DesignThinkers Group

What DesignThinkers Group does

DesignThinkers Group (legal entity DesignThinkers B.V.) is a privately held, Amsterdam-based human-centered design and innovation consultancy founded in 2003 by Tim Schuurman. The firm serves large enterprises and public sector organizations, delivering services across five practice areas: Employee Experience, AI Impact, Customer Experience/Service Design, Co-creation in Sales, and Process Innovation. Its core technology is a methodology stack built on Design Thinking, Service Design, Human-Centered Design, and Systems Thinking, including proprietary frameworks such as the Double Diamond adaptation, Problem Space/Solution Space methodology, and the Sandwich Approach for GenAI integration. Delivery is supported by DT Academy, which offers certified training programs in design thinking, employee experience, AI, and systems thinking to individuals and corporate cohorts, contributing to a claimed 175,000+ alumni base.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model with custom, quote-based project pricing (typically 50% on offer acceptance and 50% on delivery), multi-year enterprise contracts, and course-based fees for academy training. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales through six regional offices in Amsterdam (global HQ), London (EX Centre of Excellence), Bucharest (Eastern Europe), Dubai, Riyadh, and Amman, supplemented by training programs, content marketing, and referral channels. Customer segments are horizontal, with named clients including Adidas, Coca-Cola, IBM, Philips, Cartier, PwC, ING, Salesforce, ServiceNow, FedEx, L'Oréal, Michelin, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Emirates NBD, and government entities such as the Saudi Digital Government Authority, Public Investment Fund, and Dubai Metro/RTA.

The firm is founder-owned with no disclosed external institutional investment and operates as an independent entity with sub-brands including DesignThinkers Academy, DesignThinkers Agency, and the DesignThinking Conference. Core employees are listed at 51-100, while a broader global network of 150+ human-centric design professionals supports delivery across 25+ countries.

Name

DesignThinkers Group

Legal name

DesignThinkers B.V.

Website

https://designthinkersgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

DesignThinkers Group is a privately held Amsterdam-based human-centered design consultancy founded in 2003 that delivers innovation, employee experience, customer experience, and AI integration services to Fortune 500 enterprises and government clients across 25+ countries through six regional offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Strategy, Instructional Design & Content Development (BPACANAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)

Keywords

• Design thinking consulting
• Innovation consulting
• Service design
• Employee experience design
• AI implementation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2B Consulting & Advisory Services: Organizational innovation consulting, service design projects, and transformation programs for enterprise clients. Projects typically follow structured engagement models from assessment to implementation.
2. DT Academy Training Programs: Design Thinking, Employee Experience, AI, and Systems Thinking certification courses and training programs for individuals and organizations. Includes in-person and potentially online delivery.
3. Capability Building Programs: Customized training portfolios and learning programs for organizations to build internal innovation capabilities.
4. Expedited Consulting Engagements: Sprint-based consulting engagements (EX Sprint, AI Design Sprint, Process Innovation Sprint) for rapid problem-solving and concept development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DesignThinkers Group is a human-centered innovation consultancy that delivers Design Thinking, Service Design, Employee Experience, and AI Impact consulting and capability-building engagements to public and private sector organizations. It combines strategy translation, co-creation workshops, and training programs to help enterprise and government clients build sustainable innovation capabilities.

Product overview

DesignThinkers Group is a human-centered innovation consultancy operating as a unified service portfolio organized by practice area and geographic region. The core offerings span Employee Experience (EX) Services, AI Impact Services, Customer Experience/Service Design, Co-creation in Sales, and Process Innovation. These services are delivered through specialized regional operations including the Global Head Office in Amsterdam, EX Centre of Excellence in London, Eastern Europe (Bucharest), Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. The company combines Design Thinking methodology with practical implementation to help organizations build innovation capabilities. DT Academy serves as the training and capability-building arm, while the EX Centre of Excellence in London focuses on global EX design and governance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DT Academy: Training and capability building programs for Design Thinking, AI, and innovation methodologies.
• DT Agency

