What Jozeph Forakis does

Jozeph Forakis (legally 'forakis … design') is a privately held strategic design agency founded in 2002 and led by founder and creative director Jozeph Forakis. Operating from studios in Milan (Alzaia Naviglio Grande 42) and Brooklyn, NY (169 Java Street), the firm is built around a single founding principal and a deliberately small team of 9 creatives drawn from 6 cultures (American, Colombian, Indian, Italian, Korean, Turkish), covering 10 design disciplines: wearable, tech, UI/UX, furniture, lighting, housewares, space, transportation, incubation, and branding. Its core offering is professional design services spanning product, digital, brand, and environmental design, plus innovation strategy and startup incubation, all delivered through the studio's proprietary 'Cross-fertilization' methodology that fuses creative vision with research-driven, critical thinking.

The studio's revenue comes from project-based and retainer design engagements with a client roster that spans Fortune 500 multinationals (Motorola, Samsung, LG, Philips, Swatch, Logitech, Haier, Casarte, Rotring, Leonardo, Yamaha, Cheoy Lee, Swarovski, Foscarini) and venture-stage startups (Healbe, MEEM, Plugg). Notable products include the Havana lamp for Foscarini (now in MoMA's permanent collection), the Motorola V70 mobile phone, the Logitech Cordless MouseMan Pro (the original vertical-mouse concept), the Swatch Irony Scuba 200 watches, the Swatch Talk watch-phone, MEEM Memory Cable (co-founded by Forakis as equity partner/CDO), and the full line of CL Yachts / Cheoy Lee vessels (CLX96, CLX99, CLB80, CLB88) plus a hospitality furniture collection. The marketing motion is primarily reputation- and portfolio-led, supported by a portfolio website, social channels, and industry exposure via MoMA exhibitions, Salone del Mobile, Compasso d'Oro, and the International Yacht & Aviation Awards.

The firm is privately financed with no disclosed external investment, operates only through direct client engagement, and discloses no pricing publicly. Recent and forward-dated activity shows continued momentum in the marine/yacht vertical (Pegasus 88m concept Red Dot 2024, CLB80 Good Design 2024) and in lighting/material innovation (Intrecci di Luce / Knitted Light with TexTech for Milan Design Week 2026), alongside a cross-vertical workflow that includes wearables, mobile devices, and architectural installations.

Name

Jozeph Forakis

Legal name

forakis … design

Website

https://forakis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forakis … design is a Milan- and Brooklyn-based strategic design agency founded by Jozeph Forakis, offering product, brand, transportation, and UI/UX design to Fortune 500 clients and startups across consumer electronics, marine, lighting, and home appliances.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Design Services

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Interior Design Services (541410)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial design services
• Strategic design agency
• Product design studio
• Brand identity design
• Transportation design

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Services Revenue: Revenue generated from strategic design services including industrial design, UI/UX, branding, interior design, transportation design, CMF planning, technology applications, innovation strategies, and incubation programs. Services offered to startups through Fortune 500 companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Forakis Design is a strategic design agency offering multidisciplinary design services across product design, UI/UX design, branding, interior/exhibition design, transportation design, furniture, lighting, housewares, wearables, and startup incubation. The studio combines creative vision with analytical research, serving clients from startups to Fortune 500 companies with research-driven, cross-disciplinary strategic design thinking.

