What Quicksand does

Quicksand is a New Delhi-headquartered human-centred design research and innovation studio founded in 2005, operating with approximately 30 specialists across studios in Bangalore, Goa, Amsterdam, and London (the latter two via the 2018 merger with UK/Europe-based STBY). The studio offers eight core service lines - Design Research, Behaviour Change, Service Design, Product Design, Design of Futures, Storytelling, Organisational Design, and Labs & Workshops - applied across thematic areas including Technology in Context, Understanding Needs, Envisioning New Digital Futures, and Designing for the Planet. Methodology is grounded in ethnographic research, participatory design, and futures thinking, with rich media documentation as a recurring deliverable.

The studio generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements on a custom, quote-based pricing model, working with governments, multilateral organisations, foundations, NGOs, multinational corporates, and social enterprises. Recurring clients include Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, PATH, Unilever, Mozilla, Kohler, FHI 360, Population Council, and SPACE10. Beyond consulting hours, the firm has produced named digital deliverables (VajraHands 2.0 hand hygiene interface, Swadhaar WhatsApp chatbot, HMIS 'Mitra' chatbot, Neev cloud application) and knowledge products (Gender Intentionality Playbook, DIY Toolkit, Design Research Notes). Go-to-market is primarily referral and reputation-driven via the Reach Network and STBY alliance rather than traditional marketing channels, and there is no public API, software platform, or standardised pricing tier.

Name

Quicksand

Legal name

Quicksand

Website

https://quicksand.co.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Quicksand is a New Delhi-headquartered human-centred design research and innovation studio serving governments, foundations, NGOs, and multinationals with ethnographic research, behaviour change, and futures thinking across emerging markets and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Research and Innovation Consulting: Project-based professional services engagements with organisations globally, including governments, corporations, NGOs, foundations, and social enterprises. Revenue is generated through consultancy fees for human-centered design research, strategy, and innovation projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Quicksand is a human-centred design research and innovation studio that delivers consulting services across ethnographic research, behaviour change, service design, product design, futures thinking, storytelling, and organisational design. The firm conducts project-based engagements for governments, multinational corporations, foundations, NGOs, and social enterprises operating in emerging markets, producing research insights, digital products, knowledge toolkits, and strategic recommendations.

Product overview

Quicksand is a human-centred design studio offering a portfolio of eight core service offerings: Design Research, Behaviour Change, Service Design, Product Design, Design of Futures, Storytelling, Organisational Design, and Labs & Workshops. These services are applied across six thematic areas: Technology in Context, Understanding Needs, Envisioning New Digital Futures, Celebrating Culture, Citizens & Public Services, Designing for the Planet, and Incubating Innovation. In addition to service delivery, Quicksand has produced named knowledge products including the Playbook for Gender Intentionality in Digital Skilling, the DIY Toolkit, and Design Research Notes. Several client projects resulted in delivered digital products — VajraHands 2.0 interface, the Swadhaar WhatsApp chatbot, the HMIS 'Mitra' WhatsApp chatbot, and the Neev cloud application — though these were developed for and with specific clients rather than as standalone commercial products. The studio does not operate a unified SaaS platform; its work is project-based and bespoke.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design Research Ethnographic and design research services that explain user behaviour and underlying motivations at a formative level, using extensive rich media documentation. Applied across sectors including healthcare, financial inclusion, public health, and emerging markets.
• Behaviour Change Customised theories of change supported by tailored interventions including new rules, rituals, mindsets, and environments. Applied to hand hygiene compliance, financial inclusion, health systems, and public health challenges.
• Service Design Service design covering both front-end user journeys and back-end service fulfilment, brought together as compelling experiences. Applied to banking, public services, and financial inclusion.
• Product Design End-to-end design journey from visioning to launch, combining business strategy, human-centred design, and product management methods. Includes digital product development for emerging markets and low-digital-literacy users.
• Design of Futures Futures-oriented design using methodologies such as trends research, critical design, design fiction, and scenario planning to explore alternative technology futures and help organisations navigate uncertainty.
• Storytelling Immersive storytelling of people and systems using rich and new media, leveraging a wide network of artists and visual design experts to create narratives in formats ranging from comics and films to speculative fiction and design fiction.
• Organisational Design Helping organisations develop a programmatic view on innovation and design, with interventions customised to the context and maturity of innovation practices. Includes capability building, design thinking training, and programme design.
• Labs & Workshops Facilitation of creative thought and experimentation through safe, inspiring spaces with customised flows and exercises. Includes innovation labs such as the Contraceptive Technology Innovation Lab conducted in Kenya and India.
• Playbook for Gender Intentionality in Digital Skilling A digital playbook and gender audit framework for designing gender-intentional digital skilling programmes in India. Features a self-assessment quiz for organisations, a gender audit framework covering design, delivery, and monitoring phases, and evidence-based insights for programme designers, trainers, and policymakers. Developed with Gates Foundation support and field partners Manjari Foundation, Digital Green, and Jagriti Enterprise Centre Purvanchal.
• DIY Toolkit Practical tools to spark and scale social innovation in the development sector. Provides templates, frameworks, and creative assets for organisations working on social impact challenges, supporting the design and implementation of social innovation projects.
• Design Research Notes A workbook to engage with wicked problems through design research, containing learnings from projects by students and partners in industry over eight years. Developed in collaboration with STBY and the Strategic Creativity Readership at Design Academy Eindhoven.

