Artefact
Artefact is a Tokyo-based digital product design studio that provides product strategy, UX/UI design, and prototyping consulting to enterprise clients in video streaming, entertainment, and fashion e-commerce, and operates the unprinted® design media platform and published textbook targeting Japanese digital designers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Artefact does
Artefact Inc. (株式会社Artefact) is a Tokyo-based digital product design studio specializing in product strategy, UX/UI design, prototyping, and product research for enterprise clients. Its consulting work targets video streaming and broadcasting (e.g., TV Tokyo's online streaming app, also referred to as 'ネットもテレ東'), Z-generation entertainment products, and fashion e-commerce, and includes externally distributed consumer apps such as the selfie camera app Moru, the student scheduling app Schooly (1.6M+ downloads by 2025), and the iOS journaling app Mindspace, the last of which incorporates on-device LLM functionality. The studio's revenue mechanics combine project-based professional services for enterprise clients with direct-to-consumer monetization of a published book (the 'Digital Product Design Textbook,' released November 2025 by Shoeisha under the UODB label) distributed via Amazon and Japanese booksellers.
Complementing the consulting business, Artefact operates the owned design media platform unprinted® — a registered trademark launched in January 2023 — which targets Japanese digital designers with original interviews, design news, an event calendar, a free library of 13 UX design templates in Figma/PDF, and a curated App Design Gallery of 180+ UX flow videos. The platform, which reports 100,000+ monthly visitors as of June 2024, functions as a top-of-funnel SEO-driven demand-generation asset and as a methodology showcase. CEO Suganuma Shotaro (Waseda graduate) serves as editor-in-chief of unprinted® and as the authored thought leader behind the published textbook, consolidating category authority in a niche Japanese design discipline. The firm is privately held, founder-owned, and bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, with project work spanning Japan and the United States.
Artefact firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Artefact
- Legal name
- 株式会社Artefact
- Website
- https://artefact.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Artefact is a Tokyo-based digital product design studio that provides product strategy, UX/UI design, and prototyping consulting to enterprise clients in video streaming, entertainment, and fashion e-commerce, and operates the unprinted® design media platform and published textbook targeting Japanese digital designers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Artefact industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Product Design Consulting
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (54143), Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Design & Maker Skills (Graphic Design, Calligraphy, Lettering) (EDAAAGAJ), Graphic Design & Visual Communications (Collateral, Illustration) (MPAAAEAC)
Keywords
Where Artefact is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Artefact business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Digital Product Design Consulting & Development: Professional services providing product strategy, UX/UI design, and software development consulting to enterprise clients across video streaming, entertainment, and fashion e-commerce sectors.
- Book Publication & Content Monetisation: Revenue from the sale of the 'Digital Product Design Textbook' published by 翔泳社 (Shoeisha). The book is sold at a retail price of ¥2,530 (tax included) through Amazon, Shoeisha's website, and other book retailers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Digital Product Design Textbook (physical book) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Artefact product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Artefact is a Tokyo-based digital product design studio that provides product strategy and UX/UI design consulting services to enterprise clients across video streaming, Z-generation entertainment, and fashion e-commerce sectors. Beyond consulting, Artefact operates the unprinted® design media platform (serving 100,000+ monthly visitors with free UX templates and design content), and publishes digital product design literature including Japan's first introductory textbook on the discipline.
Product overview
Artefact is a digital product design studio that accelerates business growth through design solutions. The company operates a portfolio model consisting of: (1) unprinted - a design media web platform with 100,000+ monthly visitors offering templates, app design galleries, and design news; (2) UX Design Template Collection - free Figma/PDF resources; (3) published book 'Digital Product Design Textbook'; and (4) digital product design consulting services. Artefact also develops project work for clients including video streaming services, Z-generation entertainment, and fashion e-commerce sectors. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- unprinted®: Digital design media platform providing design news, event information, UX templates, and app design gallery for digital designers.
Products and services
- Digital Product Design Consulting Professional consulting services for enterprise clients covering business-aligned design strategy, data-driven design decision-making, hypothesis-driven validation, and optimal interaction design for mobile apps, web services, and digital platforms. Clients include TV Tokyo (ネットもテレ東 streaming app), Flyu Corporation (Moru camera app), and other video streaming, entertainment, and fashion e-commerce companies.
