CDA Design
CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio specializing in retail architecture, automotive dealership design, and trade marketing, serving enterprise clients across Brazil and South America with proprietary concepts and end-to-end project delivery.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersPorto Alegre, Brazil
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CDA Design does
CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio founded in 1994 (also cited as 1995) and headquartered in Porto Alegre, with additional offices in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. The firm operates across three core service lines: commercial retail architecture, automotive dealership design, and trade marketing materials for the point of sale. Its work spans end-to-end project delivery — from brand identity and concept development through architecture, interior design, scenography, fabrication oversight, and rollout across multi-unit networks — for enterprise clients in retail, automotive, telecommunications, and consumer goods.
The firm's portfolio is concentrated among globally recognized brands, including Stellantis-owned manufacturers (Fiat, RAM, Jeep, Citroën, Peugeot, and Leapmotor), Nike, Havaianas/Alpargatas, Renault group brands, Nissan, BASF, and large Brazilian retailers (Renner, Pão de Açúcar, Ferreira Costa, Centauro, C&A). Notable proprietary concepts include the RAM House "Luxury Barn" flagship dealership, the Havaianas Go autonomous sustainable container store, the FIAT Autocentro service concept rolled out across 300+ units, and the Leapmotor EV dealership concept commissioned in 2024.
CDA generates revenue exclusively through project-based professional services engagements with enterprise clients, with no disclosed subscription or recurring product revenue. The firm is privately held with no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and no M&A activity on record. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging a portfolio spanning 30 years, a multilingual website (Portuguese, English, Spanish), and a WhatsApp Business contact channel. The firm is recognized as one of the most awarded Brazilian design studios by Popai Brasil and has received Brasil Design Awards in 2018 and 2019.
CDA Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CDA Design
- Legal name
- CDA Design
- Website
- https://cda.com.br
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio specializing in retail architecture, automotive dealership design, and trade marketing, serving enterprise clients across Brazil and South America with proprietary concepts and end-to-end project delivery.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CDA Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Porto Alegre
- HQ country
- Brazil
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices3 records
Markets served
CDA Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Professional Design Services: CDA Design generates revenue through project-based professional services including retail architecture, automotive dealership design, trade marketing campaigns, and brand experience projects. Revenue is derived from individual client engagements rather than recurring subscriptions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
CDA Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio delivering project-based professional services across three areas: retail commercial space architecture, trade marketing physical and digital point-of-sale materials, and automotive dealership architecture. The firm translates brand identity into physical environments and immersive experiences for major enterprise clients, from concept through implementation, integrating physical and digital (phygital) touchpoints.
Product overview
CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio with 30 years of experience, operating across three main business areas: retail space architecture, automotive dealership architecture, and trade marketing. The company creates connections between people and brands through design that transforms spaces into unique experiences. Their portfolio includes flagship store concepts (RAM House), autonomous sustainable retail formats (Havaianas Go), automotive launch materials (Citroën C3, Fiat, Jeep), and comprehensive brand redesigns (Ferreira Costa, Agafarma, Grilo Mobilidade). The offering is structured as project-based services rather than a unified software platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Retail Architecture (Arquitetura de espaços comerciais) End-to-end commercial space architecture and interior design services for retail chains and consumer brands, including store concept creation, rebranding, visual merchandising, and construction management through inauguration.
- Trade Marketing (Materiais físicos e digitais para o ponto de venda) Design and production of physical and digital point-of-sale materials including launch displays, kinetic floorstands, promotional materials, augmented reality markers, digital catalogs, and integrated merchandising campaigns for retail brands.
- Automotive Dealership Architecture (Arquitetura de concessionárias) Dealership concept development, vehicle launch materials, showroom scenography, and after-sales service design for automotive manufacturers and dealer networks, including flagship store concepts and multi-unit rollout programs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5,000 RAM Rampage pickups sold during pre-launch week at RAM House dealership
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use CDA Design
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CDA Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
CDA Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Leapmotor (Stellantis)flagshipStellantis entrusted CDA Design with creating the complete dealership concept for Leapmotor, their new electrified vehicle brand entering the Brazilian market. CDA worked alongside the Leapmotor team to develop brand experience, ecosystem design, and showroom concepts. This was described as a game-changing project not only for CDA's history but for Brazilian automotive retail.
- Alpargatas (Havaianas)flagshipCDA collaborated with Alpargatas to create Havaianas Go, an innovative autonomous sustainable store concept. The project involved sustainable design using recycled materials, representing a milestone in Havaianas' retail evolution.
