Cieden
Cieden is a boutique UX/UI design agency designing complex B2B SaaS, enterprise, and AI product interfaces across healthcare, fintech, telecom, logistics, and other verticals, serving both startups and enterprises via project-based, dedicated team, and Build-Operate-Transfer engagement models.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cieden does
Cieden is a privately held, boutique UX/UI design agency founded in 2016 and headquartered in Toronto, with operational offices in Wilmington, Delaware (its primary legal entity, Cieden LLC) and Lviv, Ukraine. The firm operates a remote-first model and concentrates on complex B2B platforms — SaaS, enterprise software, AI products, healthcare, fintech, telecom, edtech, real estate, ecommerce, BPM/ERP, and logistics — where it simplifies multi-role workflows, designs data-dense dashboards, and produces scalable design systems for engineering handoff.
The service portfolio spans user research, UX strategy, UX audits, prototyping, design systems, and dedicated team extension, plus a vertically integrated AI services line covering AI prototyping/PoC, AI strategy consulting, and AI product design. Senior-only staffing is enforced through a proprietary competency matrix and multi-step evaluation process; engagement models include T&M, fixed-price, dedicated team extension at $7,200-$11,520 per designer per month, and Build-Operate-Transfer at $25,000 per person. The firm publishes an Enterprise App Design Handbook, a podcast, an AI UX concepts YouTube series, and a free skills-matrix template as demand-generation assets.
Commercial motion is sales-led with enterprise field sales, free discovery consultations offering up to 40+ hours of conceptualization at no cost, and a self-serve pricing calculator. Cieden reports 200+ projects delivered, 98% client satisfaction, a 4.9 Clutch rating across 45 five-star reviews, and 99% Upwork job success. Named reference customers include Apollo.io, Blizzard Entertainment, Lykon, Sitenna, Foqal, El Grocer, Factually Health, Way2B, Vimaan, and MedEntry. The company is founder-controlled (CEO Yuriy Mykhasyak and Design Director/Co-founder Iryna Serednya), has no disclosed institutional funding, and does not publish revenue.
Cieden firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cieden
- Legal name
- Cieden LLC
- Website
- https://cieden.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cieden is a boutique UX/UI design agency designing complex B2B SaaS, enterprise, and AI product interfaces across healthcare, fintech, telecom, logistics, and other verticals, serving both startups and enterprises via project-based, dedicated team, and Build-Operate-Transfer engagement models.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cieden industry classification
Industry- Product category
- UI/UX Design Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
Keywords
Where Cieden is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Cieden business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Time and Materials (Trusted Approach): Hourly billing model popular for agile development. Customers pay for hours spent on project with milestones and transparent re-estimation. Most popular engagement model for unknown scope projects.
- Fixed-Price Partnership (Experimental Approach): Fixed estimate with 10% risk buffer for scope understanding. If project takes longer, billing reduces to 50% of original rate. Financially motivates both parties to complete efficiently.
- Project-Based Design Services: End-to-end product design from discovery to delivery. Clients hand off full design process with Cieden taking responsibility for timelines, quality, and results.
- Team Extension: Designers join client team directly, working alongside internal crew with flexible scaling options and continuous access to Cieden's design knowledge.
- Build-Operate-Transfer: Cieden builds and manages dedicated design team, oversees operations, then transitions team to client's payroll or EOR setup.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Professional services/ project-based | Pay-as-you-go | Project-based design services starting at $50/hour |
| Subscription | Monthly | Team extension at $7,200/month per designer |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Build-operate-transfer at $25,000 per person |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Cieden product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cieden is a boutique UI/UX design agency that delivers strategic, data-driven design for complex B2B SaaS, enterprise, and AI-powered platforms across healthcare, fintech, telecom, edtech, real estate, ecommerce, and logistics. Core deliverables include user research, wireframing, interface design, interactive prototyping, design system creation, AI prototyping and proof-of-concept services, and AI strategy consulting, delivered via project-based engagements, dedicated embedded design teams, and build-operate-transfer staffing models.
Product overview
Cieden is a boutique UX/UI design agency offering strategic design services primarily for B2B SaaS and enterprise clients. The core offering is UX/UI Design Services (https://cieden.com/design), complemented by specialized AI Design services (https://cieden.com/ai-design-agency) for AI-powered products. The service portfolio includes dedicated team extensions with roles such as Product Designers (https://cieden.com/hire-product-designers), Design Leads, Design Directors (https://cieden.com/hire-design-director), and Project Managers (https://cieden.com/hire-design-project-managers). Domain expertise spans Healthcare, Fintech, Edtech, Real Estate, Ecommerce, and Logistics (https://cieden.com/ux-ui-design-for-logistics). Additional services include Digital Product Design (https://cieden.com/digital-product-design), Web App Development, Video Production, and various design specializations (Dashboard, CRM, Mobile App, Marketplace, IoT). The company provides flexible engagement models: project-based ($50/hour), dedicated team ($7,200/month per person), and build-operate-transfer ($25,000/person).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- UX/UI Design Services Strategic UI/UX design services for complex B2B SaaS platforms, including user research, wireframing, interface design, prototyping, and design system development. Targets B2B SaaS startups, scale-ups, and enterprises that need senior design talent for complex workflows and advanced functionality.
