Smart Design
Smart Design is a privately held strategic design and innovation consultancy serving Fortune 500 clients across consumer goods, technology, healthcare, financial services and mobility through research, product design, organizational design and engineering services, anchored by 30+ year relationships with OXO and Gatorade/PepsiCo.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Smart Design does
Smart Design is a privately held strategic design and innovation consultancy headquartered at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with a London studio supporting transatlantic delivery. Founded in 1980, the firm operates with 51-100 employees and serves a portfolio of more than 100 enterprise clients including Meta, Google, PepsiCo, Unilever, Nike, Disney, Ford, HSBC, Gatorade, OXO, BBVA, Sephora, Sanofi, Amgen and Bose across consumer goods, technology, healthcare, financial services, mobility and sports verticals. The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements structured as multi-year contracts, acquired via direct enterprise sales, referrals, thought-leadership content and a high volume of design-award recognition.
The company's offerings are organized into four service lines: Research and Insights, Business and Organizational Design, Product and Service Design, and Engineering and Technology. The Engineering and Technology line integrates machine learning, computer vision, IoT, embedded systems, AR/VR prototyping and design-for-manufacture capabilities, with in-house workshops for prototyping and testing. Flagship client work includes the 30+ year OXO Good Grips partnership, the Gatorade Gx ecosystem (Sweat Patch, app, pods, personalized bottles), Meta VR tween-safety co-design, BBVA's UX transformation, the NYC Taxi of Tomorrow initiative, and healthcare engagements including Simprints biometric identification, UCB self-injection devices and Upstream USA patient education.
The business is founder-led (Davin Stowell, CEO; Richard Whitehall, Managing Partner; David Werzinger, CFO) with no disclosed external investment, parent company or subsidiaries. GTM is direct enterprise relationship-based, supported by content marketing, a public Ideas blog, Virtual Smart Salon events, and a steady cadence of design awards (Fast Company Innovation by Design, Core77, IDEA, CES, Good Design). The firm does not publicly disclose revenue or pricing.
Smart Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Smart Design
- Legal name
- Smart Design
- Website
- https://smartdesignworldwide.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Smart Design is a privately held strategic design and innovation consultancy serving Fortune 500 clients across consumer goods, technology, healthcare, financial services and mobility through research, product design, organizational design and engineering services, anchored by 30+ year relationships with OXO and Gatorade/PepsiCo.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Smart Design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Strategic Design Consulting
- NAICS
- Industrial Design Services (541420)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where Smart Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Smart Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Strategic Design Consulting Services: Smart Design generates revenue through professional design consulting engagements with enterprise clients. Projects typically involve strategic design partnerships where they work alongside client teams to develop design strategies, products, and services. Revenue is project-based with engagements ranging from specific product design to comprehensive organizational design transformations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise Design Consulting |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Smart Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smart Design is a strategic design and innovation consultancy providing four integrated service offerings: Research and Insights, Business and Organizational Design, Product and Service Design, and Engineering and Technology. The firm works alongside enterprise client teams to develop human-centered design strategies, products, services, and organizational capabilities, blending traditional design practice with machine learning, computer vision, IoT, AR/VR, and embedded systems engineering. Engagements span from targeted product design initiatives to multi-year organizational design transformations for global brands.
Product overview
Smart Design is a strategic design and innovation consulting firm that helps people live better and work smarter. The company operates as a services-based consultancy rather than a product company, offering four core service offerings: Research and Insights, Business and Organizational Design, Product and Service Design, and Engineering and Technology. These services span multiple industries including technology, consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, sports and fitness, and mobility. Smart Design works with clients to design products, services, and experiences that create valuable IP and build consumer loyalty. Notable client projects include the Gatorade Gx Ecosystem (a sports nutrition personalization platform with wearable technology), OXO Good Grips product line, and various healthcare, mobility, and consumer product innovations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Research and Insights Customer research and insights services for enterprise clients, including quantitative user research, customer journey mapping, competitive landscape audits, user and usability testing, trend and market research, and ethnographic research to understand user behavior and develop meaningful insights.
- Business and Organizational Design Strategic business design combining traditional strategy with design thinking for enterprise clients, including organizational design and assessments, design and innovation capability development, opportunity assessment, go-to-market strategies, business design, and new business model creation.
- Product and Service Design Product and service design capabilities for clients, including UX design, interaction and experience design, systems design, digital and physical product design, industrial design, human factors and ergonomics design, visual design, service design, communication design, and prototyping.
- Engineering and Technology Engineering and technology services for clients, including design engineering and analysis, systems engineering, electrical and embedded systems engineering, 3D printed evaluation prototypes, design for manufacture and assembly, complete functional prototype buildouts, teardowns and testing, and manufacturing-ready documentation, supported by in-house workshops for building and iterating prototypes.
Quantifiable outcome
- OXO Good Grips peeler ranked #6 of 100 most important designs in modern history by Fortune and IIT Institute of Design
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Smart Design
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Smart Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature5 records
Smart Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Epicore BiosystemscoreCollaborative development partner on the Gatorade Gx Sweat Patch project. Epicore provided microfluidic and wearable technology expertise that combined with Smart Design's design and engineering capabilities to create the first single-use sweat analytics system.
