We-Designs

What We-Designs does

We-Designs is a boutique design studio headquartered at 231 Bowery in New York City, operating since its establishment in 2008. The studio delivers an integrated practice spanning digital design, branding, experience design, architecture, urban strategy, exhibition design, web development, design technology (AR/XR), and design-build services. It is led by founder and Design Director Wendy W Fok, who holds a Doctor of Design (DDes) from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and the firm is certified as a Minority Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) by New York City. The studio's client base spans cultural institutions, government agencies, commercial real estate, automotive, and consumer brands — including the NYC Mayor's Office, MTA, Bentley Motors, SKYY Vodka / Campari, Brookfield Properties, the London Design Biennale, and DesignTO.

Underlying the practice is a research-and-build technology stack that includes digital fabrication (3D printing, CNC machining, laser cutting), 3D modeling, and AR/XR / WebAR experience design. A proprietary research platform, digitalSTRUCTURES (co-published with ORO Editions), frames the studio's interest in digital property, data infrastructures, and the built environment, and has produced peer-reviewed outputs such as the "Building Metabolism" publication (Actar Publishers, 2024) and the La Biennale di Venezia 2025 "Coding Plants" installation with Terreform ONE. Across its history, the studio reports 525 exhibitions, 72 awards, and 745 workshops delivered across 12 countries.

The business model is project-based professional services: design fees and project contracts with cultural institutions, public agencies, and commercial clients, supplemented by grant-funded research (e.g., the Architectural League / NYSCA "Hidden Infrastructures" grant) and recurring academic publishing. M/WBE certification provides preferential access to NYC public-sector procurement. Headcount sits in the 1–10 employee band, indicating a founder-anchored boutique operating model rather than a scaled agency. No external funding, revenue, or headcount-growth disclosures are available.

Name

We-Designs

Legal name

WE-DESIGNS, LLC

Website

https://we-designs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

We-Designs is a New York City boutique design studio delivering architecture, exhibition, brand, AR/XR, and digital-fabrication services for cultural institutions, public agencies, and consumer brands including Bentley, MTA, and Brookfield Properties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture & Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (541410), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

akta.pro primary industry

Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Exhibition design
• Brand design strategy
• Digital fabrication services
• AR XR design

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Services: Professional design consulting and strategy services for retail, real estate, and cultural clients, typically project-based engagements with scope ranging from concept development to full design execution.
2. Design-Build Services: Full-service design-build engagements including physical fabrication, installation, and exhibition design, often involving digital fabrication and manufacturing.
3. Exhibition and Installation Design: Design and execution of exhibitions, pavilions, and public installations for cultural institutions, biennales, and corporate clients.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

We-Designs is a boutique design studio that provides comprehensive design services including digital design, branding, experience design, architecture, urban strategies, exhibition design, web development, and design-build fabrication. The studio integrates emerging technologies such as AR/XR, WebAR, 3D modeling, and digital fabrication to deliver bespoke design solutions and physical installations for cultural institutions, retail brands, government agencies, and real estate developers.