- Fiat (Stellantis)coreLong-standing partnership with Fiat including creation of Fiat Autocentro concept (implemented in 300+ units), multiple vehicle launch campaigns, and ongoing dealership design work.
- RAM (Stellantis)flagshipCreated the RAM House flagship concept - the first RAM dealership in the world - implementing the Luxury Barn design language. Also created combined Jeep & RAM (JR) dealership concepts.
- Jeep (Stellantis)coreDeveloped complete dealership concepts for Jeep brand emphasizing freedom, authenticity, and nature connection. Created launch materials for Renegade, Commander, and Compass models.
- NikeMultiple Nike retail projects including Nike Arena Seleção (São Paulo), Nike Rise concept implementation (Rio de Janeiro), Nike Corinthians store design, and Artwalk concept store implementation.
- MahindracoreCreated live streaming launch event for Mahindra 86-110P tractor during pandemic, developing complete event concept, key visual, and multi-platform deployment.
- NissancorePartnership for Nissan Kicks launch with augmented reality markers and Nissan Olympics campaign transforming stores along Olympic Torch Route.
- CitroëncoreSouth America-wide partnership for Citroën C3 and Aircross launch materials, featuring innovative kinetic displays and Burle Marx-inspired design elements.
- PeugeotminorDealership revitalization project including visual updates and new experiential spaces.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CDA Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- IDEO: Global design consultancy operating across product, service, and brand experience, with work in retail and mobility that overlaps with CDA's phygital and experience-design practice, though IDEO operates at much larger scale and breadth.
- Lippincott: Global brand strategy and design firm with adjacent experience in retail and customer-experience design; while broader in scope, it competes for the same enterprise brand-experience mandates as CDA.
Direct peers
- Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with one of the world's largest retail experience practices, designing flagship stores, dealership concepts, and brand environments for many of the same Fortune 500 clients CDA serves (Nike, automotive brands). Directly comparable on enterprise retail and automotive environment design.
- Chute Gerdeman: Retail-focused design and architecture firm producing flagship stores, point-of-sale concepts, and brand experiences for major consumer brands — a directly comparable offering to CDA's retail and trade-marketing practice.
- FutureBrand (Interbrand Group): Brand consultancy with significant retail and experience design capabilities, producing flagship store concepts and brand environments for major international clients — a directly comparable practitioner to CDA.
- Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design firm with a strong retail and brand-environment practice that translates brand identity into physical and digital retail experiences, closely mirroring CDA's brand-to-space work for Nike, Fiat, and others.
- Callison: Architecture and design firm with deep retail and brand-environment practices, producing store concepts, dealership design, and trade-marketing environments comparable to CDA's retail and automotive work.
- CBX (Coleman Brand Experience): Specialist retail and brand-experience consultancy that designs store concepts, shopper environments, and automotive retail experiences — overlapping almost exactly with CDA's trade, retail, and dealership design core.
Regional players
- DPZ&T: One of Brazil's largest and most awarded advertising/creative agencies, operating in the same Brazilian enterprise market as CDA and competing for major-brand creative mandates, though DPZ&T is more focused on advertising than on retail/automotive architecture.
Others
- Siegel+Gale: Global brand strategy and design firm specializing in brand simplicity and customer experience; competes with CDA at the brand-strategy layer that often precedes retail environment design engagements.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CDA Design social profiles
Digital presenceCDA Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CDA Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
CDA Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CDA Design 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 CDA Design
What does CDA Design do?
CDA Design is a Brazilian multidisciplinary design studio delivering project-based professional services across three areas: retail commercial space architecture, trade marketing physical and digital point-of-sale materials, and automotive dealership architecture. The firm translates brand identity into physical environments and immersive experiences for major enterprise clients, from concept through implementation, integrating physical and digital (phygital) touchpoints.
Is CDA Design a public or private company?
CDA Design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CDA Design founded?
CDA Design was founded in 1995. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CDA Design based?
CDA Design is headquartered in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in the Latin America region.
How does CDA Design make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Design Services.
Who are CDA Design's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are IDEO and Lippincott. Direct peers are Gensler, Chute Gerdeman, FutureBrand (Interbrand Group), Landor & Fitch, Callison and CBX (Coleman Brand Experience). DPZ&T is listed as a regional player. Siegel+Gale is listed as an others.
Does CDA Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for CDA Design.