- OXOflagshipLongstanding strategic design partnership since 1990, spanning 30+ years. Smart Design has developed hundreds of OXO products including the iconic Good Grips line, establishing OXO as a leader in Universal Design. Partnership continues across multiple product categories including kitchen tools, appliances, and organization products.
- Saving Lives at Birth (Gates Foundation, USAID, Norad, DFID)corePartnership supporting Simprints' healthcare identification initiative. Saving Lives at Birth awarded Simprints $2M innovation prize and $250k for neonate fingerprinting R&D. Funded by Gates Foundation, USAID, UKaid, Canadian, Korean, and Norwegian governments to address maternal and child mortality.
- SimprintscoreOngoing pro-bono design partnership supporting Simprints' mission to provide biometric identification for underserved populations. Smart Design Director Stephanie Yung serves on Simprints advisory board. Partnership includes designing patient identification experiences and training Simprints team on design research tools.
- Gatorade (PepsiCo)flagshipLead innovation partner on the Gx Platform for over 5 years, developing products including the Gx Sweat Patch, personalized bottles, and Gx formula pods. Partnership has transformed Gatorade from sports beverage to Sports Fuel Company.
- BRACcoreWorld's largest NGO partnering with Simprints to pilot healthcare identification systems covering 22k patients in Bangladesh with plans to scale nationwide across 24 districts reaching 4.85M mothers and children.
- Design Trust for Public SpacecoreCollaborated on the Taxi of Tomorrow initiative to redesign New York City taxis, working with the New York Taxi & Limousine Commission to create safer, more comfortable and accessible taxi experiences.
- UNICEFcoreGlobal development partner working with Simprints to improve service delivery in hardest-to-reach regions through biometric identification technology.
- Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreAcademic partner collaborating with Simprints on healthcare identification and patient tracking research in developing regions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Smart Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy pioneering human-centered design across consumer products, healthcare, and digital services. Closest direct peer to Smart Design in scope, methodology, and Fortune 500 client roster.
- Frog Design: Strategic design and engineering consultancy delivering product, brand, and experience design for global brands. Direct competitor in physical product design and digital transformation work.
- Lunar Design: Product design and innovation firm focused on consumer electronics, medical devices, and connected products. Direct competitor in industrial design plus embedded engineering for hardware-centric clients.
- Ammunition Group: Boutique design and product development firm specializing in consumer electronics and lifestyle brands. Comparable on product design engineering depth and consumer-goods client base (e.g., Beats, Herman Miller).
- Pentagram: Independent design consultancy with partner-led teams across branding, product design, and digital. Comparable in client caliber and multidisciplinary senior-led model, though more design-focused than engineering-heavy.
- Teague: Design and innovation consultancy with strengths in transportation, healthcare, and consumer electronics. Comparable on end-to-end design plus engineering capabilities and long-tenure enterprise partnerships.
- Cooper (Cooper Professional): Interaction design and product strategy consultancy credited with popularizing 'personas' and goal-directed design. Direct peer in UX strategy and digital product design work for enterprise clients.
- Artefact: Strategic design and technology consultancy focused on digital products, AI, and data-driven experiences. Comparable in fusing design with emerging technology for enterprise transformation.
Broad incumbents
- Designworks (BMW Group): Strategic design consultancy owned by BMW serving mobility, consumer goods, and technology clients. Competes on transportation and experience design; broader incumbent portfolio with corporate backing.
- McKinsey Design (McKinsey & Company): Design practice inside McKinsey delivering organizational and experience design for C-suite clients. Competes on large-scale design-led transformation mandates with broader consulting resources.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Smart Design social profiles
Digital presenceSmart Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Smart Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Smart Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Smart Design 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 Smart Design
What does Smart Design do?
Smart Design is a strategic design and innovation consultancy providing four integrated service offerings: Research and Insights, Business and Organizational Design, Product and Service Design, and Engineering and Technology. The firm works alongside enterprise client teams to develop human-centered design strategies, products, services, and organizational capabilities, blending traditional design practice with machine learning, computer vision, IoT, AR/VR, and embedded systems engineering. Engagements span from targeted product design initiatives to multi-year organizational design transformations for global brands.
Is Smart Design a public or private company?
Smart Design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Smart Design founded?
Smart Design was founded in 1980. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Smart Design based?
Smart Design is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Smart Design make money?
One revenue line is on record: strategic Design Consulting Services.
Who are Smart Design's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IDEO, Frog Design, Lunar Design, Ammunition Group, Pentagram, Teague, Cooper (Cooper Professional) and Artefact. Broad incumbents are Designworks (BMW Group) and McKinsey Design (McKinsey & Company).
Does Smart Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for Smart Design.
What industry is Smart Design in?
Smart Design's product category is Strategic Design Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAM, Industrial/Product & Furniture Design, with a secondary code of MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX). Its NAICS code is 541420 and its SIC code is 7373.