THE GUILD

What THE GUILD does

THE GUILD is a Tokyo-based guild-type creative firm founded in 2013 by Takayuki Fukatsu (深津貴之), with Sohei Kitada (北田荘平) participating in the founding, that delivers comprehensive creative services from problem definition through growth. Its service surface spans nine expertise areas: Experience/Service Design, Communication Design/Branding, User Interface Design, Visual Design, R&D/Experimental Design, UX Research/Growth Design, Development, Academic, and Others. The firm operates from two Tokyo offices (Minami-Aoyama and Yoyogi), maintains a small team (1-10 employees), and runs THE GUILD STUDIO as a studio unit established in 2020.

The business model is project-based professional services delivered through direct client engagement; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Customers are enterprise and government clients across multiple verticals: fashion brands (human woman/AIAD, Traditional Weatherwear/BBF/YAGI TSUSHO, journal standard luxe/BAYCREW'S), imaging (FUJIFILM), finance (Globis Capital Partners), government (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Service Design Guidelines), and technology startups (Fivot, Chikaku). Marketing channels are organic: X (Twitter), note.com, and the 'guild talk' podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The firm's structure is differentiated from a conventional studio: core members operate as affiliated independent entities (T-D inc., ium inc., Shouwakiden Inc., Art & Mobile, Alpha Version Inc., PREDUCTS), covering AI/DX, UX consulting, interaction design, app development, and physical product manufacturing respectively. Notable AI-adjacent work includes the CarbonScope app, which uses real-time object recognition via machine learning models to identify objects and visualize CO2 emissions. Historical recognition includes a Good Design Award (2012), Japan AppStore #1 ranking for Staccal2 (Jan 2014), and SXSW Best Bootstrap Company (2015).

Name

THE GUILD

Legal name

THE GUILD

Website

https://theguild.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

THE GUILD is a Tokyo-based guild-type creative firm founded in 2013 that delivers project-based design and development services—spanning UI/UX, branding, service design, and experimental design—to enterprise and government clients in fashion, technology, finance, and the public sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design and Development Services: Project-based professional services providing design and development work to clients across various industries including fashion, technology, government, and media.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

THE GUILD is a guild-type creative firm providing end-to-end creative services from problem definition through growth, across nine expertise areas: Experience/Service Design, Communication Design/Branding, User Interface Design, Visual Design, R&D/Experimental Design, UX Research/Growth Design, Development, Academic, and Others. The firm delivers project-based professional design and development services to corporate, government, and startup clients across industries including fashion, technology, finance, and media.

Product overview

THE GUILD is a guild-type creative firm (ギルド型のクリエイティブファーム) with members of diverse specializations and high autonomy. The company offers design services across nine expertise areas: Experience/Service Design, Communication Design/Branding, User Interface Design, Visual Design, R&D/Experimental Design, UX Research/Growth Design, Development, Academic, and Others. In addition to design services, THE GUILD operates a podcast called 'guild talk' featuring discussions with guests on AI, technology, and business topics. THE GUILD does not offer standalone software products but provides creative and design expertise as professional services to clients across various industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• THE GUILD STUDIO: A studio unit within THE GUILD focused on design work, with members including Naoko Iwanaga and Akane Inoguchi.

Products and services

• Design Services
• guild talk Podcast

Quantifiable outcome

• TiltShiftGen2 achieved over 500,000 downloads and reached #10 in US daily rankings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• T-D inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Sohei Kitada, a core member of THE GUILD. T-D inc. operates as a design studio with cross-disciplinary approach to AI, DX, and e-commerce domains.
• ium inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign studio founded by Chiharu Kodama, an Art Director at THE GUILD. Specializes in art direction and UX/UI consulting with user experience as the starting point.
• Shouwakiden Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio founded by Yukiya Okuda, a core member of THE GUILD. Focuses on interaction design, UI/UX, installation, and engineering.
• Art & MobilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany led by Takayuki Fukatsu, THE GUILD co-founder. Specializes in UI/UX design and interactive design.
• Alpha Version Inc. (株式会社アルファバージョン)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Masato Yamaguchi, a core member of THE GUILD. Specializes in direction, system architecture, and app development.
• PREDUCTSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduct manufacturer founded by Go Ando, THE GUILD co-founder. Focuses on creating physical products designed for excellent user experience.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Takram: Tokyo-based creative engineering and design firm combining design, technology, and R&D to deliver product and service innovation. Closest Japanese analog to THE GUILD's guild-style multidisciplinary model and Experience/Service Design offering.
• Good Design Company: Japanese design practice known for brand identity, signage, and editorial design. Comparable as a founder-led Tokyo design boutique competing for similar brand-experience engagements.
• Nendo: Japanese design studio led by Oki Sato, spanning product, interior, graphic, and architectural design. Comparable as a Japan-headquartered, founder-led design atelier competing for premium brand and corporate commissions like THE GUILD's fashion and enterprise clients.
• Art & Mobile: Tokyo UI/UX design firm led by THE GUILD CEO Takayuki Fukatsu, focused on interactive and product UI. Closely comparable technically and organizationally, though operating as a separate affiliated entity rather than under THE GUILD brand.
• BUNKO Inc. Tokyo-based creative studio working on branding, editorial, web, and product design. Comparable as a multidisciplinary Japanese boutique serving enterprise clients across creative and digital scopes similar to THE GUILD.
• KAYAC: Japanese creative agency known for web/app development, UI/UX, and creative direction. Directly comparable to THE GUILD's digital product work, and explicitly cited as a prior employer of THE GUILD member Kojiro Seo.
• Whatever Co. Tokyo creative agency offering branding, web, app, and communication design. Closely matches THE GUILD's Communication Design/Branding and UI Design offerings for Japanese enterprise and consumer brands.

Broad incumbents

• Frog (frog design): Global design and engineering firm focused on consumer products, digital experiences, and brand. Overlaps with THE GUILD's UI Design, Visual Design, and Development competencies for enterprise and consumer-facing digital products.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with human-centered design, digital product, and service design offerings. DIRECTLY comparable to THE GUILD's Experience/Service Design and UX research expertise, but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Pentagram: Multidisciplinary design consultancy with partners running independent practices across branding, digital, and product. Conceptually parallels THE GUILD's partner-led/guild structure but at scale with global enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theguild_jp
• Facebookfacebook.com/theguild.jp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments7 records

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

Frequently asked questions about THE GUILD