Exit Design
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Exit Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Exit Design
- Legal name
- Exit Design
- Website
- https://exploreexit.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Exit Design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Experiential Design Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430), Interior Design Services (541410)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where Exit Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Exit Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Project-Based Design Engagements: Exit Design generates revenue through custom design project engagements with institutions and organizations. Projects include wayfinding systems, signage standards, branded environments, donor recognition installations, interpretive storytelling, and brand identity work. engagements are typically project-based with defined scopes.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Exit Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Exit Design is a strategy-driven experiential design practice that delivers research-backed wayfinding systems, comprehensive sign standards, donor recognition installations, branded environments, interpretive storytelling, and brand identity work for institutional clients. The firm is distinguished by its proprietary Touchpointing® methodology for mapping user journeys, deep primary research including 650+ focus groups, and an integrated subsidiary agency (J2) that translates brand identity directly into physical built environments.
Product overview
Exit Design operates as a strategy-driven experiential design practice with a portfolio of six core service offerings: Wayfinding, Sign Standards, Donor Recognition, Branded Environments, Interpretive Storytelling, and Brand Identity. The company is organized with an integrated agency called J2 that provides brand identity and creative services, complementing Exit Design's physical design capabilities. Additionally, Huddle is a creative event space in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia that serves as a venue for community gatherings, exhibitions, and design events. Together, these offerings enable Exit Design to deliver end-to-end brand experiences in the built environment, from strategy and identity through physical implementation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- J2: An integrated agency that builds strategically-driven brand identity and creative.
- Huddle
Products and services
- Wayfinding Research-backed, human-centered wayfinding systems that guide people through physical spaces with clarity and purpose, including assessment, strategy, design, documentation, programming, and implementation oversight for institutional clients.
- Sign Standards Comprehensive signage standards documentation covering materials, methods, hierarchy, and placement to ensure consistency across every sign and location, including manual design and system management for institutional clients.
- Donor Recognition Recognition systems that honor donor generosity through beautifully designed walls, plaques, and program standards, connecting donors to the impact they make while reinforcing brand identity for institutional and nonprofit clients.
- Branded Environments Engaging physical environments and experiences that translate brand identity into spaces through graphics, installations, and architectural integration, creating meaningful connections between people and place for institutional clients.
- Interpretive Storytelling Narrative-driven experiences that educate and inspire through research, content strategy, and interpretive design, bringing history, mission, and impact to life in exhibits and programs for cultural, civic, and institutional clients.
- Brand Identity Flexible visual and verbal systems that capture organizational essence and empower authentic, differentiated communication across all brand touchpoints for institutional clients.
- J2 Integrated Agency A wholly-owned integrated agency within Exit Design that builds strategically-driven brand identity and creative services, supporting the parent company's experiential design practice with brand strategy, visual identity, and creative execution for institutional clients.
- Huddle Creative Event Space A creative gathering space located at 338 Brown St., Philadelphia, PA 19123, dedicated to bringing together the design community to admire art and design, share ideas, make connections, and host events and exhibitions.
Quantifiable outcome
- 18 hospitals rebranded with standardized UPMC signage system
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Exit Design
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Exit Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Exit Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- J2 (j2made.com)coreJ2 is Exit Design's integrated agency that builds strategically-driven brand identity and creative. J2 handles brand strategy, visual identity, and creative work that seamlessly integrates with Exit Design's environmental design and wayfinding capabilities. The two agencies collaborate on projects requiring both brand identity and physical environment expression.
- Drive21minorDesign development and fabrication partner for branded environment installations, specifically mentioned for Saint Joseph's University Sister Thea Bowman Hall project involving origami hawk installation.
- Andropogon AssociatesminorLandscape architecture partner for Innovation Plaza project at University City Science Center, providing landscape design expertise that integrated with Exit Design's wayfinding and brand environment work.
- Eleven Inc.minorCopywriting partner for Dignity Health Hello Humankindness brand activation project, providing messaging and copywriting that Exit Design translated into physical brand experiences across 38 campuses.
- WRT (Watershopffs + Ryan Tigert)minorArchitecture and design firm partnered with for Cabrini College Dixon Center project, collaborating on donor recognition system and lobby graphics for 44,000-square-foot Athletic and Recreation Pavilion.
- HGA Architects and EngineersminorArchitecture firm for SSM Health Dean Medical Group Specialty Services building, whose design for collaborative outpatient services hub informed Exit Design's wayfinding system.
- HGA Architects and EngineersminorArchitecture firm for Virtua Voorhees Hospital master plan, whose autonomous entrance concept and 680,000-square-foot medical center design was supported by Exit Design's neighborhood navigation system.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Exit Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Corgan: Architecture firm with a strong aviation, healthcare, and higher-education practice; competes with Exit on healthcare and university signage, branding, and wayfinding scopes bundled into broader facility design work.
- Pentagram: Largest independent design firm with multiple partners doing environmental graphic design and wayfinding work; a much broader portfolio player but overlapping on institutional signage and brand identity engagements.
- Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with an environmental graphic design practice; competes for the largest hospital and university master plan wayfinding mandates that Exit targets, but as part of a much wider services portfolio.
Direct peers
- Poulin + Morris: Long-established New York environmental graphic design firm working on wayfinding, signage, and branded environments for healthcare, education, and cultural institutions.
- C&G Partners: New York-based environmental graphic design firm specializing in wayfinding, signage, branded environments, and exhibitions for cultural and institutional clients — nearly identical practice scope to Exit Design, making it the closest direct peer.
- Two Twelve (Stantec): Boutique environmental graphic design and wayfinding firm (now operating within Stantec); directly comparable in practice area, with hospital, university, and civic clients and a research-led approach similar to Exit's Touchpointing®.
- fd2s: Austin-based planning, wayfinding, and environmental graphic design firm with deep healthcare and civic portfolios. Comparable scale and methodology-driven practice to Exit Design.
- Selbert Perkins Design: Placemaking and signage design firm with healthcare, transit, and education expertise; comparable boutique EGD firm serving large institutional clients with research-driven methodology.
Regional players
- Mijksenaar: Dutch wayfinding design firm with international reach; comparable methodology-driven practice for transportation, healthcare, and civic clients but primarily Europe-based, with limited direct overlap in the US market where Exit operates.
Emerging players
- HGA Architects and Engineers: National architecture and engineering firm with a growing environmental graphic design practice — directly partnered with Exit on Virtua Voorhees and SSM Health, indicating both partnership and competitive overlap on healthcare projects.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Exit Design social profiles
Digital presenceExit Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Exit Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Exit Design subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Exit Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Exit Design 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 Exit Design
What does Exit Design do?
Exit Design is a strategy-driven experiential design practice that delivers research-backed wayfinding systems, comprehensive sign standards, donor recognition installations, branded environments, interpretive storytelling, and brand identity work for institutional clients. The firm is distinguished by its proprietary Touchpointing® methodology for mapping user journeys, deep primary research including 650+ focus groups, and an integrated subsidiary agency (J2) that translates brand identity directly into physical built environments.
Is Exit Design a public or private company?
Exit Design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Exit Design founded?
Exit Design was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Exit Design based?
Exit Design is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Exit Design make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Services - Project-Based Design Engagements.
Who are Exit Design's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Corgan, Pentagram and Gensler. Direct peers are Poulin + Morris, C&G Partners, Two Twelve (Stantec), fd2s and Selbert Perkins Design. Mijksenaar is listed as a regional player. HGA Architects and Engineers is listed as an emerging player.
Does Exit Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for Exit Design.
What industry is Exit Design in?
Exit Design's product category is Experiential Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAL, Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 8700.