Stamen Design
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Stamen Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stamen Design
- Legal name
- Stamen Design LLC
- Website
- https://stamen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stamen Design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Visualization & Cartography Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)
Keywords
Where Stamen Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stamen Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Professional Services / Custom Projects: Project-based custom data visualization and cartography engagements for clients. Clients include government agencies, nonprofits, technology companies, arts organizations, and academic institutions. Revenue generated through bespoke project work, consulting, and specialized design services.
- Open Source Tools & Community Contributions: Open source mapping tools and basemaps distributed freely. While the tools themselves are free, they build reputation and drive inbound project opportunities from clients seeking Stamen's expertise.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Stamen Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stamen Design is a professional services studio that helps organizations find and tell stories in their data through custom data visualization, interactive map design and development, and end-to-end cartography engagements. The studio delivers bespoke data products — ranging from data journalism and interactive experiences with narrative arcs to analytic dashboards and custom basemaps — for clients in technology, government, healthcare, conservation, academia, and the arts. Projects are scoped and quoted on a per-engagement basis, with the studio also maintaining open-source cartographic tooling and named map styles (Toner, Terrain, Watercolor) distributed via partnerships.
Product overview
Stamen Design is a data visualization and cartography studio (not a software product company) offering professional services. Their core offerings consist of three main service areas: Data Storytelling (helping clients find and communicate stories in their data), Interactive Data Experiences (bespoke interactive map design and development), and Full Stack Cartography (end-to-end map-making from concept to implementation). Supporting these are open source cartographic tooling available on GitHub, branded map styles (Toner, Terrain, Watercolor) distributed via Stadia Maps partnership, and community/custom educational workshops. Projects like Facebook's global base map, Lyft Maps, AWS Open Data Maps, and Notion.ai basemaps demonstrate their client work creating custom cartographic products for major technology companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Watercolor Maps: Hand-drawn style watercolor map tiles that were acquired by the Smithsonian.
- Toner Maps
- Terrain Maps
Products and services
- Data Storytelling Services Professional services helping clients find and tell stories in their data through data journalism, narrative-driven reports, interactive experiences with narrative arcs, or real-time visualizations. Audience is organizations in technology, government, healthcare, conservation, academia, and the arts.
- Interactive Data Experiences Custom map design and development services creating bespoke interactive maps, spatial visualizations, and analytic dashboards for clients across technology, government, healthcare, conservation, and cultural industries.
- Full Stack Cartography End-to-end map-making services from project requirements through final implementation, including product prototyping, cartographic best practices, custom design, data pipeline support, map tile server setup, and performance optimization for enterprise, government, and institutional clients.
- Open Source Cartographic Tooling Suite of open-source cartography tools published on GitHub for generating map styles and working with cartographic data, used hundreds of millions of times and intended to make cartographic work faster, easier, and more collaborative.
- Stamen Map Styles (Toner, Terrain, Watercolor) Iconic custom map styles — Toner (black and white), Terrain (terrain shading), and Watercolor (hand-painted aesthetic) — distributed via the Stadia Maps platform under a partnership that keeps them available on modern vector-tile standards.
- Classes and Workshops Online and in-person educational offerings including 'Working & Designing with Spatial Data' and 'Data Visualization Foundations' workshops, plus custom corporate training delivered at client offices or Stamen studio.
Quantifiable outcome
- Global base map serving billions of Facebook users
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Stamen Design
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stamen Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Stamen Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MapboxcoreFluent on Mapbox platform for cartographic display; uses Mapbox for various client projects requiring map styling and tile services
- MapLibrecoreFluent on MapLibre for open-source cartographic display solutions
- MapTilercoreFluent on MapTiler platform for map tile generation and hosting
- Stadia MapscorePartnership in 2023 to refresh and update basemaps on modern standards like vector tiles. Stamen's iconic Toner and Terrain styles available via Stadia Maps platform for years into future.
