What Elephant Design does

Elephant Design (legal entity: elephant design株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered co-creation creative design firm that provides project-based design services spanning research and advanced design development, UX design and planning support, prototyping and verification, and promotional support. Its deliverable surface covers five design disciplines — Service Design, Movie/Video Production, GUI Design, Graphic Design, and Product Design — executed under a proprietary five-stage methodology (Hearing → Team Building → Concept Making → UX Design/Scenario Planning → Production). The firm operates as a kabushiki kaisha within the ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS Group, spun off from CUUSOO SYSTEM on October 1, 2013, with registered capital of ¥10,000,000 and a single Tokyo office in the Gotanda Tokyo Design Center.

The firm primarily serves large Japanese enterprise clients across electronics (Sony, NEC, Fujitsu, Sharp, Ricoh), automotive (Nissan, Woven by Toyota), construction machinery (Hitachi), and government aerospace (JAXA), with secondary engagement from Japanese deep-tech and space startups (TELEXISTENCE, LINKWIZ, iQPS) and at least one US-based client (Oishii Farm). Notable deliverables include GOOD DESIGN AWARD-winning product design (Sharp TEKION LAB 2017, Moritaka Engineering 2005), the Mega Farm promotional video that reached CNBC, CNN, and TED, JAXA's KIBO Xplorer branding, and UI/UX for Sony Biz Networks' AI-powered Assist AI Chat Bot.

Commercially, Elephant Design runs a sales-led, project-based B2B model with no publicly disclosed pricing; acquisition is driven by portfolio reputation and direct client outreach through its website contact channel. The firm holds no patents, has no external funding rounds, and reports 1-10 employees (though the breadth of documented enterprise output suggests the effective operating team may draw on the broader ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS Group). Pricing is bespoke per engagement and is not disclosed.

Name

Elephant Design

Legal name

elephant design株式会社

Website

https://elephant-design.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Industrial Design Services (541420)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Creative design services
• Brand strategy
• Communication design
• Product design
• Visual identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Creative Design Services: Project-based creative and design services including R&D support, UX design, prototyping, and promotional support for corporate clients. Services span multiple design disciplines including Service Design, Movie Production, GUI Design, Graphic Design, and Product Design.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Elephant Design is a Tokyo-based creative design firm providing integrated design services across brand, product, communication, and spatial design disciplines. The firm operates a five-stage design process (research, analysis, concept, implementation, verification) to deliver strategic creative output for enterprise clients. Established as a current entity in 2013 within the ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS Group, the firm traces its corporate lineage to a 1997 holding entity.

Product overview

Elephant Design is a co-creation creative team that accelerates projects through design thinking. The company offers a comprehensive suite of design services organized around four main areas: R&D/Advanced Design Development, UX Design/Planning Support, Prototyping/Verification, and Promotion Support. Design outputs span Service Design, Movie/Video Production, GUI Design, Graphic Design, and Product Design. The company serves diverse clients across industries including electronics (SONY, Sharp, Fujitsu), aerospace (JAXA, iQPS), robotics (TELEXISTENCE, LINKWIZ), and healthcare (Oishii Farm), working on projects from concept development through final production and promotion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creative Design Services Integrated creative design services covering brand strategy, product design, communication design, and spatial design, delivered through a five-stage process (research, analysis, concept, implementation, verification) for enterprise clients.
• Personal Insurance Diagnosis Project A specific client project deliverable in the personal insurance sector, evidencing the firm's portfolio of communication and service design work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Promotional videos featured on major global media outlets including CNBC, CNN, and TED for Oishii Farm Mega Farm project
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS株式会社coreOthersParent holding company of ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS Group. elephant design株式会社 operates as a member of this group, which has operated since 1997 in information services and product/service development. The group includes related company 株式会社CUUSOO SYSTEM.
• 株式会社CUUSOO SYSTEMminorOthersRelated company from which elephant design株式会社 was spun off in October 2013. CUUSOO SYSTEM is the parent/spin-off origin company.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design consultancy with deep Tokyo presence. Offers overlapping human-centered design, product, and service design services to large enterprise clients, but at much greater scale and global footprint.
• Pentagram: Independent global design agency with multiple offices. Comparable on multi-disciplinary design capabilities and enterprise-grade brand work, though geographically concentrated outside Japan.
• Dentsu Inc. Japan's largest advertising and communications group with creative, CX, and design capabilities across the group. Overlaps with Elephant Design on enterprise creative campaigns and branding work, at vastly greater scale.
• frog (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and engineering firm, part of Capgemini. Overlaps with Elephant Design in industrial design, UX, and brand strategy for enterprise and technology clients, with broader scale and integrated engineering services.
• Hakuhodo Inc. Japan's second-largest advertising agency group with creative, digital, and design capabilities. Competes for similar enterprise creative briefs as Elephant Design but with much larger scale and integrated media services.

Emerging players

• KIGALI Inc. Tokyo-based creative studio with product, branding, and digital design offerings. Competes for similar Japanese enterprise creative briefs with comparable boutique scale.

Direct peers

• Takram: Tokyo-based design engineering firm combining design thinking, technology, and business strategy. Comparable to Elephant Design in service design, concept development, and cross-disciplinary methodology for enterprise clients.
• Bascule Inc. Tokyo-based creative agency offering brand strategy, communication design, and product design. Similar boutique positioning with multi-disciplinary Japanese enterprise client portfolio.
• Nendo: Tokyo-based multi-disciplinary design studio with comparable offerings spanning product, graphic, and spatial design. Both serve Japanese enterprise clients across diverse industries with in-house design teams.
• Whatever Inc. Tokyo-based design and creative firm offering brand, graphic, and product design services to enterprise clients. Comparable boutique scale and Japanese enterprise client focus.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/elephantdesign_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Elephant Design