Manmade

What Manmade does

Manmade is a boutique design consultancy that helps organizations design, launch, and improve complex products and services. Founded in 1995 and led by British designer Jon Williams, the firm operates remotely with a deliberately small team (1–10 employees) and serves founders, scientists, and executives across the United States, United Kingdom, and globally. The company is structured as Manmade Media Inc. (California corporation) and Manmade Media Ltd. (UK private limited company).

The firm's offering spans four core service lines: Product & Experience Design (information architecture, UX/UI design, rapid prototyping, design systems), Workflow & AI Integration (workflow analysis, internal tool design, AI tool integration, process redesign, AI rapid prototyping), Information Design & Communications (data visualization, process diagrams, explanatory graphics, presentation design), and Brand & Launch (naming, brand strategy, identity, website, pitch deck). Manmade's methodology is human-centered design applied to undefined problems, with explicit emphasis on strategic clarity before execution and a pragmatic "as little design as possible" approach.

Commercially, Manmade operates as a professional services firm generating revenue through bespoke, project-based consulting engagements. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; prospective clients initiate contact through the company website's Calendly integration or via direct email. The client roster includes Genentech, Roche, NASA, Dolby, PlayStation, Borrego, Ecologi, uBiome, SMBX, Transmute, IFC, and Western Union. Documented client outcomes include a 50% reduction in time-to-issuance for Transmute's Verifiable Data Platform, an $83M Series B raise by uBiome, and a $14M Seed raise by SMBX, each following Manmade's design engagement.

Name

Manmade

Legal name

Manmade Media Inc.

Website

https://manmade.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Manmade is a boutique design consultancy, led by Jon Williams, that helps founders, scientists, and executives design, launch, and improve complex products and services across four practice areas: product design, workflow and AI integration, information design, and brand and launch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Engagements: Professional services revenue generated through bespoke consulting engagements with founders, scientists, and executives. Engagements are project-based with strategic clarity combined with hands-on execution. They take on a limited number of engagements at a time, operating at the speed the work demands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Manmade is a boutique design consultancy that provides strategic clarity combined with hands-on execution for founders, scientists, and executives. The firm sells four core service lines: (1) Product & Experience Design covering strategy, information architecture, UX/UI design, rapid prototyping, and design systems; (2) Workflow & AI Integration including workflow analysis, internal tool design, AI tool integration, and process redesign; (3) Information Design & Communications including data visualisation, process diagrams, explanatory graphics, and presentation design; and (4) Brand & Launch covering naming, identity, website, and pitch deck design for new ventures.

Product overview

Manmade is a design consultancy offering strategic product design and development services. The company operates four core service lines: Product & Experience Design (spanning strategy, information architecture, UX/UI, prototyping, and design systems), Workflow & AI Integration (including workflow analysis, internal tool development, and AI tool integration), Information Design & Communications (data visualisation, process diagrams, and explanatory graphics), and Brand & Launch (naming, identity, website, and pitch deck design). The company also highlights client projects including SMBX (a fintech mobile app for small businesses), Transmute (a verifiable data platform), and uBiome (a microbiome testing service).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product & Experience Design
• Workflow & AI Integration
• Information Design & Communications
• Brand & Launch

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reduction in time-to-issuance for Transmute's Verifiable Data Platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Partner-led design firm with practice areas in brand identity, digital, and editorial design. Comparable to Manmade's Brand & Launch and identity offerings for sophisticated founders and enterprise clients.
• Moving Brands: Independent, founder-led brand and experience design consultancy with offices in London, San Francisco, and Zurich. Comparable to Manmade's boutique positioning, brand-plus-product offering, and UK/US cross-Atlantic footprint.
• frog (frog design): Global product and brand design consultancy serving founders and large enterprises across hardware, software, and services. Comparable to Manmade in combining strategy, UX/UI, prototyping, and brand work for complexity-driven engagements.
• Huge: Digital experience and product design consultancy delivering strategy, UX/UI, and design systems for enterprise and consumer brands. Comparable to Manmade's full-stack Product & Experience Design service line for complexity-driven organizations.
• Work & Co: Product and brand design consultancy known for shipping high-profile digital products with founder and enterprise clients. Comparable to Manmade's end-to-end 'whiteboard to launch' model and selective engagement style.
• Manual: Boutique design and engineering firm building digital products for category-defining companies. Comparable to Manmade in size, selectivity, founder/executive client targeting, and full-stack product-design capability.
• IDEO: Pioneer human-centered design consultancy with global studios spanning product, brand, and service design for founders and enterprises. Closest direct comparable to Manmade's strategy-plus-execution, complexity-driven offering and similar founder/executive client base.

Broad incumbents

• R/GA: Global innovation and design network spanning brand, product, and marketing at enterprise scale. Overlaps with Manmade's Product & Experience Design and Brand & Launch lines but operates at significantly greater scale and breadth.
• Accenture Song: Global experience and design practice within Accenture, offering strategy, product, brand, and AI-driven experience design. Overlaps with Manmade's enterprise-facing 'Workflow & AI Integration' and Product & Experience Design offerings.
• McKinsey Design (via Leap by McKinsey): Strategy-led design capability inside McKinsey targeting C-suite digital and product transformation. Comparable in its targeting of executives seeking 'strategic clarity before execution,' though at vastly larger scale and price point than Manmade.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/manmade_sf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/manmade
• Facebookfacebook.com/ManmadeSF

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Manmade