Spirit Design

What Spirit Design does

Spirit Design – Innovation and Brand GmbH is a privately-held strategic innovation and design consulting firm headquartered in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1993 by Georg Wagner. The firm advises corporations, startups, and municipalities on developing sustainable innovations, purpose-driven brands, and smart city solutions, with deep specialization in sustainable mobility, renewable energy, circular economy, and integrated industrial design. Its core offerings comprise Innovation & Brand Consulting and Integrated Design services, supported by the proprietary 'Systainnovation' methodology launched in 2022 that embeds sustainability as the primary driver of innovation toward Net Zero outcomes. Notable project outputs include the CH4PA biomethane-powered vehicle for Brazil, the Smart Mobility Assessment Tool developed with AIT and VRVis for Brazilian cities, and long-term design retainers for clients such as Rosenbauer (since 2003), WESTbahn (since 2009), ÖBB, SKIDATA, pewag International, and Wiener Netze.

The firm generates revenue through professional services — project-based consulting engagements delivered directly to enterprise, startup, and government clients. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to individual client requirements; no standardized pricing is publicly disclosed. Go-to-market relies on enterprise field sales augmented by Georg Wagner's mentor and coach roles at Austrian incubators (Inits, Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, Agro Innovation Lab), speaking engagements, and visibility generated through EU Horizon2020 research consortia and international design competitions. Marketing is largely project-based through the company website, supplemented by event presence and partnerships with research institutions such as AIT, Fluidtime Data Services, and akaryon.

Spirit Design operates with 1-10 employees from its Vienna headquarters at Wattmanngasse 8 and a wholly-owned Brazilian subsidiary (Spirit Design Ltda) established in 2013 to serve sustainable mobility and smart city opportunities in Latin America. The firm has been involved in EU-funded research including EU-LIVE (€6.7M consortium budget, 2018), Science2Society (2019), and the FFG-supported Sustainnovation project, and maintains a minority stake in the 2016 spin-off MO.Point GmbH (VCÖ Mobility Award winner). Ownership and control remain concentrated with founder Georg Wagner, with no evidence of external institutional investment or a disclosed cap table.

Name

Spirit Design

Legal name

Spirit Design – Innovation and Brand GmbH

Website

https://spiritdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spirit Design is a Vienna-based strategic innovation and design consultancy, founded 1993, advising corporations, startups, and municipalities on sustainable innovations, purpose-driven brands, and smart city solutions across Austria and Brazil.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Design Consulting

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (54142), Graphic Design Services (541430), Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Experiential Brand Design (Retail/Exhibit/Signage) (MPAAAEAG), Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Strategic design consulting
• Innovation consulting
• Brand development
• Sustainable design
• Smart city consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Spirit Design generates revenue through professional consulting services for strategic innovation and brand development, working with corporations, startups, and cities to develop sustainable innovations and purpose-driven brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spirit Design is a strategic innovation and brand consulting firm that advises corporations, startups, and municipalities on developing sustainable innovations and purpose-driven brands. It combines strategic consulting with integrated design execution (brand, interaction, industrial) and applies its proprietary Systainnovation methodology to help clients move toward sustainability and Net Zero goals.

Product overview

Spirit Design operates as a strategic innovation and design consulting company offering integrated consulting and design services. The core offering comprises Innovation & Brand Consulting and Integrated Design services, supported by proprietary methodology Systainnovation for sustainability-driven innovation. The company specializes in Smart City Consulting with focus on sustainable mobility, energy, and urban solutions. Additional offerings include research projects like Sustainnovation (with partner akaryon's ESG Cockpit) and the Smart Mobility Assessment Tool developed with AIT and VRVis. Notable product design projects include the CH4PA biomethane-powered vehicle for Brazil. The company was founded in 1993 and maintains headquarters in Vienna with a subsidiary in Brazil since 2013.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Systainnovation: A systemic consulting approach launched in 2022 by Georg Wagner, integrating sustainability as the core driver for innovation and supporting clients in developing holistic sustainability visions towards Net Zero.

Products and services

• Innovation & Brand Consulting
• Integrated Design
• Smart City Consulting
• Sustainable Mobility Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant revenue growth for clients on international markets
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AIT Austrian Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term research collaboration on smart city and mobility projects including cargo bike carr-e development and Smart Mobility Assessment Tool for Brazilian cities. AIT is a key research partner for international projects.
• Fluidtime Data Services GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical project partner for Wiener Netze smart metering web portal and mobile app development, combining Spirit Design's strategy with Fluidtime's technical implementation.
• akaryoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Sustainnovation project developing digitally-supported and integrated consulting process with ESG Cockpit, supported by FFG funding.
• ÖBB Personenverkehr AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on SynArea mobility project for suburban/rural areas, ÖBB provided target group segmentation and designed mobility offer.
• Döllmann DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Prague funicular design concept project, bringing together complementary design expertise.
• FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency)coreOthersFunding agency supporting multiple Spirit Design research projects including EU-LIVE (6.7M euro budget), Sustainnovation, and SynArea through FFG programs.
• ItaipucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitial reason for founding Spirit Design Ltda Brazil - cooperation on using biogas as transport fuel, specifically biomethane.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Prophet: Global consultancy combining brand, marketing and innovation for enterprise transformation; comparable for Spirit Design's strategic brand and innovation work targeting corporates.
• Designworks (BMW Group): BMW-owned strategic design consultancy serving mobility and industrial clients globally; relevant comparable for Spirit Design's mobility product design and brand strategy work with ÖBB and WESTbahn.
• Integer (Arc): Global innovation consultancy combining strategy, design and engineering for consumer-facing products; broader incumbent comparable for Spirit Design's product and mobility design engagements.

Emerging players

• Catapult Design: Emerging design consultancy specialising in social impact, sustainability, and mobility design for public and NGO clients; thematic peer to Spirit Design's sustainability / Smart Cities positioning.

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Independent partner-led design consultancy covering identity, product, environmental and digital design; comparable boutique structure and brand/industrial design depth to Spirit Design.
• Fuseproject (Yves Béhar): Boutique industrial and brand design studio founded by Yves Béhar, executing integrated product and brand work for enterprise clients — comparable to Spirit Design's blend of industrial design and brand strategy.
• IDEO: Global pioneer of design thinking and integrated innovation consulting serving corporates and startups; directly comparable to Spirit Design's strategic innovation + integrated design model, though at vastly larger scale.
• frog (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation consultancy acquired by Capgemini, serving enterprise clients across product, brand and service design — overlaps with Spirit Design's integrated design and innovation consulting offering.
• Smart Design: Independently owned design consultancy with similar integrated industrial + brand + digital design offering for enterprise clients; closest US-based boutique comparable to Spirit Design's positioning.

Regional players

• Studio Dumbar (Dept): Leading European (Dutch) independent design studio with strong brand and motion identity practice; comparable European boutique design peer for Spirit Design.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spirit Design