Les Sismo

What Les Sismo does

Les Sismo is a Paris-based design agency operating since 1995 under a SCOP (workers' cooperative) structure since 2024, employing approximately 19-20 designers, architects, and researchers. The firm applies its proprietary 'Design with Care™' methodology — a four-step process (Investigation, Creation, Experimentation, Deployment) supported by tools such as Proof of Care©, Design Notice, and multiple cartographies (experience, coherence, fragility/vulnerability, controversy) — to client engagements organized across three practice domains: Relations Humaines (organizational and HR design), Lieux de Vie (living spaces and architecture), and Services et Objets Utiles (services, digital products, physical objects, and public policy).

The agency serves large French and international enterprises and public institutions through long-cycle, multi-year design engagements. Named clients include Michelin, Nexity, Saint-Gobain, Babilou, Bouygues Immobilier, Bouygues Telecom, Orange, Adagio, Pillivuyt, Mairie de Paris, CNSA, ONISEP, MESRI, Centre des Monuments Nationaux (Hôtel de la Marine), and Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Fréjus, spanning real estate, telecommunications, manufacturing, childcare, healthcare, heritage, and government. Representative outputs include the Michelin headquarters flex office redesign (600 to 300 m²), the Saint-Gobain Domolab laboratory (1,552 m²), Nexity's 24,000 m² flex office, Babilou's experiential charter for 3,400 nurseries, and the Bugali connected children's reading console sold direct-to-consumer.

Revenue flows through three streams: (1) project-based design consultancy and strategic design (the primary stream), (2) Quaiopi-certified training on the Design with Care methodology (€1,400 HT per participant for the 2-day public course, with bespoke in-company variants), and (3) physical product sales such as Bugali. Commercial motion is direct and relationship-driven, with acquisition via public tenders ('Réinventer Paris'), inbound referrals, and event presence (Vivatech, Lille Capitale Mondiale du Design 2020). The agency also holds CIR research tax credit accreditation and Qualiopi certification, formalizing its R&D and training activities.

Name

Les Sismo

Legal name

Les Sismo

Website

https://les-sismo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Les Sismo is a Paris-based SCOP design agency applying its proprietary Design with Care™ methodology to strategic design, spatial, and product projects for large French and international enterprises (Michelin, Nexity, Saint-Gobain, Bouygues) and public institutions (Mairie de Paris, CNSA, ONISEP), with ~20 staff and a Qualiopi-certified training arm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design Consultancy and Strategic Design Projects: The primary revenue stream is project-based consulting for organizations seeking design transformation. Projects span organizational design, spatial/architectural design, service design, product design, and policy design. Engagement models are multi-year and co-development oriented.
2. Training and Education (Design with Care™): Les Sismo delivers public and in-company training programs on the Design with Care method. They are Qualiopi-certified, making training eligible for French professional development financing. The main training is a 2-day course at €1,400 HT per participant. They also offer bespoke training built to client specifications.
3. Physical Product Sales: Les Sismo designs physical products and objects that are brought to market. The Bugali tactile reading console for children is a notable example, presented at Vivatech and sold in France. Product design services for tableware (e.g., Pillivuyt collections) are also delivered.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Les Sismo is a Paris-based design consultancy structured as a workers' cooperative (SCOP) that delivers strategic, organizational, spatial, service and product design projects for large corporations and public institutions using its proprietary Design with Care™ methodology. In parallel, it sells a Qualiopi-certified 2-day Design with Care™ training program (public and bespoke in-company) and brings selected physical products to market, most notably the Bugali tactile reading console for young children.

Product overview

Les Sismo is a cooperative design agency structured as a SCOP (Société Coopérative et Participative) that applies its proprietary Design with Care™ methodology across three practice areas: Relations Humaines (organizational design and HR tools), Lieux de Vie (living spaces, architecture, and workplace design), and Services et Objets Utiles (service design, digital products, and physical objects). The company offers specialized training programs teaching the Design with Care™ methodology, and executes client-specific design projects ranging from digital platforms (ONISEP's Avenir(s) orientation platform), connected devices (Bugali's screen-free children's console, CNSA hospital bracelet, Hôtel de la Marine's Confident audio guide), spatial design (Domolab, Babilou nursery charter, Nexity headquarters), to public policy service design (ALI Saint-Denis employment agency). The methodology follows a four-phase process: Enquiry, Creation, Experimentation, and Deployment, using proprietary tools like Proof of Care and coherence mapping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Design with Care™: A creative design methodology based on usage and consideration of individual, societal, and environmental fragilities.