- HEREcoreFluent on HERE location services and mapping platform for cartographic display
- EsricoreFluent on Esri GIS and mapping platform for enterprise cartographic solutions
- Google Location ServicescoreFluent on Google Maps and location services for cartographic display and integration
- OpenStreetMapcorePrimary data source for many projects; built global base map for Facebook using OSM data; open-source mapping tiles using OSM; originated Field Papers project now hosted by OSM Foundation
- Natural EarthcoreUses Natural Earth data at lower zoom levels for base maps; Natural Earth is open source curated dataset by and for cartographers
- OpenStreetMap FoundationcoreField Papers project now hosted by OSM Foundation; active contributor to OSM community and ecosystem
- Diversity in Design CollaborativeminorMember of collaborative of nearly 20 design firms addressing disparities in representation, equity, and inclusion among Black creatives. Initiated by Herman Miller Group.
- Harvard Data Science InitiativecoreCo-developer of CrisisReady platform with Harvard Data Science Initiative and Direct Relief for disaster response data-driven decision making
- Direct ReliefcoreCo-developer of CrisisReady/ReadyMapper platform for real-time disaster reports and analysis
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stamen Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Datavized: Independent data visualization and interactive storytelling studio serving enterprise and nonprofit clients with bespoke web-based visualizations. Closely comparable as a boutique, project-based dataviz agency competing for similar custom-engagement work.
- Accurat: Italy-based data-driven design studio producing editorial data visualizations, interactive reports, and brand storytelling for global clients. Directly comparable as a design-led, award-winning dataviz studio.
- Graphicacy: Washington, D.C.-based data visualization and design agency serving government, nonprofit, and foundation clients. Closely comparable given the shared emphasis on mission-driven clients, custom dashboards, and policy/policy-adjacent storytelling.
- Periscopic: Portland- and DC-based data visualization studio focused on socially beneficial and policy-oriented data storytelling. Comparable as a similarly sized, mission-aligned bespoke dataviz shop competing for nonprofit/government clients.
Broad incumbents
- Pentagram: Large, established multidisciplinary design firm with partners working across branding, editorial, and interactive design. Comparable as a high-end custom design studio competing for similar enterprise and institutional clients.
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep experience in data visualization, service design, and product design for Fortune 500 clients. Overlaps with Stamen on enterprise visualization and design strategy engagements.
- Mapbox: Major mapping platform providing tools and basemap tiles for developers and enterprises. While a platform rather than a studio, Mapbox sits at the same cartographic layer Stamen designs on top of, and competes for the same client design budgets.
- Tableau (Salesforce): Dominant enterprise data visualization and business intelligence platform. Not a direct competitor on bespoke cartography, but represents the platform-default that competes with Stamen-style custom visualization work inside client organizations.
Emerging players
- Felt: Collaborative mapping platform with growing emphasis on custom map design and visualization. An emerging player that could compete with Stamen at the lower end of bespoke cartography while also being a partner channel.
Others
- The Noun Project / Open Data Group: Open data infrastructure and visualization ecosystem contributors (e.g., Natural Earth, OSM community). Adjacent peers whose open datasets and tooling Stamen relies on and contributes to.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stamen Design social profiles
Digital presenceStamen Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stamen Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Stamen Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stamen Design 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 Stamen Design
What does Stamen Design do?
Stamen Design is a professional services studio that helps organizations find and tell stories in their data through custom data visualization, interactive map design and development, and end-to-end cartography engagements. The studio delivers bespoke data products — ranging from data journalism and interactive experiences with narrative arcs to analytic dashboards and custom basemaps — for clients in technology, government, healthcare, conservation, academia, and the arts. Projects are scoped and quoted on a per-engagement basis, with the studio also maintaining open-source cartographic tooling and named map styles (Toner, Terrain, Watercolor) distributed via partnerships.
Is Stamen Design a public or private company?
Stamen Design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stamen Design founded?
Stamen Design was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stamen Design based?
Stamen Design is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stamen Design make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Professional Services / Custom Projects are the primary driver. The others are open Source Tools & Community Contributions.
Who are Stamen Design's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Datavized, Accurat, Graphicacy and Periscopic. Broad incumbents are Pentagram, IDEO, Mapbox and Tableau (Salesforce). Felt is listed as an emerging player. The Noun Project / Open Data Group is listed as an others.
Does Stamen Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stamen Design.
What industry is Stamen Design in?
Stamen Design's product category is Data Visualization & Cartography Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAL, Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7370.