What Namahn does

Namahn is a Brussels-headquartered human-centred design agency founded in 1987, operating as a Belgian private limited company (Namahn bvba/sprl) with approximately 12 multidisciplinary designers listed on its team. The firm delivers five interconnected service lines — Insights (user and system research), Experience Design (UX/UI for digital products), Systemic Design (interventions for complex multi-stakeholder challenges), Skills Training, and Design Operations (building in-house design teams) — packaged as project-based consulting engagements rather than software products. Its methodology is codified in three proprietary tools: the Systemic Design Toolkit (co-developed with shiftN and Systemic Design Association contributors), Human Drives Cards, and Paradox Cards, all of which are published openly to reinforce thought leadership while differentiating Namahn's practice. Underlying technology is therefore methodological and process-oriented — co-creation workshops, ethnography, system mapping, service blueprints, and design system design — rather than a software platform, and Namahn operates with no public API or productised AI capability.

The firm's revenue model is professional services: custom-scoped, project-based engagements with bespoke quotes (pricing is not publicly disclosed). The go-to-market is enterprise field sales augmented by ecosystem partnerships — Hybrio Design (a coordinated network of five Belgian design/engineering agencies totalling ~98 experts), shiftN (systems thinking collaboration), UXalliance (global UX network), and a Flanders DC framework contract that provides preferred access to Belgian government buyers. Marketing relies on content (blog, monthly newsletter, open-access tools), industry conferences (e.g., IAC 2020), and earned media around its founders' Henry van de Velde Lifetime Achievement Award (2016).

Namahn's customer base is concentrated in Belgian and EU public-sector organisations (Belgian Federal Government/KBR, BOSA, STIB/MIVB, NMBS/SNCB, Flanders Environment Agency, Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme, EASME), supplemented by large private enterprises (Siemens, Dover Fueling Solutions, ORES) and a non-profit tail including Amnesty International and pro-bono work for DoucheFLUX. The firm is founder-managed (Kristel Van Ael and Joannes Vandermeulen), privately held with no external institutional investment, and shows no signs of acquisition, closure, or IPO.

Name

Namahn

Legal name

Namahn bvba/sprl

Website

https://namahn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Namahn is a Brussels-based human-centred design agency founded in 1987 that delivers UX research, experience design, systemic design, design operations, and skills training through project-based consulting for Belgian and EU government agencies and large enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design consulting and professional services: Namahn generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements where they deliver human-centred design services including UX research, experience design, systemic design, design operations, and skills training. Projects are scoped and delivered for government agencies, public organisations, and private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Namahn is a human-centred design agency that delivers professional consulting services across five interconnected service lines: Insights (user and system research), Experience Design (UX/UI design for digital products), Systemic Design (interventions for complex societal challenges), Skills Training (capability building and coaching), and Design Operations (scaling in-house design teams). Engagements are project-based and delivered to government agencies, public institutions, and large enterprises, supported by a library of downloadable design tools such as the Systemic Design Toolkit and Human Drives Cards.

