Taylor Studios
Taylor Studios is a privately held design-build firm founded in 1991 that designs, fabricates, and installs custom exhibits for museums, zoos, nature centers, and corporate clients, with 40+ employees and 750+ completed projects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersRantoul, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Taylor Studios does
Taylor Studios, Inc. is a privately held exhibit design and fabrication firm founded in 1991 by Betty Brennan in Rantoul, Illinois. The company provides integrated design-build services for museums, nature centers, zoos, educational institutions, and corporate clients, handling everything from interpretive planning and schematic design through fabrication and installation. With a team of 40+ employees covering design, project management, and fabrication, Taylor Studios operates a single-source model that combines creative interpretive planning with in-house physical fabrication capabilities including woodworking, metal fabrication, sculpting, 3D printing, lifecasting, and custom interactives. The company has completed 750+ projects over 30+ years and earned recognition including a TEA Thea Award and multiple NAI Awards.
Revenue is generated through project-based custom contracts with no standard pricing, targeting enterprise clients through direct sales, industry affiliations, and repeat business (65% repeat rate). The company has served notable clients including Minnetrista (Bob Ross Experience), Cleveland Museum of Art, Living Desert Zoo, Fort Bend Museum, Lincoln Heritage Museum, and Allerton Park. Taylor Studios experienced a leadership transition in 2022 when Brant Hendricks succeeded founder Betty Brennan, and has recently expanded operational capacity through active hiring and broadened its geographic footprint across multiple U.S. states.
Taylor Studios firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Taylor Studios
- Legal name
- Taylor Studios, Inc.
- Website
- https://taylorstudios.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Taylor Studios is a privately held design-build firm founded in 1991 that designs, fabricates, and installs custom exhibits for museums, zoos, nature centers, and corporate clients, with 40+ employees and 750+ completed projects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Taylor Studios industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Exhibit Design and Fabrication Services
- NAICS
- Interior Design Services (54141), Industrial Design Services (541420)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)
Keywords
Where Taylor Studios is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rantoul
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Taylor Studios business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Exhibit Design and Fabrication: Custom design and fabrication of museum exhibits, visitor centers, branded environments, and educational installations. Revenue is project-based with each engagement quoted individually based on scope, complexity, and materials. Projects range from small interpretive displays to large-scale multi-room museum installations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Taylor Studios product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Taylor Studios is a full-service exhibit design and fabrication firm that combines research, interpretive planning, schematic and concept design, design development, construction drawings, artifact display, graphic design, interactive design, AV content, lighting design, and installation management into a single design-build engagement. The company serves museums, educational institutions, nature centers, zoos, and corporate clients, producing custom physical exhibits and branded environments. Each project is custom-scoped and delivered through a six-phase process from schematic design through installation.
Product overview
Taylor Studios is an exhibit design and fabrication firm offering a unified Design-Build service that combines planning, design, and fabrication under one contract. Their core offering is exhibit design and fabrication services for museums, educational institutions, nature centers, zoos, and corporations. The Design-Build Process serves as their primary service methodology, guiding projects through six phases from Schematic Design through Installation. In addition to their fabrication capabilities (woodworking, metal fabrication, sculpting, 3D printing, lifecasting, custom interactives, and immersive environments), they provide free downloadable resources including the DIY Budgeting Tool, Interpretive Planning Checklist, Exhibit Resource Guide, RFP Guide, Copywriting Cheat Sheet, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources. Their portfolio showcases diverse project types including children's exhibits, natural history museums, visitor centers, and themed environments for clients such as the Lincoln Heritage Museum, Fort Bend Museum, Living Desert Zoo, and Cleveland Museum of Art.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Exhibit Design and Fabrication Services Full-service exhibit design and fabrication combining research, interpretation, planning, schematic design, concept design, design development, construction drawings, artifact display, graphic design, interactive design, AV content, lighting design, and installation management for museums, nature centers, zoos, and corporate clients.
- Design-Build Process A proven six-phase exhibit development process including Schematic Design, Concept Design, Detail Design, Final Graphic Design, Fabrication, and Installation, designed to guide clients through exhibit projects from conception to completion.
Quantifiable outcome
- 65% of business comes from repeat clients
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Taylor Studios
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Taylor Studios technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Taylor Studios partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Taylor Studios competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thinkwell Group: Designs and produces themed entertainment experiences, museum exhibits, and visitor attractions. Directly comparable to Taylor Studios in combining interpretive design with physical fabrication for museums, zoos, and cultural institutions.
- BRC Imagination Arts: Designs and fabricates branded experiences and museum exhibits for cultural institutions and corporate clients. Overlapping offering in interpretive planning, exhibit design, and fabrication.
- C&G Partners: Museum, brand, and environment design firm producing interpretive exhibits, identity systems, and visitor experiences. Comparable to Taylor Studios in serving cultural institutions with interpretive storytelling and exhibit design.
- Roto Group: Designs and builds themed environments, museum exhibits, and visitor experiences. Directly comparable design-build firm serving similar cultural and entertainment markets as Taylor Studios.
- Luci Creative: Exhibit design and fabrication firm specializing in museum, zoo, and aquarium exhibits. Closely matches Taylor Studios' service scope, customer segments (museums/zoos), and design-build integrated model.
- Aldea Services: Exhibit design and fabrication firm serving museums, cultural institutions, and corporate clients. Comparable customer segments and design-build service model to Taylor Studios.
Broad incumbents
- Dimensional Innovations: Experience design and fabrication firm producing environments for sports venues, museums, and corporate clients. Larger and broader than Taylor Studios but directly comparable in design-build exhibit work.
- Sparks: Large experiential marketing and exhibit firm serving global brands with event and exhibit design. Broader scope and scale than Taylor Studios, with overlap in branded environment design.
Emerging players
- Mad Systems: Provides AV, interactive, and quick-turn exhibit fabrication for museums and attractions. Overlaps with Taylor Studios' interactive and AV content capabilities, though narrower in interpretive planning.
- Murraysmith (formerly Aldea): Adjacent design and engineering firm with cultural institution work, but broader scope than Taylor Studios. Partial overlap in interpretive planning and exhibit-adjacent design services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Taylor Studios social profiles
Digital presenceTaylor Studios financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Taylor Studios leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Taylor Studios funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Taylor Studios M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Taylor Studios
What does Taylor Studios do?
Taylor Studios is a full-service exhibit design and fabrication firm that combines research, interpretive planning, schematic and concept design, design development, construction drawings, artifact display, graphic design, interactive design, AV content, lighting design, and installation management into a single design-build engagement. The company serves museums, educational institutions, nature centers, zoos, and corporate clients, producing custom physical exhibits and branded environments. Each project is custom-scoped and delivered through a six-phase process from schematic design through installation.
Is Taylor Studios a public or private company?
Taylor Studios is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Taylor Studios founded?
Taylor Studios was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Taylor Studios based?
Taylor Studios is headquartered in Rantoul, United States, in the North America region.
How does Taylor Studios make money?
One revenue line is on record: exhibit Design and Fabrication.
Who are Taylor Studios's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thinkwell Group, BRC Imagination Arts, C&G Partners, Roto Group, Luci Creative and Aldea Services. Broad incumbents are Dimensional Innovations and Sparks. Emerging players are Mad Systems and Murraysmith (formerly Aldea).
Does Taylor Studios have an API?
No public API is recorded for Taylor Studios.
What industry is Taylor Studios in?
Taylor Studios's product category is Exhibit Design and Fabrication Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAIAJ, Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams). Its NAICS code is 54141 and its SIC code is 7812.