Quantifiable outcome

• DiFi for All study reached 800+ users and 200+ agents across 32 locations in 4 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

AI capability11 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

43 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• DataKalpmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2021Developer of VajraHands AI-enabled hand hygiene monitoring system used in SafeHands project across 7 hospitals in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
• MozillamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner for Connected Homes IoT design sprint (2016) exploring how people interact with their homes and objects. Also partner for UnBox Caravan project.
• UnilevercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partner for home hygiene product innovation research (2011-2012) across India, Nigeria, China, Indonesia, and South Africa. Also supported Spaces & Smells research and Toilet Malodour projects.
• STBYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuicksand and STBY have officially merged, uniting over a decade of collaboration and a shared vision. Together, they offer over 20 years' expertise in design research and innovation. STBY, based in the UK and Europe, partners with organisations in the Global North to shape products and platforms grounded in local needs.
• Reach NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of agencies specialising in human-centred design research and service innovation. Since 2008, members work with multinational companies and non-profit organisations seeking to improve existing services or develop new offerings in multiple foreign markets.
• JhpeigomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in SafeHands project providing qualitative research support for AI-enabled hand hygiene compliance monitoring in Indian public hospitals.
• PATHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Quicksand to lead comprehensive study into barriers to safe water product adoption and product development phase for low-cost water filter for bottom-of-the-pyramid markets.
• SPACE10majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Life Without Energy research study on energy poverty across 40 households in India, Kenya, Peru, and Indonesia.
• FHI 360majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Future of Contraceptive Technology project - multi-site design research study across Kenya and India exploring women's contraceptive access and use.
• mHS CITY LABmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise partnered with Quicksand to customise Neev application for affordable housing finance use-cases with micro-finance organisations.
• Digital Futures LabmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator on Human in the Loop project exploring unintended consequences of generative AI in India through storytelling.
• MatchboxologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Amplifying Resilient Communities (ARC) project - health systems research in Bangladesh and South Africa.
• IpsosmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ARC project conducting research on health-seeking experiences of vulnerable populations.
• BRAC University (James P Grant School of Public Health)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ARC project for Bangladesh research on health systems and vulnerable populations.
• Somia CXmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for DiFi for All study in Indonesia, investigating digital financial services onboarding.
• BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for DiFi for All study in Bangladesh, supporting Gates Foundation funded global ethnographic research.
• Three Stones InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for DiFi for All study in Uganda, investigating digital financial services onboarding.
• Manjari FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Gender Intentionality in Digital Skilling project, one of three digital skilling programs studied for the Gates Foundation funded playbook.
• Digital GreenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Gender Intentionality in Digital Skilling project, one of three digital skilling programs studied.
• Jagriti Enterprise Centre PurvanchalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Gender Intentionality in Digital Skilling project, one of three digital skilling programs studied.
• University of DundeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner/collaborator on Technology in Context theme page.
• MCGLminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner/collaborator on Technology in Context theme page.
• Buffalo Back CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as partner/collaborator on Technology in Context theme page.
• KohlermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research on future trends in bathroom spaces for middle and upper class homes in three Indian cities.
