Design+Culture Lab
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Design+Culture Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Design+Culture Lab
- Legal name
- Design+Culture Lab, LLC
- Website
- https://designculturelab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Design+Culture Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Planning and Community Engagement Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)
Keywords
Where Design+Culture Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Design+Culture Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting services bridging disadvantaged community members and urban practitioners in the construction of their environment. Services include collaborative design strategy, engagement management, interactive engagement tools, and community data reporting.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels10 records
Design+Culture Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Design+Culture Lab is a research-driven urban social enterprise that delivers professional consulting services bridging disadvantaged community members and urban practitioners in the construction of their environment. Its practice encompasses Collaborative Design Strategy, Engagement Management, Interactive Engagement Tools, and Community Data Reporting, applied to projects such as Portland's first African American City Plan, Powell-Division corridor engagement, and Division street neighborhood design guidelines. The firm also maintains the Plus+ research initiative, which investigates the intersectionality between the built environment and identity (race, ethnicity, and culture).
Product overview
Design+Culture Lab is a research-driven urban social enterprise that provides professional consulting services rather than a software product platform. The company offers a suite of engagement services including Collaborative Design Strategy, Engagement Management, Interactive Engagement Tools, and Community Data Reporting. These services are delivered through a consulting engagement model where the company works directly with community members, urban practitioners, developers, and government agencies to facilitate participatory design processes. Rather than a modular software product, the offering represents a methodology and service practice focused on addressing spatial issues associated with cultural, racial, and ethnic inequality in urban environments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Collaborative Design Strategy
Companies that use Design+Culture Lab
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Design+Culture Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Design+Culture Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and foundational.
- Portland African American Leadership Forum (PAALF)coreCommunity organization focused on African American leadership development in Portland. Listed as a past collaborator on Design+Culture Lab's website.
- PDX People's PlancoreCommunity planning initiative listed as a past collaborator.
- Self Enhancement InccoreCommunity and family programs organization listed as past collaborator.
- ZGF (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca LLP)majorArchitecture and design firm listed as past collaborator.
- Portland Bureau of Planning and SustainabilitycoreCity of Portland planning bureau. Design+Culture Lab has worked on Portland's first African American City Plan with this agency.
- Portland Bureau of TransportationcoreCity of Portland transportation bureau listed as past collaborator.
- Multicultural CollaborativecoreOrganization focused on multicultural community development listed as past collaborator.
- Groundwork PortlandcoreCommunity development organization listed as past collaborator.
- Teatro CambiocoreSocial action-focused theater organization that hosted Theater of the Oppressed workshop with Design+Culture Lab participation.
- Oregon MetrocoreRegional government agency for the Portland metropolitan area. Design+Culture Lab has worked on Powell-Division corridor engagement.
- Bridge HousingmajorHousing development organization listed as past collaborator.
- Open Signal PDXmajorPortland media arts organization. Design+Culture Lab participated in exhibition 'Annexation & Assimilation: Exploring the Archives East of 82nd Avenue'.
- CH2MmajorEngineering and construction firm listed as past collaborator.
- DKS AssociatesmajorEngineering firm listed as past collaborator.
- Cogan OwensmajorConsulting firm listed as past collaborator.
- Hack OregonmajorData and civic technology organization. Partnership developed naturally as both create design solutions around urban issues such as public disenfranchisement, root shock, food deserts and gentrification.
- Public Allies New YorkfoundationalAmericorps program where founders Joy Davis and Renae Reynolds met during community development apprenticeship in 2011, honing skills in social justice. Both founders were former Allies.
- Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA)majorInstitution where CEO Joy Alise Davis serves as Assistant Professor in MFA in Collaborative Design and MA in Design Systems programs.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Design+Culture Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PolicyLink: National research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity. Comparable to Design+Culture Lab in equity mission and government/partner engagement, but operates at a policy/advocacy level rather than delivering community-engagement design services.
- Race Forward: National racial-equity organization that runs the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) network advising municipalities on equity strategies. Comparable to Design+Culture Lab in mission and equity-led approach to government practice, though much larger and advocacy-focused rather than a project-based urban-design consultancy.
- HR&A Advisors: Real estate and economic-development advisory firm that works with public agencies on inclusive growth strategies. Comparable as a consulting partner to municipal planning bureaus, but at a much larger scale and broader economic-development scope than Design+Culture Lab's community-engagement specialty.
Direct peers
- WXY Studio: Urban design and architecture firm specializing in public-realm projects with strong community-engagement practices. Comparable in delivering urban-design consulting to municipalities, though larger and focused more on physical-space outcomes.
- MASS Design Group: Architecture and design firm with an explicit social-impact mission, focused on built-environment projects that advance equity and public health. Closest direct peer to Design+Culture Lab in combining design practice with justice-oriented community engagement.
- Studio Ma: Architecture and design studio focused on climate justice, equity, and inclusive built environments. Comparable as a mission-driven design practice delivering built-environment projects with strong community-engagement components.
Emerging players
- The National Equity Project: Capacity-building organization that partners with schools, districts, and communities to advance equity. Comparable in equity-driven consulting and training delivery to government-adjacent clients, though its primary sector is education rather than urban planning.
- Center for Urban Pedagogy: NYC-based nonprofit using design and art to make urban policy accessible to communities most affected by it. Comparable in participatory, community-led design approach to urban-planning topics, though smaller in scope and geographically distant.
- Estudio Teddy Cruz + Forman: Research-driven urban design practice at UCSD working on social-justice-oriented urban interventions in border regions. Comparable as an academic-adjacent, equity-led urban design practice though larger and university-affiliated.
- Hack Oregon: Portland-based civic data and design collaborative explicitly listed as a Design+Culture Lab collaborator. Comparable in applying design and data methodologies to urban-equity issues in the Portland metro area.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Design+Culture Lab social profiles
Digital presenceDesign+Culture Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Design+Culture Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Design+Culture Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Design+Culture Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Design+Culture Lab
What does Design+Culture Lab do?
Design+Culture Lab is a research-driven urban social enterprise that delivers professional consulting services bridging disadvantaged community members and urban practitioners in the construction of their environment. Its practice encompasses Collaborative Design Strategy, Engagement Management, Interactive Engagement Tools, and Community Data Reporting, applied to projects such as Portland's first African American City Plan, Powell-Division corridor engagement, and Division street neighborhood design guidelines. The firm also maintains the Plus+ research initiative, which investigates the intersectionality between the built environment and identity (race, ethnicity, and culture).
Is Design+Culture Lab a public or private company?
Design+Culture Lab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Design+Culture Lab founded?
Design+Culture Lab was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Design+Culture Lab based?
Design+Culture Lab is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Design+Culture Lab make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Design+Culture Lab's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PolicyLink, Race Forward and HR&A Advisors. Direct peers are WXY Studio, MASS Design Group and Studio Ma. Emerging players are The National Equity Project, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Estudio Teddy Cruz + Forman and Hack Oregon.
Does Design+Culture Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Design+Culture Lab.
What industry is Design+Culture Lab in?
Design+Culture Lab's product category is Urban Planning and Community Engagement Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAO, Community Engagement & Participatory Planning, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54149 and its SIC code is 8742.