Surface

What Surface does

Surface is a privately held multidisciplinary graphic and product design collaborative founded in 2005 and headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey. The firm operates as a B2B design studio delivering professional services across graphic design, product design, and adjacent creative disciplines to a roster of more than 100 named clients spanning cultural institutions, premium retail, and industrial/consumer brands. Marquee relationships include MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Armory Show, Crate&Barrel, CB2, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Knoll, and 3M, positioning the firm across both the cultural sector and design-forward retail/consumer categories.

The business model is project-based professional services with no disclosed pricing tiers, subscription components, or productized offerings. Revenue is generated on a fee-for-engagement basis tied to discrete design projects, delivered through a sales-led go-to-market motion and a core team of approximately eight senior creatives. There is no indication of SaaS, marketplace, or transactional revenue mechanics; the firm is structured as a boutique studio rather than a scaled platform.

The firm is founder-led by Mary Ellen Putignano, a former Creative Director at Crate&Barrel, and has no disclosed external funding rounds, acquisitions, or M&A activity. Surface maintains a global operational footprint with engagements spanning the United States, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Spain, and India, while remaining a privately held, lean organization with no AI/ML platform components, proprietary model development, or technology-based product surface visible in available data.

Name

Surface

Website

https://surfacecreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Surface is a privately held multidisciplinary graphic and product design collaborative based in Park Ridge, NJ, founded in 2005. The firm provides project-based professional design services to 100+ clients including MoMA, Crate&Barrel, 3M, Knoll, and the Guggenheim.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Park Ridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Services: The company generates revenue through providing multidisciplinary graphic and product design services to clients across retail, design trade, hospitality, non-profit, and art & culture industries. Services include brand strategy, identity design, print and digital marketing, website design, packaging design, environmental signage, industrial design, textile design, surface pattern design, and product curation and development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Surface is a multidisciplinary graphic and product design collaborative that provides design services to enterprise clients across retail, design trade, hospitality, non-profit, and art & culture industries. Its core offerings span brand strategy and identity development, print and digital marketing, website design, packaging design, environmental signage, industrial design, textile design, surface pattern design, and product development and curation, delivered through a curated network of senior design talent.

Product overview

Surface is a multidisciplinary graphic and product design collaborative operating as a design services firm rather than a software product company. The firm specializes in brand development and strategy, offering two core service areas: Graphic Design Services (brand strategy and identity, print and digital marketing, website design, packaging design, environmental signage) and Product Design Services (industrial design, textile design, surface pattern, product development and curation). Surface serves clients across retail, design trade, hospitality, non-profit, and art and culture industries. Notable client projects include brand establishment for CB2, creative direction for Crate&Barrel, product design for MoMA's De Stijl collection, brand development for Knoll, and eco-friendly brand creation for Affina and Soup Home.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graphic Design Services Comprehensive graphic design offerings including brand strategy and identity development, print and digital marketing materials, website design, packaging design, and environmental signage, delivered to enterprise clients across retail, design trade, hospitality, non-profit, and art & culture industries.
• Product Design Services Product design services encompassing industrial design, textile design, surface pattern design, and product development and curation for retail, design trade, and cultural clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Established CB2 brand from name development through complete graphic standards including stores in US, Canada and Singapore
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• fuseproject: Industrial and brand design studio led by Yves Béhar working across consumer products, furniture and lifestyle brands. Comparable to Surface in multidisciplinary brand + product design positioning and premium client work.
• Lippincott: Brand strategy and design firm serving enterprise clients across retail, financial services and culture. Highly comparable to Surface in brand strategy-led approach and enterprise client roster, though broader in scope and larger in headcount.
• Mucca: Independent multidisciplinary design firm with brand identity, packaging and product design capabilities. Comparable to Surface in boutique scale, multidisciplinary scope and focus on craft-led brand work for premium clients.
• Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv: Renowned identity and brand design firm with deep cultural-institution pedigree (including MoMA's identity). Comparable to Surface in brand-led design approach, prestige client roster and long-tenured partnership structure.
• Pentagram: Iconic multidisciplinary design partnership offering brand identity, graphic design and product design. Closest comparable to Surface in model, prestige and multi-disciplinary scope, though Pentagram operates at significantly larger scale across global offices.
• Manual: Independent multidisciplinary design studio working in brand strategy, identity and product design. Comparable to Surface in boutique scale, multi-disciplinary scope and focus on premium consumer and retail clients.
• Smart Design: Multidisciplinary design studio combining brand, product and industrial design for consumer brands. Directly comparable to Surface in offering integrated graphic and product design services to retail and consumer-goods clients.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep industrial design, brand and product development capabilities. Overlaps with Surface on product design and brand strategy but operates at much larger scale and broader industry reach.
• R/GA: Global design and technology agency spanning brand, product and experience design. Comparable to Surface in multidisciplinary brand-and-product positioning but at enterprise scale with technology and digital transformation capabilities.
• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy serving enterprise retail, hospitality and culture clients. Comparable client verticals to Surface but operates as a much larger network with broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surface-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Surface