Use Design

What Use Design does

Use Design (SAS, Paris) is a French B2B UX, UI, and product design agency founded in 2002 that has repositioned itself around AI design for professional software. The agency sells three productized consulting offerings: Audit UX/AI (one-week diagnostic from EUR 5,400 HT), Quick wins UX/AI (two-week high-impact engagement from EUR 10,800 HT), and a recurring Fractional Product Expert subscription starting at one week per month. It complements these services with free, lead-generating assets including a UX-IA Maturity Pyramid self-assessment tool, a UI Design Component Size Calculator, a Design for Startups eBook, and a Design for Sustainable Innovation kit, all gated through HubSpot.

The agency's portfolio spans complex vertical B2B domains - aerospace and avionics (multiple Thales projects including Cockpit Avionics 2020, which won a Red Dot Design Award Best of the Best in 2013, and TopSky Flow Manager), water management (Suez Aquadvanced), enterprise storage (Scality Artesca), industrial inkjet (Xerox Rialto, with two joint patents), medical devices (Theraclion Echopulse, JRI My Sirius), agriculture (SAIPOL/Oleoze, where redesign drove 700% sales growth), and fintech/regtech (Elseware/Mstar, Regnology/Uloa). The agency also serves public administration, notably the City of Paris.

Go-to-market is sales-led and direct: clients engage via a HubSpot-scheduled discovery call with CEO Patrick Avril, and quotes are produced for fixed-fee engagements. Distribution is exclusively direct, with a stated single-country focus on France and adjacent EMEA. The company has served nearly 100 clients cumulatively, with multiple enterprise relationships exceeding 15 years, and it has no disclosed funding, parent, or M&A activity. Headcount is reported at 11-50. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Underlying technology is consulting craftsmanship rather than a software platform: the principal proprietary components are the UX-IA Maturity Pyramid framework (a 25-question Likert assessment structured on Maslow, Nielsen UX maturity, and AI integration potential), the free UI Design Component Size Calculator (covering mobile, standing, and seating screen distances with density settings), and a Responsible Design template library. The agency does not maintain a public SDK, API, or mobile application.

Name

Use Design

Legal name

SAS Use Design

Website

https://use.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Use Design is a Paris-based UX/UI and AI design agency founded in 2002 that helps B2B software publishers and industrial companies improve product adoption and integrate AI into professional interfaces through fixed-fee audits, quick-win engagements, and fractional senior product expert retainers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

UX/UI and AI Design Consulting Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

UI/UX Engineering & Front-End Modernization (BPAEAFAH), Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)

Keywords

• UX design services
• AI design consulting
• B2B product design
• UX audit services
• Fractional product expert

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. UX/AI Design Consulting Services: Professional services revenue generated through three structured offerings: Audit UX/AI (one-week expert audit at 5,400 EUR HT), Quick wins UX/AI (two-week intervention at 10,800 EUR HT), and Fractional Product Expert (part-time senior product/UX expert from 1 week/month). Services are delivered by senior designers directly to software publishers and industrial companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Use Design is a Paris-based UX/UI, Product Design, and AI Design consulting agency that helps B2B software publishers and industrial companies improve the experience of professional digital products. It sells three core service offerings: Audit UX/AI (one-week diagnostic from €5,400 HT), Quick wins UX/AI (two-week express intervention from €10,800 HT), and Fractional Product Expert (part-time senior product/UX expert from one week per month on a subscription cadence).

Product overview

Use Design is a Paris-based UX/UI/Product design and AI design agency offering professional B2B software augmentation services. Their portfolio consists of three core consulting service offerings (Audit UX/AI, Quick wins UX/AI, and Fractional Product Expert) alongside four complementary free tools/resources (UI Design Component Size Calculator, UX-IA Maturity Pyramid, Design for Startups eBook, and Sustainable Innovation Kit). The agency specializes in improving professional software user experience across industries including healthcare, fintech, industry, maintenance, supervision, agriculture, and aeronautics, focusing on AI integration for software publishers and industrial equipment creators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UI Design Component Size Calculator: Free tool for UI designers and front-end developers to calculate ideal component sizes based on screen distance and device settings.
• UX-IA Maturity Pyramid
• Design for Startups
• Design for Sustainable Innovation

