Tanaka Kapec Design Group

What Tanaka Kapec Design Group does

Tanaka Kapec Design Group, Inc. (TKDG) is a privately held, full-service industrial design consulting firm founded in 1980 by Jeffrey Kapec and Kazuna Tanaka and headquartered at 11 Brookfield Street, Norwalk, Connecticut. The firm operates as a founder-owned boutique, currently led by three principals (Kapec, Tanaka, and Yukiko Naoi), with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or subsidiaries. TKDG sells project-based professional design services to enterprise clients across four verticals: medical devices (the dominant vertical with 35+ years of practice and over a dozen named med-tech customers including Boston Scientific, Stryker, BD, DePuy, Ethicon, and Johnson & Johnson), consumer products (Brookstone, Life Factory, Prestone, Paper Mate, Oral-B), commercial/industrial equipment (FedEx, Thermo Scientific, Northrop Grumman, GEIGER), and packaging design (FDA-compliant and CE-compliant sterile and consumer packaging). Its service portfolio spans the full product lifecycle: strategic product development, human factors and ergonomic design, concept development, UI/UX, industrial design, engineering, prototyping, packaging, and manufacturing integration. The firm has been granted 40+ patents and has accumulated awards including the IDEA, AIA Design Award, and SIA Best Product Design.

TKDG's underlying capability is its "Design to Simplify" methodology, which compresses product requirements into user expectations, functional requirements, and manufacturability, supported by ethnographic observation, human dimensional mapping, biomechanical analysis, and CAD-based engineering. Go-to-market is direct enterprise engagement, with the firm citing 100+ clients including Fortune 500 companies and venture-funded startups. The firm has publicly disclosed two recent active engagements: a 2021 partnership with Odyssey Group on the Save A Life choking rescue device, advancing toward FDA submission, and a One World Observatory iPad experience delivered with Louis Nelson Associates. Marketing is minimal and relies on the corporate website portfolio, professional word-of-mouth, and industry recognition; pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagement terms are project-based. The firm has expanded its surface beyond design into adjacent co-development and regulatory-submission roles, but its operational footprint remains centered in the Northeast US with no disclosed offshore or international offices.

Name

Tanaka Kapec Design Group

Legal name

Tanaka Kapec Design Group, Inc.

Website

https://wedesigntosimplify.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tanaka Kapec Design Group is a privately held industrial design consulting firm founded in 1980, providing strategic product development, ergonomic design, engineering, prototyping, and packaging services to Fortune 500 companies and venture-funded startups across medical device, consumer, and commercial equipment verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Design Consulting

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Engineering Services (54133), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Industrial design consulting
• Medical device design
• Strategic product development
• Ergonomic product design
• Creative packaging design

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwalk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Design Consulting Services: Project-based consulting fees for strategic product development services ranging from early-stage concept development, computer modeling, product design, prototyping, engineering, materials analysis and sourcing, to manufacturing packaging, and branding. Serves Fortune 500 companies and small venture-funded companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Tanaka Kapec Design Group (TKDG) is a full-service industrial design consulting firm providing strategic product development services from concept through manufacturing. The firm delivers ethnographic research, human factors engineering, industrial design, CAD modeling, prototyping, engineering design, packaging design, and manufacturing integration for clients in the medical device, consumer products, commercial/industrial, and packaging sectors.

Product overview

Tanaka Kapec Design Group (TKDG) is a full-service industrial design consulting firm with over 30 years of experience, offering a comprehensive suite of design services rather than a single unified product. The company provides end-to-end strategic product development spanning research, concept development, industrial design, engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing integration. Their service portfolio includes Strategic Product Development, Human Factors & Ergonomic Design, Concept Development, User Interface Design, Industrial Product Design, Product Branding & Identity, Engineering Design, Prototype Product Design, Creative Packaging Design, and Design & Manufacturing Integration. TKDG specializes across three primary industry verticals: Medical Device Design (surgical instruments, diagnostic equipment, drug delivery systems), Consumer Products Design, and Commercial/Industrial Products Design. The company has been awarded more than 40 national and international utility and design patents and serves Fortune 500 companies as well as venture-funded startups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% cost reduction in Tri-Medics surgical scissors compared to conventional competition
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers40 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Odyssey GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Collaboration on Save a Life choking rescue device project. TKDG is working with Odyssey's patented unique life-saving medical product, moving towards FDA regulatory submission. This represents a significant strategic partnership in the medical device space.
• Louis Nelson AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on One World Explorer iPad experience for One World Observatory. TKDG worked with Louis Nelson Associates to bring the view-enhancing technology to life, developing structural and engineering design for the case that survives high user turnover.
• Robert AllenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with architect Robert Allen on GEIGER International TABLET Casegoods Customizable Furniture System. Working in concert to develop innovative industrial design components for office workstations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Whipsaw: Industrial design and engineering consultancy with strong medical device and consumer electronics portfolio. Directly comparable in scale and service mix to TKDG.
• IDEO: Global design consulting firm offering strategy, branding, and product design services to Fortune 500 clients across medical, consumer, and industrial sectors. Most direct large-scale competitor to TKDG in human-centered product design.
• Ammunition Group: Industrial design and brand consultancy known for consumer electronics and product design work. Overlaps with TKDG's consumer and industrial product practices.
• Ziba Design: Portland-based design consultancy serving consumer, healthcare, and technology clients with industrial design, brand, and user research services. Comparable mid-sized competitor in the same design consulting category.
• Bresslergroup: Philadelphia-based product development and design consultancy with strong medical device practice. Closely comparable in medical industrial design focus and US East Coast positioning.
• Frog Design: Award-winning global design consultancy with deep medical device, consumer electronics, and industrial product practices. Competes with TKDG for enterprise strategic product development engagements.
• Smart Design: New York-based design consultancy with strong medical device and consumer product practices. Closely comparable to TKDG in client mix and Northeast US positioning.
• Lunar Design: San Francisco-based industrial design firm serving medical, consumer, and technology clients. Comparable full-spectrum industrial design practice competing for similar enterprise engagements.

Broad incumbents

• frog (now part of Capgemini Invent): Frog's integration into Capgemini Invent illustrates the scaled-incumbent model that larger peers pursue. Relevant comparable for how industrial design consultancies can be absorbed into broader engineering services platforms.
• Designworks (BMW Group): BMW-owned global design consultancy serving transportation, consumer, and industrial clients. Represents a scaled, multi-disciplinary incumbent competing in adjacent enterprise design mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Tanaka Kapec Design Group