Imperfect

What Imperfect does

Imperfect (legal entity: imperfect comunicazione s.r.l.) is a Turin, Italy-based communication and design studio founded in 2009 by Alberto Bonetti (project developer) and Madeleine Frochaux (illustrator and digital artist). The studio operates as a micro practice of 1-10 employees and delivers four core service lines: digital communication strategies, visual identity design, illustration, and cultural design projects (exhibitions, events, open calls). Its commercial client base spans roughly 30 named organizations across food and beverage (Lavazza, Ferrero, Nutella, Kinder), telecom and technology (Nokia, Reply), automotive (Marelli, Argotec), fashion (Diesel), media (L'Espresso, La Repubblica, RTI Mediaset, Cairo Editore), and a parallel set of nonprofit and cultural engagements (Emergency, Greenpeace, Slow Food, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Artissima). The studio's positioning is explicitly values-selective: it accepts only projects aligned with its ethical and sustainable orientation and brands itself around the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy of finding creativity in imperfection.

The studio runs three additional revenue lines beyond core professional services. First, a direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop on imperfect.it sells apparel (T-shirts from €35, hoodies from €50) and art prints (€20-€60) with prices ranging up to €120. Second, a portfolio of in-person creative workshops — Kintsugi Lab (Japanese gold-repair technique), Kids Lab (children's ceramic painting at €35/child), and Lab di Famiglia (family ceramic breakfast-set workshop at €50/person) — delivered at the studio's Turin locations (Via Maria Vittoria 31/h, Via S. Pio V 15) and in collaboration with La Diletta Pottery Lab. Third, formal education offerings including a five-day illustration course priced at €360 per participant (June 2025 launch with Anna Castagnoli at Ecomuseo del Freidano). Distribution is direct: enterprise clients engage via [email protected] and [email protected], workshops are bookable through [email protected], and merchandise ships domestically within Italy. The founders also co-founded and continue to operate three cultural/community initiatives — that's a mole (illustration open call, 2009), circolarte (cultural association, 2009), and Pagina37 (Turin summer reading-season game, 2019) — which function as both brand-building assets and informal lead-generation channels. No external funding, M&A activity, or proprietary technology platforms are associated with the company, which remains privately held by the founders.

Name

Imperfect

Legal name

imperfect comunicazione s.r.l.

Website

https://imperfect.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Imperfect is a Turin-based communication and design studio founded in 2009 by Alberto Bonetti and Madeleine Frochaux, offering digital communication, visual identity, illustration, and cultural design services to enterprises, NGOs, and cultural institutions, with supplementary e-commerce merchandise and creative workshop lines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Turin

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Communication and Design Services: Core revenue from digital communication strategies, visual identity design, illustration, and cultural design projects for selected clients.
2. E-commerce Products: Sale of branded merchandise including T-shirts, hoodies, prints, posters featuring original illustrations and designs. Price range €20-€120.
3. Courses and Workshops: Illustration courses and creative labs (Kintsugi lab, Kids Lab, Lab di Famiglia). Illustration course priced at €360. Kids Lab at €35 per child. Family Lab at €50 per person.
4. Cultural Projects: Development and implementation of cultural projects in form of exhibitions, events, and open calls. Contact at [email protected]

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Imperfect is a Turin-based communication and design studio that develops digital communication strategies, visual identities, and illustrations for select enterprise clients, NGOs, and cultural institutions. The studio also runs an e-commerce shop selling apparel and art prints featuring original illustrations, and offers paid creative workshops and illustration courses. Projects are selected based on alignment with the studio's ethical and sustainable values, leveraging a wabi-sabi philosophy that emphasizes originality over standardized creative output.