Product overview

Namahn is a human-centred design agency offering a portfolio of professional services rather than a unified software product. Its core offering consists of five interconnected service lines — Insights, Experience Design, Systemic Design, Skills Training, and Design Operations — delivered through consulting engagements, workshops, and coaching. These services are complemented by a set of downloadable design tools (Systemic Design Toolkit, Human Drives Cards, Public Service Design Brochure) and access to Namahn Studios for co-creation and knowledge-sharing events. The company does not offer packaged software products; all services are delivered on a project basis by its multidisciplinary design team based in Brussels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insights User research and system dynamics service combining quantitative and qualitative research methods (interviews, surveys, ethnographic research, system mapping) to understand users, identify patterns, and synthesise best practices for client organisations.
• Experience Design End-to-end UX/UI design process covering evaluation, strategy, requirements definition, conceptual design, interface design, and design system setup to create intuitive and efficient digital products and services.
• Systemic Design Design intervention service for complex, systemic challenges, including system mapping, co-creation workshops for vision definition, intervention strategy development, and roadmap planning to drive systemic transformation.
• Skills Training Knowledge transfer and capability-building service delivered through training sessions, webinars, lectures, coaching embedded in ongoing projects, and the creation of customised tools and playbooks for teams.
• Design Operations Capacity-building service to grow design maturity and scale in-house UX teams, including design maturity assessment, process redesign, design culture introduction, team governance, and design system foundation building.
• Systemic Design Toolkit A co-design toolkit for addressing organisational and societal complexity, developed collaboratively by Kristel Van Ael (Namahn), Philippe Vandenbroeck (shiftN), Peter Jones (Systemic Design Association), and Alex Ryan (MaRS Discovery District), available for download at systemicdesigntoolkit.org.
• Human Drives Cards A card deck designed as an ideation and co-design session tool that stimulates human-centred thinking by helping designers empathise with users' underlying goals and deeper needs, referred to as human drives.
• Public Service Design Brochure A guide for the use of service design in public organisations, developed in collaboration with Design Flanders, available as a download and booklet in Dutch and English.
• Namahn Studios Purpose-built design studios in Brussels comprising a 92m² Design Studio, open space with dance floor and kitchen, and a 75m² library with over 1,000 specialised books, available for hire to external parties including artists, workshops, and professional meetings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 12 out of 17 Belgian federal public services through the Digital Open community in its first year.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hybrio DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamahn is part of Hybrio Design, a loosely coupled, tightly coordinated group of five Belgian design and engineering agencies. The other agencies are KAN (cross-media branding), Ixor (software vendor), Fosfor (product design), and Voxdale (design and engineering). Hybrio brings together 98 experts and enables creation of tailor-made teams for hybrid projects combining design and production. The Hybrio partners collaborate on events and complex multi-disciplinary design challenges.
• shiftNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamahn works closely with shiftN (Leuven-based futures and systems thinking studio) for projects involving systems thinking and for the development of the Systemic Design Toolkit. The collaboration was led by Kristel Van Ael at Namahn and Philippe Vandenbroeck at shiftN, presented at the RSD5 symposium in Toronto (2016). The toolkit continues to be developed with input from Peter Jones and Alex Ryan.
• UXalliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamahn is the Belgian partner of UXalliance, a growing network of leading user experience companies founded in 2005. The UXalliance helps global organisations create better international products and services by providing them with local research, insights, and design capabilities.
• MAXIMALdesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNamahn collaborated with MAXIMALdesign on the NMBS/SNCB ITRIS project, where MAXIMALdesign worked alongside Namahn to design the user experience for the updated digital handheld device used by Belgian train managers.
• SymbiominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNamahn collaborated with Symbio on the STIB/MIVB integrated control centre project, studying different ways of working and user needs to co-design the spatial layout of the new control room bringing different entities together.
• EfesominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNamahn partnered with Efeso on the STIB/MIVB project. Efeso accompanied the change management process, with a basis defined through team collaboration in the design workshops.
• Hybrio (internal project team)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamahn participated in a pro-bono collaborative design project with the Hybrio design team (of which Namahn is part) to co-design the DoucheFLUX homeless centre in Brussels.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ustwo Studios: Ustwo is a global digital product studio known for human-centered design, product strategy, and experience design. Comparable on experience design and digital product work; broader geographic spread.
• IDEO: IDEO is the global pioneer of human-centered design and a direct peer to Namahn, offering design research, experience design, and systemic innovation services to government and enterprise clients. Comparable on methodology, client profile, and project-based consulting model.
• Method (GlobalLogic): Method is a global design and engineering consultancy with deep experience design and design operations capabilities. Comparable to Namahn on enterprise and government digital product work; larger global footprint.
• Livework: Livework is a European service design consultancy with offices across multiple countries, focused on service innovation and systemic design. Highly comparable to Namahn on methodology and client mix, with a similar boutique scale.

Regional players

• In The Pocket: In The Pocket is a Belgian digital product studio with strong UX, design, and engineering capabilities, serving enterprise and government clients in Belgium and Europe. Closest regional peer to Namahn in terms of geography, client profile, and design-led approach.
• Kontrapunkt: Kontrapunkt is a Scandinavian strategic design agency with a strong portfolio in brand, service, and systemic design for public and private sector clients. Comparable on design methodology and European public-sector client base, but based in Denmark.
• Bagaar: Bagaar is a Belgian digital agency specialised in strategy, design, and technology for ambitious organisations. Direct regional peer competing in the same Belgian enterprise and public-sector market as Namahn.

Broad incumbents

• Fjord (Accenture Song): Fjord, part of Accenture Song, is a global design and innovation consultancy delivering service design, UX, and digital transformation. Comparable on service design and design operations offerings; broader in scale and integration with a global systems integrator.
• Designit (Wipro): Designit, now part of Wipro, is a global strategic design firm with a strong European presence and similar service lines (insights, experience design, systemic design, design operations). Direct overlap in client profile and offerings, but embedded within a global IT services group.
• Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering): Frog, now part of Capgemini Engineering, is a global design and innovation firm that competes for the same enterprise and government digital transformation work as Namahn. Comparable on experience design and systems thinking, but operates at much larger scale as part of a global integrator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/namahn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Namahn