What DFFRNT does

DFFRNT is a Canadian strategic research and design consultancy founded in 2020 and headquartered in the Ottawa/Kanata area. The firm delivers four core service lines: Innovation Design, Strategic Digital Transformation, Customer Experience, and Training & Advisory. Its work is grounded in human-centered design, UX research, behavioral insights, and proprietary methodologies including Top Task Management paired with a Task Performance Index (TPI) used to quantify UX improvement over time. The client base is split between Canadian federal government departments (CFIA, CRA, ESDC, ISED, Natural Resources Canada) engaged under ProServices and TBIPS procurement vehicles, and enterprise and startup clients in technology (Cisco, Qlik, Quickplay), financial services (Servus Credit Union), real estate technology (WorkEverywhere), and mental health (PeerX.AI).

The firm operates a services-led model with two revenue streams: project-based professional services engagements and a recently expanded cohort-based public training program (Figma 101, Design Thinking for Executive Leadership, Visual Design) priced at $650-$850 per participant. Distribution is direct via consulting engagements and federal procurement vehicles, with content marketing, free downloadable resources, and conference speaking used for top-of-funnel demand generation. Go-to-market is sales-led with no external funding disclosed, and the company is self-sustaining through client work. AI does not appear as a core competency; DFFRNT designs experiences for AI-adjacent client products rather than building AI systems of its own. The team of approximately 1-10 consists of nine named principals, designers, researchers, and a project manager, with co-founders Shaun Illingworth and Dominira Saul carrying deep HCI and design strategy credentials from predecessor firm Akendi.

Name

DFFRNT

Legal name

DFFRNT Inc.

Website

https://dffrnt.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DFFRNT is a Canadian strategic research and design consultancy that delivers UX research, human-centered design, and innovation services to Canadian federal government departments and enterprise clients across technology, financial services, and emerging verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kanata

HQ country

Canada

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. Consulting Services: Project-based professional services engagements including UX research, design strategy, customer experience optimization, and innovation design. engagements with government and enterprise clients.
2. Training Programs: Public and private cohort training courses on design thinking, Figma, visual design, and UX. Course-based revenue with registration fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DFFRNT is a Canadian strategic research and design consultancy that delivers four core service lines: Innovation Design, Strategic Digital Transformation, Customer Experience, and Training & Advisory. Services are delivered through project-based consulting engagements, workshops, usability testing, journey mapping, and cohort training programs, primarily serving federal government departments and large enterprises. The firm grounds its work in behavioral research and human-centered design methodologies to help organizations redesign services, improve digital experiences, and embed a culture of continuous innovation.

Product overview

DFFRNT is a strategic research and design consultancy offering four core service lines: Innovation Design, Strategic Digital Transformation, Customer Experience, and Training & Advisory. These services are delivered through consulting engagements and training programs. The company also offers free downloadable resources including templates (Customer Journey Map, Value Proposition Canvas) and worksheets (IP Market Readiness Assessment, The Seven Deadly Sins of Government Innovation). DFFRNT operates as a service-based consultancy rather than a software product company; their offerings are project-based consulting engagements, not SaaS or packaged software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation Design A consulting service that combines design thinking, strategy, and organizational change to help organizations build a culture of continuous innovation. Includes methods such as design sprints, prototyping, creativity workshops, and innovation playbooks for enterprise and government clients.
• Strategic Digital Transformation A consulting service helping organizations transform their digital capabilities through strategy, design, and experimentation, grounded in real user needs to streamline workflows and enhance experiences for government and enterprise clients.
• Customer Experience A consulting service focused on designing seamless customer journeys through user-centered design, including journey mapping, stakeholder interviews, and usability testing to reduce friction and improve satisfaction for enterprise and government clients.
• Training & Advisory An expert guidance and training service that builds internal capability through design thinking workshops, advisory services, and tailored courses for client teams, delivered through public cohort programs and private engagements.
• Figma 101 A 2-day beginner virtual course teaching UI/UX design fundamentals using Figma, covering frames, layers, components, prototyping, and collaboration features, priced at $650 per participant.
• Design Thinking for Executive Leadership A 2-day immersive virtual course for senior leaders covering human-centered innovation, design thinking frameworks, and empathy-based leadership, priced at $850 per participant.
• Visual Design A 2-day interdisciplinary virtual course introducing UX fundamentals including visual, interaction, and motion design principles, priced at $650 per participant.

Quantifiable outcome

• Task performance scores improved from 23 to 70 over three years at Cisco
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 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

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Neo InsightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical connection through co-founder Mike Atyeo. DFFRNT engaged 'via Neo Insight' for Cisco Top Task Management project, indicating ongoing collaborative relationship on methodology and client work.
• Craft&CrewminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCraft&Crew selected DFFRNT as user experience research partner. Strategic partnership allowing both companies to focus on core areas of expertise as website production complexity increases.
• MicrosoftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFFRNT worked with Microsoft on telehealth 'shared spaces' technology - applying gesture-based info sharing to telehealth years before Microsoft explored it.
• Gander SocialminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFFRNT congratulated Gander Social on raising $1M to launch a sovereign Canadian social platform. Limited collaboration context in blog post.
• Alberta InnovatesminorOthersAlberta Innovates supported PeerX.AI platform development. DFFRNT worked with PeerX.AI but the relationship to DFFRNT is indirect through client project.
• CTS HealthminorOthersCTS Health supported PeerX.AI. DFFRNT worked with PeerX.AI on UX research and design - relationship is indirect through client project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy that pioneered design thinking in enterprise and government; broader in scale and scope than DFFRNT but operates in the same human-centered design and innovation training category.
• McKinsey & Company (Design Practice): Global management consultancy with a dedicated design practice that competes directly with DFFRNT for federal and enterprise digital transformation mandates; broader portfolio but overlapping in design thinking, service design, and innovation advisory.
• frog: Global design and strategy firm (part of Infosys) that sells design, brand, and product experience services to enterprise; comparable to DFFRNT in methodology and customer type, but at much larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• IBM iX: IBM's global design and digital experience arm; comparable because it competes for the same enterprise and government digital transformation RFPs that DFFRNT pursues, with a much larger bench and bundled technology offerings.

Direct peers

• Work & Co: Digital product consultancy that designs and ships customer-facing experiences for enterprise brands; comparable to DFFRNT's Customer Experience and Strategic Digital Transformation practices and to the Quickplay 'services to product' engagement model.
• Akendi: Canadian UX and design thinking consultancy and the direct predecessor firm to DFFRNT; co-founders Illingworth and Saul were previously Managing Director and Chief Experience Architect at Akendi, and the firms share methodologies and client overlap.
• Bridgeable: Canadian service design and innovation consultancy with strong public-sector work; comparable because it sells UX research, service design, and customer experience strategy to government and enterprise, the same core services DFFRNT leads with.
• TribalScale: Toronto-based digital product and engineering consultancy; comparable because it sells design-led product strategy and development to enterprise and growth-stage clients, overlapping with DFFRNT's startup and enterprise CX work.
• Rangle: Toronto-based digital product consultancy that combines design thinking, UX, and software engineering for enterprise clients; directly comparable in offering and customer base to DFFRNT's enterprise and government practice.
• Macadamian Technologies: Ottawa-based product development and UX design firm; comparable because it sells human-centered design, UX research, and product strategy services into enterprise and government clients, and co-founder Dominira Saul previously consulted there.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/We_R_DFFRNT
• Facebookfacebook.com/We.R.DFFRNT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dffrnt-ca

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 DFFRNT