Products and services

• Strategic Design Consultancy (Cooperative Design Team)

Quantifiable outcome

• Michelin office space optimized from 600 to 300 m² with improved staff satisfaction and organization-wide adoption of flex office
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, co-development and core knowledge.

• Open CommunitiessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen Communities is a consulting firm specializing in social science research, facilitation, and coaching. They partner with Les Sismo to increase the agency's capacity to accompany organizations and territories in transformation, aligning with Les Sismo's care-oriented approach.
• SYVIL (Architecture Agency)co-developmentStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Sismo partnered with SYVIL architecture agency and Sogaris for the 'Immeuble Inversé' project, a winner of the 'Réinventer Paris – Les dessous de Paris' competition. Les Sismo contributed service design and usage design expertise alongside SYVIL's architectural capabilities.
• Boson ProjectsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBoson Project called upon Les Sismo to support the Nexity headquarters redesign project (24,000 m²). Boson Project acted as the lead organizational consulting partner, with Les Sismo providing design expertise for the flex office transformation.
• Alain Moatti (Architecture Agency)co-developmentStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Sismo collaborated with Alain Moatti architecture agency on the Hôtel de la Marine visitor experience project, contributing design expertise to complement the architectural firm's capabilities.
• Academic Institutions (CNAM, CY, Sciences Po, ENSCI Les Ateliers, ENSAD, Chaire de Philosophie à l'Hôpital)core knowledgeStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Sismo trainers teach in academic institutions including CNAM, CY, Sciences Po, ENSCI Les Ateliers, ENSAD, and the Chaire de Philosophie à l'Hôpital. These partnerships inform the Design with Care methodology and provide access to cutting-edge research in care ethics and design.
• Cynthia FleurysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCynthia Fleury, a philosopher, co-curated the 'Climat de Soin' exhibition with Les Sismo for Lille Capitale Mondiale du Design 2020. Her expertise in care philosophy and hospital ethics complemented Les Sismo's design capabilities.
• Scientific Committee (Bugali)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerA scientific committee including Albert Moukebert, Pierre Dillenbourg, Layale Chaker, and Antoine Fenoglio guided the Bugali project, providing pedagogical and child development expertise to inform the design of the tactile reading console.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Designit (Wipro): International strategic design firm owned by Wipro, focused on experience design and innovation for global enterprises. Comparable to Les Sismo as a strategic design consultancy with cross-sector reach and a strong methodology-led approach to transformation.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy pioneering human-centered design. Directly comparable to Les Sismo as a design transformation partner for large organizations, but at much greater scale and broader scope, with design thinking training and methodology licensing.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand and design consultancy working on identity, experience, and organizational transformation. Comparable to Les Sismo in the strategic, organization-wide transformation space with large corporate and public-sector clients.
• frog (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and engineering firm, now part of Capgemini, serving enterprises on product, service, and brand design. Comparable to Les Sismo's strategy of co-developing products and services with large clients, but with a technology-engineering stack Les Sismo does not offer.

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Independent multi-disciplinary design studio with partners across the US and Europe. Comparable to Les Sismo in operating as a partner-led, methodology-driven design practice working on brand, product, and spatial design for large clients.
• Livework: European service design consultancy with studios across multiple countries, focused on service innovation for public and private organizations. Closely comparable to Les Sismo in service design orientation, public-sector work, and methodology-led transformation engagements.

Regional players

• Making Sense: French service design studio focused on public-interest and digital transformation projects, with strong public-sector credentials. Directly comparable to Les Sismo's public-sector and digital service design work, competing in the same French market.
• Systematic Design: Amsterdam-based design agency applying systems thinking and service design to public and social challenges. Comparable to Les Sismo in combining care/social orientation with systemic design and public-sector transformation work, though operating in the Netherlands.

Emerging players

• Thinkers & Makers: Emerging French strategic design studio working on transformation, service design, and public-interest innovation. Comparable to Les Sismo as a younger French design practice competing for similar public and private transformation mandates.

Others

• Usbek & Rica (L'ADN): French foresight and design-thinking media/lab publishing on the future of care, work, and society. Adjacent to Les Sismo as a French thought-leadership vehicle amplifying the care-ethics and design discourse that underpins Design with Care™.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-sismo
• Instagraminstagram.com/les_sismo

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Les Sismo