What Flatland Agency does

Flatland Agency is a privately held visual design thinking consultancy founded in 2007 and headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with a secondary office in Zurich, Switzerland. The firm employs approximately 26 Visual Designers and Project Managers who deliver an integrated methodology built on three pillars — visualization, co-creation, and design thinking — packaged into three named practice areas: strategy development (Strategie Ontwikkeling), change activation (Activeer Verandering), and innovation acceleration (Innovatie Versnellen). Its service model is project-based consulting paired with a training sub-brand, Flatland Academy, which offers cohort-based Summer/Winter School programs and customized in-company training.

The firm's revenue is generated through two professional services streams: bespoke consulting engagements and Flatland Academy training programs. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are quote-based, with outreach via a sales-led motion initiated through direct consultation ([email protected], +31 10 669 0079) and supported by content marketing through the firm website and organic social presence on LinkedIn and Instagram. The customer base spans enterprise (DHL, IKEA, Stedin, TNO, Woonbron, Curium Pharma, Heeren Loog, Woonstad Rotterdam, Amsta, Zadkine Startcollege) and government/public-sector (Rijksoverheid, Gemeente Rotterdam, Gemeente Den Haag) clients primarily in the Netherlands, with a stated intent to serve the Swiss market through the Zurich office.

Flatland is independently owned with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or venture backing, and is led by Managing Partner and co-founder Bob van Putten. The firm maintains minor back-office partnerships with Design Evers + de Gier and Code Jannes & Mannes, holds no patents or regulatory licenses, and operates without any disclosed software product, app, or API. All delivery is human-led professional services with no public indication of AI, machine learning, or proprietary technology components.

Name

Flatland Agency

Legal name

Flatland Agency

Website

https://flatland.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Flatland Agency is a Rotterdam-based visual design thinking consultancy founded in 2007 that uses visualization, co-creation, and design thinking to help Dutch and Swiss enterprises, healthcare organizations, and public-sector clients develop strategy, activate change, and accelerate innovation, supplemented by training via its Flatland Academy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Strategic consulting engagements for vision and strategy development, change activation, and innovation acceleration using visual design thinking methodology.
2. Training Programs: Flatland Academy offerings including Summer School, Winter School, and customized in-company training programs teaching visual thinking and drawing skills.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Flatland Agency is a visual design thinking consultancy that helps organizations bring strategy, vision, and change to life through visualization, co-creation, and design thinking. It delivers three specialized consulting practice areas (strategy development, change activation, innovation acceleration) and operates the Flatland Academy which provides open-enrollment Summer/Winter Schools and customized in-company visual thinking training.

Product overview

Flatland Agency is a visual design thinking consultancy offering a unified service portfolio centered on visualization, co-creation, and design thinking methodologies. The core offering consists of visualization and co-creation services, supported by three specialized practice areas: strategy development (Strategie Ontwikkeling), change activation (Activeer Verandering), and innovation acceleration (Innovatie Versnellen). The Flatland Academy provides complementary training services including Summer/Winter School programs and custom in-company training. All services work together as an integrated methodology to help organizations bring strategy, vision, and change to life through visual representation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Flatland Academy: Training programs including Summer School, Winter School, and in-company training services focused on visual thinking and visualization techniques.

Products and services

• Flatland Academy Training programs teaching visual thinking and drawing skills, including open-enrollment Summer and Winter Schools (3-day intensive courses requiring no drawing experience) and custom in-company training designed to help teams embrace visual thinking and apply it practically.
• Strategie Ontwikkeling (Strategy Development) Vision and strategy design service that transforms vague strategic concepts into inspiring, actionable plans using visualization techniques to engage people and drive organizational movement.
• Activeer Verandering (Change Activation) Change activation service using visualization to bring organizational plans to life, transforming paper-based change initiatives into concrete, tangible outcomes.
• Innovatie Versnellen (Innovation Acceleration) Innovation acceleration service using visualization to quickly concretize new ideas and engage entire teams in the innovation process.
• Visualisatie (Visualization) Core visualization methodology that helps clarify complexity faster and make abstract concepts concrete through drawing and visual representation.
• Co-creatie (Co-creation) Collaborative visualization approach where stakeholders jointly create visuals to ensure inclusive participation and shared understanding across the organization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations achieve integral approach where everyone is involved and truly committed
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Design Evers + de GierminorOthersListed as a legal partner on the website footer. Nature of partnership appears to be related to design/creative services collaboration.
• Code Jannes & MannesminorOthersListed as a legal partner on the website footer. Nature of partnership appears to be related to web development/technical services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Largest independently owned design consultancy, offering visual design, brand strategy, and organizational communication. Comparable visual-design craft and partner-led model, but at significantly larger scale and global reach.
• Frog Design: Global design and strategy firm combining design, technology, and business consulting. Overlaps with Flatland's strategy and innovation offerings but operates at much larger scale across multiple continents.
• Deloitte Digital: Major consultancy's digital and design arm offering strategy, design thinking, and transformation at global scale. Competes for the same enterprise change and innovation budgets that Flatland targets, especially among larger Dutch and European corporates.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand and experience consultancy combining strategy, design, and transformation. Overlaps with Flatland's work on organizational vision and change but serves much larger global brands.
• IDEO: Pioneering global design consultancy offering strategy, design thinking, and innovation services to enterprises. Comparable design-thinking methodology but much broader portfolio, larger headcount, and global scale.

Direct peers

• Livework: Service design consultancy with strong Dutch roots and European footprint, helping organizations design services and strategies. Comparable in combining design thinking with organizational transformation for enterprise and government clients.
• Muzus: Dutch design consultancy focused on visual strategy and organizational change, working with enterprises and governments on visualizing complex strategies — directly analogous offering to Flatland's strategy visualization and change activation.
• The New Heroes: Dutch creative strategy and innovation agency helping organizations with transformation and new growth, sharing Flatland's enterprise/government client base, Dutch market presence, and design-led strategic engagement model.
• STBY: Amsterdam-based design research consultancy using visual storytelling and ethnographic methods to help organizations understand and act on complex challenges. Closely comparable in methodology, Dutch-market focus, and visual/narrative approach to organizational change.

Regional players

• Veldhoen & Company: Netherlands-based change management consultancy focused on workplace transformation and organizational change. Adjacent peer in the Dutch organizational-change space, overlapping on change activation use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flatland-design-consultancy
• Instagraminstagram.com/flatlandagency
• Xx.com/flatlandagency

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 Flatland Agency