What Design Concepts does

Design Concepts, operating under the legal name Delve, is a Madison, Wisconsin-headquartered product innovation firm founded in 1967. The company delivers integrated research, strategy, design, and engineering services to clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises across three primary verticals — healthcare and medical devices, consumer products, and commercial/industrial — through studios in Boston, Philadelphia, Madison, and San Francisco and a team of more than 200 cross-disciplinary professionals. Cumulative operating scale is substantial: 10,000+ projects completed, 1,800+ patents secured for clients, and 200+ industry awards over 55+ years. Named engagements span FDA-cleared medical devices (Dexcom G6, Lazurite ArthroFree, Trice Medical Mi-Eye+, BD, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker), consumer brands (Fiskars, PetSafe, Converse, Harley-Davidson, LG, Wolf Sub Zero, Char-Broil, DeWalt, GAF), and emerging technology (Sea Machines, Victor, Phlex, Erewhon Market, EO Care, Not Impossible Labs).

Core capabilities include advanced user research, product strategy, industrial and digital design, human factors engineering, FDA regulatory navigation for medical devices, connected product development, and engineering/prototyping. The firm emphasizes user-centered product development and cross-disciplinary teaming, with proprietary internal tooling such as a tolerance stack-up analysis calculator. Delivery is conducted through project-based professional services engagements sold primarily via direct enterprise sales.

The business model is straightforward professional services revenue: project-based quotations for consulting, design, and engineering work, with no disclosed productized software, subscription, or licensing revenue. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm is privately held, with no reported outside investors, parent company, funding rounds, or M&A activity in the available data. Recent strategic signals point to operational scale-up, including the January 2025 appointments of a Chief Operating Officer (Holly Mason) and a Chief Growth Officer (Cathy Carl), formalizing dedicated functions for delivery capacity and revenue expansion.

Name

Design Concepts

Legal name

Delve

Website

https://design-concepts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Design Concepts (Delve) is a Madison, Wisconsin-based product innovation firm, founded in 1967, that provides integrated research, strategy, design, and engineering services to startups and Fortune 500 clients across healthcare, consumer, and commercial sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Product Design and Innovation Services

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (54142), Engineering Services (54133)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

Keywords

• Product design services
• Innovation consulting
• Medical device design
• Product engineering
• Design strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Innovation Services: Project-based professional services providing advanced research, strategy, design, and engineering expertise to ambitious companies from startups to Fortune 500 clients. Revenue generated through consulting engagements and design/development projects across healthcare, consumer, and commercial industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Design Concepts operates as a product innovation firm providing advanced research, strategy, design, and engineering services to help ambitious companies bring product ideas to market. The firm serves clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across healthcare, consumer, and commercial industries, delivering end-to-end product development from concept through engineering.

Product overview

Delve operates as a product innovation firm offering professional services rather than a packaged software product. The company provides a unified suite of services spanning research, strategy, design, and engineering to help clients develop products across healthcare, consumer, and commercial sectors. The firm has completed over 10,000 projects and holds more than 1,800 patents, working with clients such as Dexcom, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Converse, and Harley-Davidson. Delve's service offering is delivered through offices in Boston, Philadelphia, Madison, and San Francisco.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product Innovation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• World's first FDA-cleared, fully wireless camera for arthroscopy (Lazurite ArthroFree)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Globally recognized product design and innovation consultancy combining research, strategy, design, and engineering for Fortune 500 and startup clients across healthcare, consumer, and commercial sectors - the archetypal direct competitor to Delve.
• Frog Design: Product design and strategy firm delivering research-to-engineering innovation work for enterprise clients in consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets, with comparable cross-disciplinary teams and global Fortune 500 footprint.
• Smart Design: Product innovation consultancy focused on consumer, healthcare, and technology clients, blending research, industrial design, and engineering - directly comparable in service mix and target verticals to Delve.
• Lunar Design: Bay Area-based human-centered product design firm serving consumer electronics, medical device and connected product clients with integrated design and engineering teams - directly parallel to Delve's San Francisco studio and medtech focus.
• Bresslergroup: Product development consultancy specializing in medical devices, consumer products, and industrial equipment with deep human factors and FDA expertise - directly comparable given Delve's medtech regulatory moat.
• Whipsaw: Industrial design and engineering firm serving consumer electronics, medical, and IoT clients with award-winning product work - similar service scope and Fortune 500 client type as Delve.
• Ammunition Group: Product design and brand strategy firm with strengths in consumer electronics, wearables, and home goods, delivering integrated design and engineering - directly comparable in consumer-product focus.
• fuseproject: Industrial design and innovation studio working across consumer, healthcare, and technology categories with a focus on user-centered product development - directly comparable in cross-disciplinary product innovation work.
• Teague: Design and innovation consultancy with aviation, transportation, and consumer product practices; comparable in cross-disciplinary research/design/engineering delivery model and Fortune 500 client base.
• RKS Design: California-based product design and strategy consultancy with research, industrial design, and engineering capabilities across consumer and medical categories - closely mirrors Delve's integrated service model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/design_concepts
• Facebookfacebook.com/designconceptspage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-concepts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Design Concepts