Erretres

What Erretres does

Erretres is a Madrid-headquartered strategic design consultancy, founded in 2003 by Pablo Rubio Ordás, that integrates brand strategy, branding, digital product design, implementation, and Design Ops into a single continuous service offer rather than discrete agency silos. The firm operates five interconnected service lines (Brand and Digital Product Strategy, Branding, Digital Products, Implementation, and Design Ops) plus an innovation platform, Erretres Open Lab, and applies two proprietary methodologies—a Digital Branding methodology and the 2025 Design4Growth framework, the latter explicitly positioned for the AI era. Delivery is led by a senior, multidisciplinary team across offices in Madrid and Brussels, with multilingual capacity supporting projects in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

The business model combines project-based professional services with retainer agreements, with management targeting approximately 60% of revenue from retainer partnerships of 6–12 months and 40% from discrete projects. Engagement pricing is quote-based and tiered from sub-€10K refreshes to enterprise engagements above €70K, often paired with long-term brand-guardship retainers for top-tier clients. New business is generated through direct sales, a structured project-intake form, and discovery calls, complemented by thought-leadership content, Open Lab events (including House of Genius in Madrid and Tokyo), and educational partnerships with IED Madrid, IE, and Universidad Europea.

Erretres serves two primary customer segments: (i) startups and growth-stage companies positioned to become category leaders—most visibly five Spanish-origin unicorns (Playtomic, Civitatis, Seedtag, Embat, Grenergy) collectively valued at over €7 billion—and (ii) global corporations and enterprises including BBVA, Repsol, Visa, McKinsey, and Iberia, plus institutional and cultural organizations such as Telefónica, Movistar, and the Museo del Prado. The company is founder-owned, has no disclosed external funding, and operates at roughly 20 employees per the team page, with active hiring across senior strategy and product design roles.

Name

Erretres

Legal name

Erretres Diseño y Comunicación 2003, S.L.

Website

https://erretres.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Erretres is a Madrid-based strategic design consultancy, founded in 2003, integrating brand strategy, digital product design, and implementation for startups targeting unicorn status and global enterprises such as BBVA, Visa, and McKinsey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-based professional services: Customized branding, digital product, and strategy engagements billed as discrete projects. Duration ranges from brand refreshes in a few weeks to full digital platform builds spanning several months. Each project is defined with milestones, deliverables, and clear timelines upfront. This model has been the traditional revenue engine, though Erretres has transitioned toward a hybrid model combining project work with retainer agreements for top-tier clients to ensure more predictable revenue.
2. Retainer agreements: Long-term partnership agreements with premier clients combining project-based work with retainer arrangements. Retainer packages span 6-12 months with clearly defined deliverables and value propositions. The agency targets maintaining approximately 60% of revenue from retainers and 40% from projects. This hybrid approach balances financial stability with creative freedom.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Erretres is a strategic design agency that sells brand strategy, branding, digital product design, implementation, and Design Ops services to companies, entrepreneurs, and cultural organizations. Engagements span naming, visual and verbal identity, brand guides, UX/UI design, design systems, retail design, signage, and communication activations, delivered through its proprietary Digital Branding methodology that integrates brand strategy with digital product development as a single continuous system.

