Mess
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Mess firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mess
- Legal name
- Kaart Marketing LLC
- Website
- https://thisismess.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mess industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Design and Development Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)
Keywords
Where Mess is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mess business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Design & Development Services: Project-based professional services providing design and development solutions including website development, app development, e-commerce builds, branding, and ticketing platforms for enterprise clients.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Mess product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mess is a Chicago-based design and development studio that provides professional creative and engineering services to brands and startups. Its offerings span creative disciplines (UX architecture, frontend design, copywriting, photography, video editing, audio production, brand design, key frame animation, design systems) and technical disciplines (web app development, native app development, systems engineering, cloud architectures, AI, and procedural animation). Clients engage the studio for end-to-end digital product work ranging from brand identity to production-grade software.
Product overview
Mess is a design and development studio offering professional services rather than a packaged software product. The company provides a unified portfolio of creative services (User Experience Architecture, Frontend Design, Copywriting, Photography, Video Editing, Audio Production, Brand Design, Key Frame Animation, Design Systems) and development services (Web Application Development, Native Application Development, Systems Engineering, Cloud Architectures, Artificial Intelligence, Procedural Animation). Projects span website design and development, e-commerce platforms, mobile applications, branding, and ticketing systems, serving clients from startups to Fortune 100 companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Creative Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Transformed digital presence for Chicago cultural organizations
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Mess
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Mess technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
Mess partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mess competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Smart Design: Smart Design is an independent design consultancy that helps brands develop digital products, experiences, and brand systems. Its boutique scale, design-led philosophy, and mix of startup-to-enterprise clients parallel Mess's positioning and operating model.
- Instrument: Instrument is an independent digital creative agency that partners with enterprise brands on brand, experience design, and product development. Its boutique scale, independence, and integrated creative-technology offering make it highly comparable to Mess.
- Code and Theory: Code and Theory is a digital-first creative and engineering agency that designs and builds enterprise websites, platforms, and brand experiences. Its integrated design-plus-engineering model and enterprise client focus make it one of the closest direct comparisons to Mess.
- Work & Co: Work & Co is a digital product agency specializing in designing and developing flagship websites, mobile apps, and e-commerce platforms for leading global brands. Its product-led, design-plus-engineering approach and selective enterprise client roster closely mirror Mess's model.
- Digital Kitchen: Digital Kitchen is a Chicago-based independent digital agency producing brand experiences, websites, and interactive content for major brands. It shares Mess's Chicago home, boutique scale, and integrated creative + technology positioning, and competes for similar Midwest enterprise clients.
Broad incumbents
- Huge: Huge is a large, established digital experience agency offering strategy, design, and engineering services to enterprise clients including Fortune 500 brands. Like Mess, it delivers end-to-end digital products spanning web, mobile, and brand, but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
- R/GA: R/GA is a global digital agency combining brand, design, and technology to build connected products and experiences for major brands. It directly parallels Mess's full-stack offering across creative, UX, and engineering but operates at much larger scale globally.
- Frog Design: Frog is a global design and innovation consultancy working across product, brand, and digital experience for major enterprises. It overlaps with Mess on design-led digital product development, though Frog operates at significantly larger scale and broader strategic scope.
- Bounteous: Bounteous is a digital experience agency delivering strategy, design, engineering, and analytics for enterprise brands including many Fortune 500 names. Its broader service portfolio and larger headcount make it a larger-scale analog to Mess's offering.
Emerging players
- Thoughtbot: Thoughtbot is a design and development consultancy focused on product strategy, UX design, and web/mobile engineering for startups and mid-market clients. Its tech-first boutique approach and product-focused delivery overlap with Mess's development-heavy service offering.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Mess social profiles
Digital presenceMess financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mess leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Mess funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mess 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 Mess
What does Mess do?
Mess is a Chicago-based design and development studio that provides professional creative and engineering services to brands and startups. Its offerings span creative disciplines (UX architecture, frontend design, copywriting, photography, video editing, audio production, brand design, key frame animation, design systems) and technical disciplines (web app development, native app development, systems engineering, cloud architectures, AI, and procedural animation). Clients engage the studio for end-to-end digital product work ranging from brand identity to production-grade software.
Is Mess a public or private company?
Mess is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Mess founded?
Mess was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mess based?
Mess is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mess make money?
One revenue line is on record: design & Development Services.
Who are Mess's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Smart Design, Instrument, Code and Theory, Work & Co and Digital Kitchen. Broad incumbents are Huge, R/GA, Frog Design and Bounteous. Thoughtbot is listed as an emerging player.
Does Mess have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mess.
What industry is Mess in?
Mess's product category is Digital Design and Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX), with a secondary code of BPAFAEAI, Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design. Its NAICS code is 541512 and its SIC code is 7371.