- unprinted® Design Media Platform Owned web media platform for digital designers featuring design news, interviews, event information, free UX design templates (13 types), and an App Design Gallery with 180+ videos. Reaches 100,000+ monthly visitors and functions as a community ecosystem for professional designers.
- Digital Product Design Textbook (デジタルプロダクトデザインの教科書) Japan's first introductory book on digital product design methodology. Covers business impact through design strategy and UX/UI design, including quantitative/qualitative analysis and user interaction design. A5 format, 272 pages, retail price ¥2,530 (tax included), ISBN 9784798190884. Sold via Amazon, Shoeisha website, and book retailers.
Quantifiable outcome
- unprinted® media platform reached 100,000+ monthly visitors within 1.5 years of launch (as of June 2024)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Artefact
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Artefact technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Artefact partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- フリュー株式会社 (Flyu Corporation)minorArtefact developed the high-quality selfie camera app 'Moru' (モ루) for Flyu Corporation, the company known for photo booth development. The app is designed as a dedicated high-quality selfie camera for natural, flattering self-portraits. This represents a client relationship where Artefact provided digital product design and development services.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Artefact competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- IDEO: Pioneering global design consultancy offering strategy, UX, and product design across industries. A broad incumbent in the same digital product design category, with a much larger footprint and brand recognition than Artefact.
- R/GA: Global digital agency offering strategy, design, technology, and content services across consumer and enterprise. Overlaps broadly with Artefact's digital product design and brand experience work as a larger, multi-disciplinary incumbent.
- Frog Design: Global design and innovation firm (now part of Capgemini Engineering) operating in strategy, experience design, and product engineering. Overlaps with Artefact's digital product design consulting offering as a larger, established incumbent.
Direct peers
- Method (now Material): Global experience design and engineering agency working on digital products, platforms, and brand experiences. Comparable in business model and service mix (strategy + design + engineering) to Artefact's consulting offering.
- Goodpatch: Tokyo-headquartered UI/UX design firm and product studio offering strategy, design, and engineering services to enterprise clients — directly comparable to Artefact in terms of service offering, customer base, and geographic focus on Japan.
- Work & Co: Digital product agency building e-commerce and digital platforms for major brands. Closely comparable to Artefact in their focus on shipping production digital products (apps, web platforms) for enterprise clients across consumer and media categories.
- Carbon Five: West Coast digital product consultancy combining product strategy, design, and engineering for enterprise clients. Comparable to Artefact in combining product strategy with UX/UI design and development in a single integrated team.
- ustwo: Global digital product studio combining strategy, design, and engineering to ship consumer and enterprise apps (e.g., Monument Valley). Comparable to Artefact in its digital product studio model and strategy-plus-execution positioning.
Emerging players
- Nulab: Japan-based collaboration and design tool maker (Cacoo, Typetalk, Backlog). Comparable to Artefact as a Japanese player serving digital designers and product teams, though positioned more as a tooling vendor than a services studio.
- Plug and Play Design: Design-focused accelerator/agency program that pairs startups with corporate design partners. Tangentially comparable to Artefact's positioning at the intersection of design community, content, and enterprise design delivery.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Artefact social profiles
Digital presenceArtefact financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Artefact leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Artefact funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Artefact 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 Artefact
What does Artefact do?
Artefact is a Tokyo-based digital product design studio that provides product strategy and UX/UI design consulting services to enterprise clients across video streaming, Z-generation entertainment, and fashion e-commerce sectors. Beyond consulting, Artefact operates the unprinted® design media platform (serving 100,000+ monthly visitors with free UX templates and design content), and publishes digital product design literature including Japan's first introductory textbook on the discipline.
Is Artefact a public or private company?
Artefact is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Artefact founded?
Artefact was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Artefact based?
Artefact is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Artefact make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Digital Product Design Consulting & Development is the primary driver. The others are book Publication & Content Monetisation.
Who are Artefact's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are IDEO, R/GA and Frog Design. Direct peers are Method (now Material), Goodpatch, Work & Co, Carbon Five and ustwo. Emerging players are Nulab and Plug and Play Design.
Does Artefact have an API?
No public API is recorded for Artefact.
What industry is Artefact in?
Artefact's product category is Digital Product Design Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX), with a secondary code of EDAAAGAJ, Design & Maker Skills (Graphic Design, Calligraphy, Lettering). Its NAICS code is 54143 and its SIC code is 7330.