What Grand Studio does

Grand Studio is a digital product strategy and design consultancy headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that originated from the New York consultancy Moment. Founded in 2018, the firm serves enterprise clients across multiple verticals including financial services (Chase, JPMorgan, a major insurance provider), healthcare (Ascension, Providence, Johnson & Johnson), sports and entertainment (NBA), food and hospitality (McDonald's), and technology (Amazon). The firm positions itself around solving complex, ambiguous problems that traditional agencies tend to avoid, using design thinking to address digital transformation challenges in regulated and technically demanding environments. Marquee documented outcomes include a direct-to-consumer life insurance launch that achieved 115% of first-year sales goals in 10 months (70% faster than industry standard) and an underbanked banking product serving millions of customers.

The company delivers six core service offerings: Service Design, Qualitative Research, Product Design and Strategy Consulting, UX/UI Design, Conversation Design (Voice UI), and an AI Integration Framework. Technical capabilities include qualitative research methodologies (ethnographic research, stakeholder interviews, contextual inquiry), conversation design for voice-based interfaces with multilingual VUI considerations, and an AI Integration Framework for embedding responsible, human-centered AI principles into product strategy. Client-facing AI work includes Beacon AI, a proof-of-concept for hyper-personalized AI-driven financial guidance, and Franchise AI, an AI-powered SaaS platform for quick-service restaurant franchise management co-developed with a QSR tech consultancy. The firm operates a remote-first model with optional Chicago office access and maintains two suites at 444 N Wells Street.

Grand Studio's business model is professional services-based, generating revenue through project-based consulting engagements on fixed-scope or time-and-materials terms. Pricing is quote-driven and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contracts reported for some engagements. Distribution occurs through direct enterprise sales via consultative selling, supplemented by content marketing on Medium, organic social channels (Twitter, Instagram), industry events, and case study-driven demand generation on the company website. The company is privately held and founder-managed with no disclosed institutional investment, and offers profit-sharing to employees suggesting some form of employee ownership arrangement.

Name

Grand Studio

Legal name

Grand Studio

Website

https://grandstudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grand Studio is a Chicago-based digital product strategy and design consultancy serving enterprise clients across financial services, healthcare, sports, food/hospitality, manufacturing, and technology. The firm delivers UX/UI design, qualitative research, product strategy, conversation design, and AI integration services on a project-based consulting model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Consulting Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

UX, Design Thinking & Customer Research for PMs (EDABAHAK)

Keywords

• UX design consulting
• Product strategy services
• Qualitative user research
• Service design consulting
• Conversation design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements delivering UX/UI design, research, product strategy, and service design services to enterprise clients. Revenue is generated through professional services fees on fixed-scope or time-and-materials engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grand Studio is a digital product strategy and design consultancy that delivers project-based UX/UI design, qualitative user research, product strategy, service design, and conversation design services to enterprise clients. The firm embeds with client teams to solve complex, ambiguous problems and integrate emerging technologies such as AI into human-centered digital products.

Product overview

Grand Studio is a UX design and digital product consultancy offering a portfolio of six core service offerings: Service Design, Qualitative Research, Product Design and Strategy Consulting, UX/UI Design, Conversation Design (Voice UI), and an AI Integration Framework. These services are delivered through client engagements rather than as standalone software products. Their AI-focused work includes Beacon AI (a proof-of-concept personal finance AI platform) and Franchise AI (an AI-powered SaaS platform for quick-service restaurant franchise management), which represent their internal frameworks and client implementations rather than commercial product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Service Design Designs end-to-end service experiences, mapping customer journeys and optimizing operational efficiencies for complex organizational processes for enterprise clients.
• Qualitative Research Conducts in-depth user research through interviews, on-site observation, and expert interviews to uncover user needs and behaviors for enterprise clients.
• Product Design and Strategy Consulting Provides strategic guidance for product development, roadmapping, and digital transformation initiatives for enterprise clients.
• UX/UI Design Creates user-centered interface designs for web, mobile, and enterprise applications with focus on usability and accessibility for enterprise clients.
• Conversation Design Designs voice and conversational interfaces (VUI) for voice assistants, chatbots, and multi-channel communication systems for enterprise clients.
• AI Integration Framework Structured methodology for embedding responsible, human-centered AI principles into product strategy and design, including generative AI implementations for enterprise clients.

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Major QSR Tech ConsultancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with a leading QSR tech consultancy to develop an AI-powered SaaS platform for franchise owners, combining automated insights with human expertise for franchise decision management.
• Electrical Grid Equipment ProvidercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with an important player in the complex US electrical grid environment to design software and hardware products that reduce labor required to manage the grid and improve reliability for end customers. Project involved 60+ research sessions with end users and delivery of 130+ screens over 13 months.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Pioneering human-centered design consultancy that originated the 'design thinking' methodology Grand Studio uses. IDEO works across enterprise clients on product, service, and strategy design with comparable scope and approach.
• Huge: Digital experience consultancy that designs and builds products, services, and brand experiences for enterprise clients. Operates in the same product strategy, UX, and design-systems space as Grand Studio.
• Ustwo: Digital product studio with a product-design and engineering practice serving enterprise clients. Comparable in scale and in combining strategy, research, and design execution under one roof.
• Work & Co: Boutique digital product studio focused on designing and building digital products for global brands (e.g., Google, Facebook, Nike). Comparable in boutique scale, enterprise client caliber, and product-design-led offering.
• Cooper: Product design consultancy that originated interaction design (Alan Cooper). Directly comparable in focus on enterprise digital product strategy, UX, and design systems at boutique scale.
• frog: Product design and strategy consultancy (now part of Capgemini) that delivers UX, industrial design, and digital transformation for enterprise clients across the same verticals Grand Studio serves (FS, healthcare, consumer).
• Artefact: Design and technology consultancy that combines research, strategy, and product design for enterprise clients in healthcare, financial services, and consumer industries — overlapping verticals and approach with Grand Studio.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey Design: Design arm of McKinsey & Company delivering product, service, and experience design alongside strategic consulting. Overlaps with Grand Studio on enterprise product strategy and design at the C-suite level.
• Fjord (Accenture Song): Service design and innovation consultancy within Accenture Song. Competes with Grand Studio on enterprise service design and digital transformation mandates, but operates at much larger scale and with broader delivery capability.
• R/GA: Global design and innovation consultancy (within IPG) that delivers brand, product, and digital experience work. Competes with Grand Studio on enterprise digital product engagements but at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grandstudiodsgn
• Instagraminstagram.com/grandstudiodsgn

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Grand Studio