Product overview

Forakis Design is a strategic design agency offering services across product design, digital design, brand design, and environmental design. The studio works across multiple disciplines including lighting (Havana, Cloud, Tivu, Alef, Loto, Intrecci di Luce), transportation/yachts (CLX96, CLB80, CLB88, CLX99, Pegasus 88m, Heli-X), tech/UI/UX (Motorola V70, Cordless MouseMan Pro, Meem, Plugg, LG A-TASK), wearables (GoBe, GoBe2, Scuba 200 Irony, Scuba 200 Chrono), furniture (CL Yachts Hospitality Collection, Baloo, Spin, Spectre), housewares (Tape Timer, Dewberry, Ballo, Labirinto), and branding (CL Yachts, Cheoy Lee Shipyards, Meem Branding). The portfolio spans consumer products, hi-tech, transportation, furniture, lighting, and environments for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Havana Lamp Signature desk/floor lamp for Foscarini featuring a segmented shape that creates rather than fits into space; now in MoMA's permanent collection.
• Motorola V70 Mobile Phone Design Revolutionary rotary clamshell mobile phone design with aluminum body, midnight-blue round display, and keyhole silhouette, delivered as European Design Director at Motorola.
• Swatch Talk Watch Phone World's first watch mobile phone, shockproof and waterproof to 30 meters with dialing touchpad integrated into the watch face.
• Logitech Cordless MouseMan Pro First vertical mouse concept for Logitech combining ergonomic research with Darwinian development principles.
• CLX96 Sea Activity Vessel World's first SAV (Sea Activity Vessel) combining workboat capabilities with luxury flybridge design, featuring 'workboat-chic' aesthetic for CL Yachts.
• Heli-X AW609 Tiltrotor Concept Interior design concept for Leonardo AW609 tiltrotor emphasizing comfort, transparency, and advanced digital lighting integration.
• MEEM Memory Cable Memory cable that automatically backs up smartphone/tablet data during charging, providing a secure offline alternative to cloud services. Forakis is co-founder, equity partner, and CDO.
• GoBe Wearable Anti-watch wearable designed for Healbe, the first consumer device to measure calorie intake non-invasively, with invisible display and aircraft alloy case.
• CL Yachts Corporate Branding Complete visual identity redesign for CL Yachts including logomark with negative space L, orange color scheme, and coordinated branding program.
• Pegasus 88m Superyacht Concept 88-meter concept superyacht featuring 3D printed mesh framework, solar-electric/hydrogen hybrid propulsion, and reflective 'Solar Wings' design; won Red Dot Design Award 1st prize.
• Plugg Smart Accessories Family of smart accessories with companion apps for iOS devices, reinventing common objects with new intelligence; received Compasso d'Oro Honorable Mention in 2016.
• Intrecci di Luce / Knitted Light Installation Installation for Foscarini at Milan Design Week 2026 exploring 3D knitted structures as architectural elements that give form to light; recognized by Forbes as one of 'The Best of Milan Design Week 2026'.
• Strategic Design Services Comprehensive multidisciplinary design services spanning industrial design, UI/UX, branding, interior and exhibition design, transportation design, CMF planning, technology applications, innovation strategies, and incubation — delivered to Fortune 500 companies and startups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple MoMA exhibitions and permanent collection
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered notable and minor.

• TexTechnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Intrecci di Luce / Knitted Light installation for Milan Design Week 2026. Exploration of relationship between light, material, and form through three-dimensional knitted structures combining ancient textile techniques with contemporary design and advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Nuova Accademia di Belle ArtiminorOthersEducational partnership where Jozeph Forakis serves as teacher/lecturer since 2014.
• Domus AcademyminorOthersEducational partnership where Jozeph Forakis has been teaching since 1997 to present.
• Boat International Design & Innovation AwardsnotableOthersJozeph Forakis serves as jury member for Boat International Design & Innovation Awards since 2021.
• MideaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject leader for workshop in collaboration with Midea during 2021-2022.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Multi-partner design firm specializing in branding, product, and environmental design with offices globally. Comparable on founder/partner-led boutique model and broad design discipline coverage; Pentagram's scale and brand focus slightly differ.
• Barber Osgerby: London-based industrial design duo producing furniture, lighting, and consumer products for brands like Flos and Vitra. Comparable as a founder-led, award-winning boutique design practice with strong museum-grade portfolio and luxury brand clients.
• fuseproject: San Francisco design studio founded by Yves Béhar, working across consumer products, furniture, and branding for brands like Herman Miller, Puma, and Jawbone. Closely comparable as a founder-led boutique serving premium consumer brands with equity-aligned startup incubation.
• Continuum Innovation: Global design and innovation consultancy working across consumer products, healthcare, and financial services. Comparable on multidisciplinary design services for Fortune 500 clients with strong brand and product strategy depth.
• Lunar Design: Boutique product design and innovation consultancy serving consumer, medical, and tech clients. Comparable as a multidisciplinary design studio with similar Fortune 500 client base and product design depth.
• Ammunition Group: Boutique industrial design studio founded by Robert Brunner, working across consumer electronics, furniture, and eyewear. Closely comparable in size, founder-led model, and product-design focus serving premium consumer brands.
• Neri&Hu: Shanghai-based interdisciplinary architectural and design practice producing architecture, interiors, furniture, and product design. Comparable on founder-led boutique model with multidisciplinary scope (architecture, product, interior) and award-winning reputation.

Broad incumbents

• Teague: Large US design consultancy specializing in aviation, transportation, and consumer products. Overlapping with Forakis on transportation design (Leonardo Heli-X) and industrial design, but at significantly greater scale and aviation depth.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy offering product, brand, and strategy services across consumer and enterprise. Comparable as a multidisciplinary design agency serving Fortune 500 clients, though IDEO operates at far larger scale across multiple geographies.
• Frog Design: Global design and engineering consultancy with a heritage in industrial design (Apple Mac II era) and current work across product, brand, and digital. Direct comparability in industrial design pedigree and Fortune 500 client roster, operating at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jozephforakis
• Facebookfacebook.com/forakisdesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jozeph-forakis-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/forakis.design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Jozeph Forakis