Products and services

• Audit UX/AI A one-week expert audit evaluating a B2B digital product's UX and AI potential, delivered in 5 days and priced from €5,400 HT. Provides a clear diagnostic and prioritized action plan to improve UX, leverage AI, and maximize adoption. For software publishers and industrial companies seeking senior product expertise on a fixed-fee engagement.
• Quick wins UX/AI A two-week express intervention (2 x 5 days) priced from €10,800 HT, identifying 5 to 10 high-impact quick wins on UX/AI experience or usage to eliminate friction and generate rapid KPI gains. For B2B software publishers and industrial companies needing fast, measurable UX/AI improvements.
• Expert à temps partiel (Fractional Product Expert) A senior product, UX, and design expert integrated part-time into client teams from one week per month on a monthly cadence. Provides cadenced accompaniment to frame, challenge, produce, and help teams make better product decisions over the long term, without the cost of a full-time hire. For B2B software publishers and industrial companies needing ongoing senior product expertise.
• UI Design Component Size Calculator A free online calculator tool for UI designers and front-end developers that determines ideal component sizes (buttons, fonts, table rows) based on screen distance, device type (mobile/standing/seating), screen diagonal, resolution, and UI density settings. Inspired by HUMAN SCALE (MIT Press) and Apple/Android guidelines. Available in English and French.
• Pyramide de maturité UX-IA (UX-AI Maturity Pyramid) A free online self-assessment questionnaire (25 Likert-scale questions) that positions a digital product on a 5-level UX-AI maturity scale (FONCTIONNEL / APPROPRIÉ / ADOPTÉ / MOTIVANT / VALORISANT). Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Nielsen UX maturity models, and AI integration potential. Helps product teams identify improvement levers.
• use.design for Startups (eBook) A free downloadable eBook/whitepaper providing startup founders with design methodology tools, including Design Thinking, Product Design prototyping techniques, and User Research approaches to develop and launch successful products. Gated via HubSpot forms for lead generation.
• use.design for Sustainable Innovation (Kit) A free Responsible Design toolkit with Canvas templates incorporating sustainable development axes across three pillars: Ecology, Social, and Economy. Includes Business Model Canvas, User Journey, Empathy Map, Persona, and Responsibility Evaluation templates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700% increase in sales volume (1,200T to 9,600T/month)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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 supporting and minor.

• YLLYsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerYLLY served as the technical development partner for the TkCare MVP project, handling the software development while use.design led product design and project management. YLLY is a French digital agency providing technical implementation services. The partnership delivered a complete smartphone app and web platform within 6 months.
• OVHminorOthersOVH provides web hosting services for use.design's website and digital infrastructure. OVH is a French cloud infrastructure company (SAS, capital 10,069,020 EUR, RCS Lille). Website hosting details confirmed in legal notices.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Designit: Wipro-owned global design consultancy delivering strategy, UX, product, and brand experience work for enterprise clients. Comparable as a multi-disciplinary design firm working at the intersection of AI, software, and digital transformation.
• Frog Design: Global product design and innovation firm specializing in digital and physical product experiences for enterprise. Comparable in its focus on transforming complex products into user-centered designs across hardware and software domains.
• IDEO: Global pioneer design consultancy with deep UX, product design and innovation capabilities serving enterprise clients. IDEO is the most established reference point for a senior-led, methodology-driven design agency of Use Design's profile.
• Huge: Digital agency combining product design, UX, and technology delivery for B2B and consumer brands. Comparable in offering integrated design and product expertise for software-led transformations.
• Pentagram: Independent partner-led design consultancy with deep UX, product, and brand experience practices. Comparable as a senior-led, partner-driven design firm that sells premium creative and product-design engagements to enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Fjord: Design and innovation arm of Accenture Interactive, serving large enterprises across industries with end-to-end design-to-implementation services. Comparable in serving enterprise digital transformation at scale, but backed by Accenture's broader portfolio and global delivery network.
• AKQA: WPP-owned design and innovation agency delivering digital products, experiences, and campaigns for global brands. Comparable in offering premium enterprise UX/product design, though at a much larger scale and as part of a wider agency network.

Regional players

• Theodo: Paris-based digital agency combining product design, UX, and full-stack software development for B2B clients. Closest French-headquartered peer; differentiates with heavier technical implementation but competes for the same software-publisher segment.
• Clever Age: French digital services firm with UX, design, and e-commerce capabilities serving enterprise clients. Comparable French competitor offering design-led digital transformation services to similar enterprise segments.

Others

• Netlight: Nordic-origin management and technology consultancy combining strategy, design, and engineering for enterprise clients. Comparable in offering premium senior-consultant-led digital advisory, though broader in scope than Use Design's UX/AI focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/patrickavril
• Instagraminstagram.com/usedesignagency
• Xx.com/usedesignagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Use Design