Product overview

Imperfect is a Turin-based communication and design studio founded in 2009 by Alberto Bonetti and Madeleine Frochaux. The studio operates as a single unified creative practice offering four interconnected service areas: digital communication strategies and campaigns, visual identity design, illustration services, and cultural design projects. The studio also maintains an e-commerce shop selling apparel and art prints featuring original illustrations, and operates workshop and course offerings including ceramics labs (Kintsugi Lab, Kids Lab, Lab di Famiglia) and illustration courses. The studio's philosophy centers on the Japanese wabi-sabi concept of finding beauty in imperfection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shop Products (Apparel & Art Prints) Online shop retailing apparel and art prints featuring original illustrations by co-founder Madeleine Frochaux, including T-shirts (€35–€40), hoodies (€50), prints (€20–€60), posters, and illustrated ceramics.
• Kintsugi Lab A 4-hour workshop teaching the Japanese art of kintsugi (gold repair technique), covering gold relief and gold thread approaches, with participants restoring ceramic pieces and documenting the process in a notebook.
• Kids Lab A 1.5-hour children's ceramics workshop (€35 per child) where participants decorate and paint a 'biscuit' ceramic plate to take home, experimenting with various decoration techniques.
• Lab di Famiglia A family ceramics workshop (€50 per person) where participants create a breakfast set (mug, bowl, or cup) together, combining pottery skills from La Diletta and illustration from Madlen.
• Corso di Illustrazione (Illustration Course) A five-day intensive illustration course covering line work, chiaroscuro, forms, colors, composition, style studies, and developing a personal illustrative style, taught by Anna Castagnoli.
• Cultural Design Projects Custom cultural design projects delivered as exhibitions, events, and open calls for museums and cultural institutions, including past projects such as Pixel Faces, Che Bèèllo (GAM Torino), Citylines, Attitude, La stella del Piccolo Principe, and Noir hotel.
• Digital Communication Strategies Strategic digital communication services covering campaigns and visual identity design for innovative products with positive environmental or social impact, targeting enterprise clients and cultural institutions.
• Visual Identity Design Design of brand visual identities and product identities with an ethical and sustainable approach, served to enterprise clients and social enterprises.
• Illustration Services Custom illustration services delivered by co-founder Madeleine Frochaux for client campaigns and branded products, spanning digital art and original artwork creation.

Named customers18 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

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pagina37coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Game accompanying Turin's summer reading season connecting book lovers. Part of Circolarte initiative.
• that's a mole (thatsamole)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Illustration project and open call founded by Imperfect founders. Platform for illustration projects and creative initiatives.
• CircolartecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Cultural association 'l'arte che fa bene' (art that does good) founded by Imperfect. Promotes reading passion and cultural sharing through unconventional channels.
• La Diletta Pottery LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for pottery and ceramic workshops. Partner in Kintsugi lab, Kids Lab, and Lab di Famiglia creative workshops held at Via S. Pio V 15, Turin.
• PotteryLabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal workshop venue for ceramic painting workshops (Kids Lab pickup location for fired pieces after 10 days).
• Ecomuseo del FreidanominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for illustration courses (Anna Castagnoli course) at Via L. Ariosto 36/BIS, Settimo Torinese.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation firm spanning brand, product, and organisational design. It represents the large-scale, broad-incumbent end of the design services market against which boutique studios such as Imperfect compete for high-value briefs.
• Frog (frog design): Frog is a global design and innovation consultancy operating across brand, product, and experience design for multinational clients. As a scaled incumbent in the design services space, it competes for enterprise creative mandates on which Imperfect also bids.

Direct peers

• CBA Design: CBA is a long-standing Italian creative and design agency working across brand identity, packaging, and communication for Italian and international clients. Its Italian footprint and Italian brand portfolio overlap directly with Imperfect's market position.
• Pentagram: Pentagram is a designer-owned partnership studio delivering brand identity, communication design, and illustration work for large global clients. It is the archetypal model of the values-driven, founder-led boutique design practice that Imperfect operates, making it the closest comparable peer.
• MetaDesign: MetaDesign is an international brand and communication design agency offering brand strategy, visual identity, and editorial design. It competes in the same boutique-to-mid-market European agency category as Imperfect, with overlapping deliverables and clients.
• bitmama: bitmama is a Turin-based creative studio offering design, branding, and digital communication services, listed among Imperfect's adjacent collaborators. It is a directly comparable small Italian communication design boutique operating in the same geographic and category space.
• Armando Testa: Armando Testa is one of Italy's largest independent advertising agencies, working across creative campaigns, visual identity, and integrated communication for major Italian and international brands. It represents the scaled Italian communications competitor that Imperfect both learns from and competes against on the same client base.
• Saffron Brand Consultants: Saffron is an independent brand strategy and identity consultancy working with purpose-led and culture-forward organisations. Its emphasis on purpose-driven brand work aligns closely with Imperfect's ethical/sustainable positioning and selective client model.
• Landor & Fitch: Landor & Fitch is a global brand consulting and design firm specialising in brand strategy, visual identity, and communication design for enterprises including FMCG and media clients (e.g., Ferrero-adjacent categories). Imperfect's visual identity and campaign work for Lavazza, Ferrero, and Nutella places it in directly overlapping positioning.

Regional players

• Carosello Records / Carosello Lab: Carosello is a Turin-rooted creative and cultural production entity combining editorial, events, and communications work. It overlaps with Imperfect's cultural-design practice and its Turin locale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/imperfectcomunicazione

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Imperfect