Product overview

Erretres is a strategic design company offering a unified portfolio of services that integrate brand strategy, design, and digital product development. The core offering consists of five interconnected service lines: Brand and Digital Product Strategy (which provides auditing, market analysis, and brand architecture), Branding (covering naming, visual/verbal identity, and brand guides), Digital Products (encompassing user research, UX/UI, prototyping, and design systems), Implementation (for retail design, signage, communications, and activations), and Design Ops (for scaling internal design capabilities). Additionally, Erretres Open Lab serves as an innovation and education platform for community-driven knowledge sharing. The methodology integrates brand and digital product development as a single continuous system, challenging the traditional 'brand first, then product' sequence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand and Digital Product Strategy Strategic service providing market research, auditing, brand architecture, and coherent digital and brand strategy to deliver clarity, relevance, and growth for businesses, entrepreneurs, and cultural organisations.
• Branding Brand creation and renewal service combining strategy, design rigor, and digital fluency; covers naming, verbal identity, visual identity, brand guides, and implementation for businesses and startups.
• Digital Products Digital product design service aligning user experience, business strategy, and technology to build measurable products; includes user research, experience maps, prototyping, UX/UI design, and design systems for web apps, dashboards, and platforms.
• Implementation Production and roll-out service bringing brand strategies and designs to life with consistent, scalable execution across retail design, print media, signage, communications, and activations.
• Design Ops Advisory and enablement service helping companies build and scale internal design capabilities, including in-house team structuring, talent acquisition, systems and workflows, design culture, and training.
• Erretres Open Lab Innovation and education platform powered by a community of professionals across multiple sectors; organises international startup event House of Genius and industry events in Madrid and Tokyo for innovation, education, knowledge sharing, and networking.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $7 billion in market value contributed through client collaborations
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Santander (Ulity venture)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerErretres co-created Ulity, a mobility-as-a-service venture launched by Santander. The agency was involved in the total brand building process — from naming (playing on 'utility, mobility, flexibility, and for u') to visual identity inspired by the compass as a tool that aligns horizons, orients routes, and drives toward destination. Erretres designed the digital platform capable of explaining new mobility models while remaining adaptable and white-label for different brands and markets. The project demonstrates Erretres' ability to create something extraordinary from scratch by connecting Santander's business vision with strategic and design capabilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MetaDesign: MetaDesign is an international brand and design consultancy with offices in Europe, the US, and China, offering strategy, identity, and digital services. Comparable to Erretres' integrated brand-and-product offering and global project delivery model.
• Interbrand: Interbrand is a global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, naming, identity, and digital experience design with a strong corporate client base. It competes with Erretres on enterprise brand transformation and design system engagements.
• Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy combining brand strategy, identity, and digital experience design for ambitious organizations (e.g., Slack, London 2012, GE). It competes head-to-head with Erretres for enterprise brand transformation mandates across Europe.
• Pentagram: Pentagram is the world's largest independently owned design consultancy, offering brand strategy, identity, and digital product design across partners. It is the most direct comparable to Erretres' senior-led, partner-driven boutique model with a similarly broad service portfolio spanning branding, digital, and strategy.
• Landor & Fitch: Landor & Fitch is a global branding and design consultancy working on brand strategy, identity, and experience design for major corporates. Overlap with Erretres spans brand strategy, naming, visual identity, and digital product work for enterprise clients.
• Saffron Brand Consultants: Saffron is a global brand consultancy combining strategy, identity, and innovation services. Comparable to Erretres in serving ambitious enterprise and startup clients with integrated brand-and-product work.
• Mucho: Mucho is a Barcelona-based independent design studio specializing in brand strategy, visual identity, and digital product design. Closest size and methodology peer to Erretres within the Spanish market, often competing for the same European brand transformation mandates.

Regional players

• Folch Studio: Folch is a Barcelona-based creative studio working across brand strategy, identity, editorial, and digital design with a strong cultural and lifestyle brand portfolio. Most direct regional peer to Erretres in Spain, though with a more editorial and cultural focus.
• Anagrama: Anagrama is a Mexico-based branding and design agency known for visual identity, packaging, and digital work for premium and lifestyle brands. Comparable boutique branding model to Erretres but primarily serving Latin American clients.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is a large, established global design and innovation firm with deep capabilities in human-centered design, digital products, and venture incubation. Functions as a broad incumbent offering overlapping services to Erretres' enterprise clients at a larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• Instagraminstagram.com/erretres_design/?hl=en
• Xx.com/erretres_design
• Facebookfacebook.com/ErretresDesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Erretres