• Elevar EquitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Aspire India project - qualitative research on entrepreneurial households, conducted Narrative Building Workshop together.
• Population CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Improving Data Quality in HMIS project - behavioural challenges in data entry and reporting for Health Management Information System.
• Purple AudacitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Quicksand on HMIS project, conducting extensive field research across six states.
• Clean Hands Inc. (CHI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based social business engaged Quicksand to identify consumer insights and develop proof of principle for hand hygiene products for urban poor.
• AECOMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner mentioned in Project Sammaan for urban sanitation crisis work.
• International AIDS Vaccine InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner mentioned in Project Sammaan for urban sanitation crisis work.
• SangathminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner mentioned in Project Sammaan for urban sanitation crisis work.
• BarbicanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Celebrating Culture theme projects.
• ESMAP (World Bank Group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Celebrating Culture theme projects.
• SonyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Celebrating Culture theme projects.
• Invisible FlockmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Aurora immersive water installation and Land Body Ecologies project.
• GoogleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Digital News Accelerator and other technology-related projects.
• NestaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Ripple Effect Project.
• Tandem ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on The Last Fisherman of Bombay speculative zine project.
• ISDIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported Future as Fiction publication as part of Eyemyth Media Arts Festival.
• What Design Can DominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for climate action work - Bringing Design to the Climate Conversation.
• Fondazione ACRAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for climate change advocacy work.
• Global Methane HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for climate change advocacy work.
• Bangalore Sustainability ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for climate action work.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Frog Design (Capgemini Invent): Global design and innovation firm, now part of Capgemini Invent, serving corporates with design research, product design, and service design. Highly comparable in offering set and target customer base.
• IDEO: Pioneering human-centred design consultancy operating globally. Directly comparable as a large human-centred design firm serving corporates and social sector clients with ethnographic research, service design, and innovation consulting.

Direct peers

• STBY: UK/Netherlands-based design research firm that merged with Quicksand. Sister operation sharing methodologies in narrative-driven design research across Europe.
• IDEO.org: Non-profit affiliate of IDEO operating in international development and social impact. Closely comparable target segment (foundations, NGOs, bottom-of-the-pyramid) and human-centred design practice.
• Dalberg Design: Design consulting arm of Dalberg Group focused on emerging markets and the social sector. Closest direct peer — shared focus on human-centred design for development, foundations, and bottom-of-the-pyramid markets in Africa and Asia.
• Livework: Service design consultancy operating in Europe and globally with the Reach Network. Direct peer in service design methodology and target Fortune 500 / public-sector clients.

Emerging players

• Pollen (formerly The Business of Design): Emerging player in design research and innovation strategy serving corporates in Asia. Comparable boutique scale and emerging markets focus with capabilities in ethnographic and qualitative research.
• ShiftN: Design and innovation consultancy focused on social impact and emerging markets; works with foundations and multilaterals. Comparable niche positioning in development-sector design research.

Regional players

• ThinkPlace: Australia-based design and innovation consultancy with emerging markets work across APAC. Comparable human-centred design practice with primary geographic focus in Australia and the Pacific.

Others

• Koopid Design: Adjacent ecosystem participant in human-centred design research and innovation consulting. Useful as a peer benchmark for service design and design thinking training engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/helloQS

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles31 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 Quicksand