- AI Design Services Specialized UX/UI design for AI-powered products, including conversational interfaces, intelligent automation features, AI prototyping and proof-of-concept, and AI strategy consulting. For product teams building or integrating AI features into B2B platforms.
- Digital Product Design Services End-to-end digital product design services including UX design, UI design, prototyping, branding, design systems, and market research. For clients seeking a single engagement covering the full product design lifecycle.
- Dedicated Design Team Embedding of Cieden senior designers, design leads, design strategists, design directors, product managers, and project managers into client teams for long-term partnerships with flexible scaling. For companies needing sustained design capacity without building internal teams.
- Design Sprint Intensive design workshops to rapidly ideate, prototype, and validate product ideas within compressed timeframes. For teams needing fast validation of concepts before committing to full design or development cycles.
- Web App Development Full-stack web application development services that complement Cieden's design work, ensuring designs are properly implemented. For clients needing both design and front-end/back-end build under one engagement.
- Video Production Professional video production services for product demos, marketing content, and explainer videos. For clients needing visual storytelling assets alongside product design work.
Quantifiable outcome
- 135% NPS growth for Lykon wellness app redesign
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Cieden
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cieden technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability18 records
Feature5 records
Cieden partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cieden competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ustwo: Boutique digital product studio delivering UX/UI design and product development. Similar size, multi-vertical focus, and emphasis on craft as a differentiator, directly competing for complex product design.
- Work & Co: Independent digital design and engineering studio known for premium UX work with brands like Apple, Google, and Nike. Comparable boutique positioning and B2B/enterprise design focus.
- Cooper (design consultancy): Design consultancy specializing in product strategy and UX, founded by the originator of 'interaction design.' Closely comparable in positioning around complex B2B product work.
Broad incumbents
- IDEO: Pioneering global design consultancy offering UX, brand, and innovation services. Much larger and broader portfolio than Cieden, but directly competes for complex B2B and enterprise design engagements.
- Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and engineering firm (now part of Capgemini) delivering strategic design for enterprise and consumer products. Overlaps with Cieden in complex platform UX for B2B and enterprise SaaS.
- Huge (IPG): Global digital agency offering strategy, design, and technology services. Competes with Cieden for complex enterprise UX and digital product design work across verticals.
- Designit (Wipro): Global design consultancy (now part of Wipro) delivering UX strategy, service design, and product design. Broader scale and geographic reach than Cieden, with overlapping enterprise and B2B SaaS work.
- R/GA: Global digital agency offering connected commerce, brand, and product design. Competes for complex B2B digital product engagements, particularly with larger enterprise clients.
Emerging players
- Lollypop Design Studio: India-headquartered boutique UX/UI design studio with similar service model (UX, UI, research, branding) and broad vertical coverage. Competes on price and similar services for startups and mid-market SaaS.
- Ramotion: Boutique product design and branding agency offering UX/UI for SaaS and AI products. Comparable in size and focus on complex B2B platforms, particularly with AI-native and SaaS clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cieden social profiles
Digital presenceCieden compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cieden financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cieden leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cieden funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cieden 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 Cieden
What does Cieden do?
Cieden is a boutique UI/UX design agency that delivers strategic, data-driven design for complex B2B SaaS, enterprise, and AI-powered platforms across healthcare, fintech, telecom, edtech, real estate, ecommerce, and logistics. Core deliverables include user research, wireframing, interface design, interactive prototyping, design system creation, AI prototyping and proof-of-concept services, and AI strategy consulting, delivered via project-based engagements, dedicated embedded design teams, and build-operate-transfer staffing models.
Is Cieden a public or private company?
Cieden is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cieden founded?
Cieden was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cieden based?
Cieden is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Cieden make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Time and Materials (Trusted Approach) is the primary driver. The others are fixed-Price Partnership (Experimental Approach), project-Based Design Services, team Extension and build-Operate-Transfer.
Who are Cieden's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ustwo, Work & Co and Cooper (design consultancy). Broad incumbents are IDEO, Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering), Huge (IPG), Designit (Wipro) and R/GA. Emerging players are Lollypop Design Studio and Ramotion.
Does Cieden have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cieden.
What industry is Cieden in?
Cieden's product category is UI/UX Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX). Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7330.