. Whether through architecture, art, or object, CDW seeks elegance in order, meaning in material, and joy in the process of making.

Founder

Stephen Cole, RA, NCARB is a Denver-based architect and designer with over twenty years of experience in architecture, planning, design, and construction. His professional work, coupled with his independent creative ventures, forms the backbone of CDW’s commitment to merging design excellence with real-world utility.