Product overview

WE-DESIGNS is a boutique design studio established in 2008, specializing in design, technology, and creative solutions. The company operates as a service-based design practice rather than a software product company, offering services across digital design, branding, experience design, architecture, urban strategies, exhibition design, web development, and design technology (including AR/XR). Their work spans from project/product management to design-build and digital fabrication. They also conduct research through initiatives like digitalSTRUCTURES (exploring data and urban strategies) and Future Factory (academic think-tank). The studio works with clients across architecture, real estate, retail, fashion, arts, and cultural sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 525 exhibitions completed across 12 countries with 72 awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Terreform ONEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborated on Coding Plants project for La Biennale di Venezia 2025, featuring Mitchell Joachim, Peder Anker, and team. Project proposes living archive embedded within synthetic kelp reef with architectural intelligence stored in DNA of engineered vegetation.
• Museum of Nails FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Commissioned to build branding and digital media design strategy for non-profit organization. Developing physical activation in collaboration with MTA Retail and Activations Unit in New York City.
• Brookfield PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cultural planning document partnership for 99BG Bishopsgate development under direction of SRD Culture Ltd., working with architects RSHP. Cultural plan unanimously approved.
• DesignTOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Commissioned by DesignTO curators to create award-winning immersive storefront retail experience and exhibition at 'Relative Space' for Design Week in Toronto. Project sponsored by Ford Foundation, ORO Editions, and Architectural League of New York/NYSCA. Exhibition used mixed-media and storytelling approach combining XR and WebAR into physical gallery design.
• Storefront for Art and ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Cabinets of Curiosities exhibition as part of 'On the Ground' yearlong research project about NYC's ground floor. Partnership with Frieze for emerging designer curation.
• ORO EditionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Publisher of 'digitalSTRUCTURES: Data and Urban Strategies of the Civic Future' book. Partnership on 360-degree design project combining physical book, exhibition, and digital platform.
• CityX Venice / Sezione del Padiglione ItaliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Invited to exhibit digitalSTRUCTURES work as part of CityX Venice, Italian Virtual Pavilion at 17th La Biennale di Venezia. Two-part project including digital objects and marketplace digital auction.
• New York City Mayor's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated with NYC Mayor's Office and NYC Census Bureau on NYC Census 2020 digital and physical campaigns. Designed assets including accessible videos, subway banners, and bus wraps as part of #GetCountedNYC initiative.
• StreetmixminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Worked with Streetmix (back-end) team on Web Monetization API strategy as revenue method. Focused on project and product management with software engineering team, and front-end design planning.
• New Inc./New MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008WE-DESIGNS is an anchor tenant at New Inc./New Museum space, providing access to innovation ecosystem and professional community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Multidisciplinary design firm with a partner-led structure offering branding, digital design, environments, and editorial work. Comparable to We-Designs in multi-disciplinary creative services for enterprise clients, though significantly larger in scale and breadth.
• Gensler: Global architecture, design, and consulting firm with deep retail, workplace, and cultural-institution practices. Competes with We-Designs for the same enterprise client base (Bentley, SKYY-adjacent CPG, Brookfield) at much larger scale.
• Snøhetta: Multidisciplinary design and architecture firm spanning architecture, landscape, interiors, branding, and digital. Comparable to We-Designs across service categories but operating at much larger scale with established brand-equity in cultural and public-sector work.

Direct peers

• SO-IL (Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu): Boutique architecture studio with strong exhibition and cultural-institution portfolio plus research orientation. Comparable to We-Designs in boutique scale, cultural-sector focus, and integration of architecture with curatorial/exhibition work.
• The Very Many: Marc Fornes-led experimental design studio merging architecture, computation, and fabrication for installations and pavilions. Directly comparable to We-Designs in combining computational design, digital fabrication, and exhibition/installation work at architectural scale.
• Terreform ONE: Nonprofit architectural practice exploring biotechnology, urban ecology, and speculative design (Mitchell Joachim). We-Designs partnered with Terreform ONE on Coding Plants for La Biennale di Venezia 2025, indicating direct collaboration on biotech-meets-architecture projects.
• Bureau Spectacular: Jimenez Lai's experimental architecture and design practice producing speculative, narrative-driven installations, exhibitions, and objects. Comparable in boutique scale, research-led approach, and exhibition-based practice with publication output.
• Asif Khan Studio: London-based studio designing architecture, installations, and experiential environments with material innovation. Comparable to We-Designs in producing brand-driven pavilions, retail, and exhibition work at premium cultural and commercial venues.

Emerging players

• Greg Lynn FORM: Computational and experimental design practice focused on material and fabrication innovation. Comparable to We-Designs in research-led approach and use of digital fabrication/CNC for architectural and product-scale work.

Others

• Storefront for Art and Architecture: Nonprofit art/architecture platform that has co-produced exhibitions with We-Designs (Cabinets of Curiosities, 2023). Comparable as a curatorial/exhibition-design partner and ecosystem connector in NYC's experimental architecture scene.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/we_designs_llc
• Facebookfacebook.com/WE.DESIGNS.LLC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-designs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 We-Designs