What Hyperakt does

Hyperakt is a Brooklyn-headquartered, NYC-certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise operating as a boutique branding agency since its 2001 founding by Julia Zeltser and Deroy Peraza. The firm delivers strategic branding, visual identity, verbal identity, campaign branding, and brand transformation services to a narrow vertical of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and purpose-driven institutions including the Ford Foundation, NYCLU, The New York Community Trust, DonorsChoose, and Climate Lead. Service delivery follows a guided, collaborative engagement model organized around six named service modules: Brand Sprint, Brand Readiness, Brand Transformation, Campaign Branding, Verbal Identity, and Visual Identity, supported by an extensive capabilities catalog spanning naming, logo design, brand architecture, motion identity, website design, data visualization, and brand rollout.

The firm's underlying technology is process- and methodology-driven rather than software-driven; its only proprietary digital asset is the Nonprofit Brand Score, a 16-question benchmark assessment tool that measures organizational brand confidence across four dimensions (Clarity, Resonance, Distinction, Influence) and functions primarily as a lead-generation and thought-leadership instrument. Hyperakt operates fully remotely with periodic in-person team gatherings while maintaining its NYC headquarters, and employs an interdisciplinary team of strategists, designers, and project managers in the 11–50 employee range.

Hyperakt's business model is sales-led B2B professional services with custom project-based pricing, multi-year contract cadence, and no publicly disclosed fee schedule. Go-to-market is inbound via the website contact form, supplemented by content marketing through the Hype Insights newsletter and earned media coverage in Fast Company, Print Magazine, Mashable, and other design and nonprofit publications. The firm has no institutional investors, no parent company, and is wholly owned and operated by its two co-founders. Notable demonstrated outcomes include an 18% donation increase and $74M net gain for DonorsChoose post-rebrand, and a $25M (versus $7M prior) fundraising outcome for the Pete for America 2020 campaign after Hyperakt's brand toolkit launch.

Name

Hyperakt

Legal name

Hyperakt

Website

https://hyperakt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hyperakt is a NYC-based, women-owned boutique branding agency founded in 2001 that delivers brand strategy, visual identity, verbal identity, and campaign branding services to nonprofit organizations, foundations, and purpose-driven institutions across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Branding & Design Services for Nonprofits

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & Purpose Brand Design (ESG Narrative, Impact Branding) (MPAAAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL)

Keywords

• Branding agency services
• Nonprofit brand strategy
• Visual identity design
• Verbal identity development
• Social impact branding

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Branding Services: Professional services revenue from delivering branding engagements including Brand Sprint, Brand Readiness, Brand Transformation, Campaign Branding, Verbal Identity, and Visual Identity services. Projects range from fast strategic sprints to full brand transformations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hyperakt is a NYC-based social impact branding agency that delivers professional branding engagements for nonprofits and foundations. Offerings include Brand Sprint, Brand Readiness, Brand Transformation, Campaign Branding, Verbal Identity, and Visual Identity services, supplemented by the proprietary Nonprofit Brand Score assessment tool that benchmarks brand confidence across Clarity, Resonance, Distinction, and Influence.

Product overview

Hyperakt is a NYC-based branding agency offering a portfolio of services organized around brand creation and transformation. Their core offerings include Brand Sprint, Brand Readiness, Brand Transformation, Campaign Branding, Verbal Identity, and Visual Identity services. The company also offers a proprietary assessment tool called the Nonprofit Brand Score that measures brand confidence across four dimensions. Their capabilities span the full brand lifecycle from strategy and naming through logo design, visual identity, motion graphics, copywriting, website design, and brand rollout. Services are delivered through collaborative engagements with clients rather than a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nonprofit Brand Score A proprietary, free benchmark assessment tool that measures how team members perceive their organization's brand across four dimensions — Clarity, Resonance, Distinction, and Influence. Comprises 16 questions and generates personalized shareable reports. Built for nonprofits and foundations evaluating brand readiness.
• Brand Sprint

Quantifiable outcome

• DonorsChoose saw 18% increase in donations ($74M net gain) and brand assets used in $100M+ free PSA ad placements post-rebrand
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Reed WordssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on scriptwriting for Ford Foundation brand project. Strategic copy partner for brand verbal identity work.
• Christian MroczkasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongtime collaborator on animation and sound production for Ford Foundation brand and other projects.
• Constellation CollectivesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccessibility specialists collaborated with Hyperakt and Ford Foundation on accessibility training, tools, and standards for brand system.
• Clearfire StudiossupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Hyperakt on NYCLU website project.
• Bistro StudiossupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign studio collaborator on Climate Lead brand transformation project.
• James Wu / Studio TomosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on The New York Community Trust brand refresh project.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Pentagram is a partner-led design firm with offices across the U.S. and U.K. producing brand identities, visual systems, and editorial design. It is the most direct competitor to Hyperakt at the high end of purpose-driven identity work and shares the small-partner, project-based model.
• Manual: Manual is a creative agency explicitly built for purpose-driven brands, offering brand strategy, design, and campaign work. Its positioning, client base of foundations and social enterprises, and service portfolio closely parallel Hyperakt's.
• DesignStudio: DesignStudio is a global brand and design agency that has built identity systems for civic, cultural, and activist clients (e.g., Airbnb, Tate). It is directly comparable on purpose-driven rebranding work, especially for cultural and institutional organizations.
• Blue State: Blue State is a digital agency serving nonprofits, advocacy groups, political campaigns, and foundations, covering strategy, creative, and digital fundraising. Its overlap with Hyperakt is strongest in campaign branding and foundation communications.
• Character (NYC): Character is a Brooklyn-based creative agency that blends branding, design, and technology for mission-driven clients. Its location, size, and client mix (foundations, cultural institutions, advocacy orgs) make it one of Hyperakt's closest geographic and capability peers.
• Fenton: Fenton is a social change agency offering branding, communications strategy, and campaigns for foundations, advocacy groups, and NGOs. It directly competes with Hyperakt on foundation rebrand and nonprofit campaign work.
• Siegel+Gale: Siegel+Gale is a global branding and strategic design firm specializing in brand strategy, naming, visual identity, and brand simplification. It directly competes with Hyperakt on purpose-driven and nonprofit engagements and operates on a similar project-based professional-services model.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation firm with deep social-impact work through IDEO.org. While broader in scope (product, service, organizational design), it competes for the same foundation and nonprofit transformation mandates that Hyperakt pursues.
• R/GA: R/GA is a large network agency covering brand, product, and marketing transformation with notable purpose-driven and nonprofit work. It is a broader competitor at the high end of foundation and nonprofit transformation engagements.

Emerging players

• Athletics: Athletics is a Brooklyn-based design and strategy studio focused on brand and visual identity for cultural, civic, and commercial clients. It overlaps with Hyperakt on visual identity and brand strategy for impact-oriented organizations at a similar size.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hyperakt
• Instagraminstagram.com/hyperakt
• Xx.com/hyperakt
• Facebookfacebook.com/hyperakt

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Hyperakt