Products and services

• Employee Experience (EX) Services Comprehensive Employee Experience design services including EX Sprint for targeted HR challenges, full EX projects for end-to-end redesign, capability development for team upskilling, and EX Assessment for organizational diagnostics. Targeted at HR leaders and people functions seeking to transform employee experience.
• AI Impact Services Services combining AI expertise with Design Thinking to help organizations adopt and scale AI through smart solution integration, workflow automation, and practical team training. Includes AI Design Sprint, AI Client Project, AI Capability Development, and AI Assessment.
• Customer Experience / Service Design Customer experience design services including Customer Experience Strategy Sprint, Customer Experience Design Project, Service Design training, and Service Health Assessment to achieve service design excellence.
• Co-creation in Sales Sales transformation services helping sales teams become trusted advisors through co-creation methodology, facilitation skills, and new conversation formats. Includes Design Sprint, Full Project, and Assessment offerings.
• Process Innovation Business process innovation services embedding human-centered design into lean business process methodologies. Includes Process Innovation Sprint, Full Process Innovation Project, Capability Development, and Assessment.
• DT Academy Training Programs Design Thinking, Employee Experience, AI, and Systems Thinking certification courses and training programs for individuals and organizations, delivered in-person and via online formats through the DT Academy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased NPS by 60+ points during 2-year Adidas partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers35 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with DIFC to drive innovation and education in the UAE financial district. Collaboration includes knowledge sharing, training programs, and supporting digital transformation initiatives.
• ArweqahcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver Arabic-language training in human-centered design and innovation, empowering local communities with essential skills to lead change. Also collaborates on innovation and education initiatives.
• 1 Million Learners ProgramflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative to enhance AI literacy across students, educators, and corporates, preparing future-ready talent in line with UAE Vision 2030. Part of broader national education transformation efforts.
• Dubai Future FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on futures thinking and legal technology roadmap development. DesignThinkers facilitated Design Sprint with Foundation's Legal Team and IT specialists to explore legal technology roadmap leading to validated prototype.
• Dr. Rob Collins (Oxford University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration with Dr. Rob Collins from Oxford University, enriching work with systems thinking and AI expertise. Contributes to company's technical capabilities in complex system design.
• Taghi R. Zadeh (University of Amsterdam)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration with Taghi R. Zadeh from University of Amsterdam, contributing to company's innovation and research capabilities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Method (GlobalLogic): Design and innovation consultancy (now part of GlobalLogic/Hitachi) combining strategy, experience design, and digital implementation for enterprise customers — directly comparable service mix.
• Board of Innovation: Boutique innovation consultancy running corporate innovation programs, sprints, and capability builds for large enterprises — closely comparable offering mix and target buyer to DesignThinkers.
• Smart Design: Independent design consultancy offering human-centered product, service, and brand design for large enterprises — comparable methodology and client profile.
• IDEO: Pioneer of design thinking consulting and the original reference point for human-centered innovation engagements. Closest direct competitor on methodology, client profile, and capability-building services.
• frog design: Design and innovation consultancy (now part of Capgemini Invent) offering service design, product design, and transformation work for the same enterprise and public-sector clients DesignThinkers serves.
• Innosight: Strategy and innovation consultancy (founded by Clayton Christensen) focused on growth strategy, transformation, and capability building — directly overlapping DesignThinkers' innovation strategy and capability programs.
• Livework: Pure-play service design consultancy with a European footprint, competing for service design, customer experience, and EX mandates that overlap with DesignThinkers' CX/EX practice.

Broad incumbents

• Doblin (Deloitte): Deloitte's human-centered design and innovation practice; competes for enterprise innovation capability building with the distribution advantages of a Big Four parent.
• McKinsey Design (McKinsey & Company): Design and innovation arm of McKinsey; broader strategic transformation offering but directly competes for the same enterprise and public-sector innovation mandates that anchor DesignThinkers.
• Fjord (Accenture): Design and innovation arm of Accenture Song, delivering service design and customer experience at global enterprise scale; competes for the same digital and service transformation RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 DesignThinkers Group