What Northern Beat does

Northern Beat is a Norwegian UX, service design, and interaction design consultancy headquartered in Oslo, with a recently established Bergen office, operating as an independent brand within the Nova Consulting Group (in which Explore Equity holds a near-50% stake since June 2020). Founded in 2012, the firm employs approximately 32 specialized consultants who are embedded into client teams on long-term engagements, delivering UX design, service design, user research, accessibility (WCAG), design-system work, business design, and certified Google Design Sprint facilitation.

The company's core offerings are organized into two service lines: NBeat Strategi (business design and strategic consulting) and NBeat Design (UX, interaction, visual, and service design), supplemented by paid public courses on Figma, AI, and user testing, and a proprietary annual 'by Northern Beat' mini-conference. Notable client engagements span Norwegian government and large enterprises including NAV, Kartverket, Helsetilsynet, Statens Pensjonskasse, FINN Eiendom, Vipps, OBOS, NorgesGruppen, Møller Mobility Group, Brødrene Dahl, Fargerike, Strawberry, Entur, Nordic Corporate Bank, NITO, Thon Hotels, and Tellu.

Northern Beat operates a pure professional-services revenue model — consultants billed at hourly or project rates, with an internal 'solidarity' compensation model that redistributes income equally among consultants during downturns. The firm acquires clients through direct enterprise sales, referrals, its community events, and demand-generation from public courses, with no publicly disclosed pricing, revenue, or ARR. AI is used as an internal productivity tool and as a course topic rather than as a proprietary capability.

Name

Northern Beat

Legal name

Northern Beat

Website

https://northernbeat.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Northern Beat is a Norwegian UX, service design, and business design consultancy with ~32 embedded consultants serving large Norwegian enterprises and government agencies from offices in Oslo and Bergen, as part of the Nova Consulting Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

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 Services: Northern Beat places UX, interaction, service, and business designers as consultants on client engagements. Consultants are billed at hourly or project rates, with a base salary model where consultants are compensated per billed hours with a guaranteed base. In upturns, consultants benefit from the billing model; in downturns, an internal solidarity principle redistributes income equally among all consultants. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Courses and Training: Northern Beat offers paid courses and talks (e.g., 'Beginner in Figma', 'Getting started with AI', 'Become better at user testing') to clients and industry peers, monetizing their collective expertise of 32+ consultants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Northern Beat is a Norwegian UX and service design consultancy that places specialized designers (UX, interaction, service, and business designers) as embedded consultants on long-term client engagements. It sells two flagship service lines — NBeat Strategi (strategic planning and business design) and NBeat Design (UX, interaction, service, and visual design) — and supplements consulting with paid public courses and talks on topics such as Figma, AI, and user testing.

Product overview

Northern Beat is a design consultancy (part of Nova Consulting Group) offering strategic and design services. The company provides two main service lines: NBeat Strategi (strategic consulting and planning) and NBeat Design (UX and visual design services). Additionally, they offer practical courses including 'Nybegynner i Figma' (Beginner Figma), 'Hvordan komme i gang med AI' (Getting started with AI), and 'Bli god på brukertesting' (Become good at user testing). The company is based in Oslo with approximately 32 consultants, serving clients across sectors including real estate, public administration, fintech, retail, and healthcare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NBeat Strategi Strategic planning and implementation service line that delivers measurable business results by combining strategic thinking with design methodology. Includes business design (a proprietary 5-step process: Understand, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test), strategic consulting, business model innovation, and organizational transformation. Sold to enterprises and government agencies in Norway.
• NBeat Design Design service line combining aesthetics and functionality across product and service design, covering UX design, interaction design, service design, and visual design across digital and physical touchpoints. Includes accessibility (WCAG), design systems, user research, and Google Design Sprint facilitation. Sold to Norwegian enterprises and government agencies.
• Kurs og foredrag (Courses and Talks) Paid public training courses and engaging presentations covering design and user experience topics, including 'Nybegynner i Figma' (Beginner Figma), 'Hvordan komme i gang med AI' (Getting started with AI), and 'Bli god på brukertesting' (Become good at user testing). Targets clients, industry peers, and design community members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Digital applications for 'pleiepenger' at NAV increased from 0% (2018) to 95% after the QR-code digitization initiative
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nova Consulting GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Beat is a member of the Nova Consulting Group ecosystem. Nova Consulting Group is a consulting group that acquired a new partner through Explore Equity in 2020, taking a near-50% stake. Northern Beat operates as an independent brand within the group.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bakken & Bæck: Oslo-based digital design and engineering studio delivering product, service, and UX design. Direct Norwegian competitor with overlapping customer base and similar boutique consultancy positioning.
• Designit: Nordic-origin (Danish) design and innovation consultancy offering UX, service design, and strategy to enterprise clients across Europe and globally. Closely comparable in service mix, methodology focus, and embedded engagement model.
• Method: Global design and technology consultancy focused on experience design, product innovation, and digital transformation for major brands. Comparable in service mix and methodology but with global rather than regional footprint.
• Livework: European service design consultancy with deep public-sector and financial-services expertise. Comparable in service design specialization and embedded consulting model, though with pan-European rather than Norwegian focus.
• Netlight: Nordic digital strategy and design consultancy with strong presence in Oslo. Comparable in service mix (digital strategy, UX, transformation) and Scandinavian enterprise client base.
• Creuna: Nordic digital consultancy (Norway/Sweden) providing UX, service design, and digital transformation to enterprise and public-sector clients. Directly comparable in offering mix and customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Knowit: Larger Nordic consultancy group with a dedicated Experience design practice serving enterprise and public-sector clients across Scandinavia. Broader scale and service portfolio but overlapping UX/service design offerings.
• IDEO: Global design consultancy pioneering design thinking, human-centered design, and innovation strategy. Comparable in methodology (design sprints, prototyping) and senior enterprise client work but with much larger global reach.
• frog: Global design and strategy firm (part of Capgemini Invent) delivering product, brand, and service design to Fortune 500 clients. Comparable in service offering and customer caliber though operating at much greater scale.
• Fjord Design and Innovation: Global design and innovation consultancy (part of Accenture Song) specializing in service design and digital transformation for large enterprises. Comparable in methodology and customer profile but operates at far greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/northernbeat.no
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-beat
• Instagraminstagram.com/northernbeat_no

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Northern Beat