Narrate Design (Formerly Selser Schaefer Architects)

What Narrate Design (Formerly Selser Schaefer Architects) does

Narrate Design, formerly Selser Schaefer Architects, is a privately held architectural, interior design, and planning firm headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1993 by Janet Selser and Bob Schaefer, the firm rebranded to Narrate Design in 2023 to reflect an expanded service scope spanning architecture, interiors, and planning. It operates across multiple vertical sectors including retail and hospitality (notably H-E-B Grocery with 500+ projects since 2000 and Chick-fil-A with 80+ projects since 2014), education (Oklahoma State University, University of Tulsa, multiple public-school districts), nonprofit and community organizations (Greenwood Rising, Philbrook Museum, LIFE Senior Services), municipal and civic (Tulsa International Airport, City of Tulsa), tribal government (Cherokee Nation, Muscogee Nation, Osage Nation), and preservation and adaptive reuse. Service offerings center on professional design consulting delivered through three core practices: Architecture Services (new construction, renovations, adaptive reuse), Interior Design, and Planning Services (site evaluation, feasibility studies, bond planning).

The firm employs licensed architects, interior designers, and construction administrators and uses Revit and 3D modeling tools as its primary technology for design visualization and construction documentation; there is no proprietary software platform, no AI/ML capability, and no API or SDK surface. Business model is project-based professional services with fees determined by scope, complexity, and deliverables. There are no publicly disclosed pricing models or fee schedules, and no venture capital or private equity investment is indicated. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales serving clients across Oklahoma and the broader United States, particularly concentrated in Oklahoma and Texas. The firm markets primarily through earned media via 162+ industry awards and 69 community honors, a project portfolio website, the Cantilever newsletter, and LinkedIn presence rather than direct advertising.

Name

Narrate Design (Formerly Selser Schaefer Architects)

Legal name

Narrate Design

Website

https://narratedesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Narrate Design is a Tulsa-based architecture, interior design, and planning firm serving retail, education, nonprofit, civic, tribal government, and preservation clients across Oklahoma and the broader United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (541410)

akta.pro primary industry

Design-Build / EPC General Contracting (IMAFAAAD)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Interior design services
• Adaptive reuse architecture
• Commercial architecture firm
• Planning and consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tulsa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture Services: Design fees for architectural services including new construction, renovations, adaptive reuse, and preservation projects. Revenue is project-based with fees determined by scope, complexity, and deliverables.
2. Interior Design Services: Interior design services for commercial, institutional, and residential projects, including space planning, material selection, and interior architecture.
3. Planning and Consulting Services: Site evaluation, feasibility studies, and long-term planning services for organizations and institutions, particularly in education sector bond planning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Narrate Design provides integrated architecture, interior design, and planning services for new construction, renovations, adaptive reuse, and preservation projects. The firm delivers project-based professional services across multiple sectors including retail and hospitality, education, nonprofit and community, municipal and civic, multi-family housing, office and workplace, and preservation. Services span site evaluation and feasibility studies through construction administration for clients throughout Oklahoma and the broader United States.

Product overview

Narrate Design is an architectural, interiors, and planning firm offering comprehensive design services across three core disciplines: Architecture, Interior Design, and Planning. The firm operates across a diverse portfolio of project sectors including Multi-Family Housing, Non-Profit Architecture, Education Design, Office and Workplace Design, Retail Architecture, Municipal and Civic Design, and Preservation and Adaptive Reuse. Rather than a single product or platform, the offering is a service-based practice with specialized expertise in community-centered architecture, adaptive reuse, and mixed-use development projects. Since 1993, the firm has completed over 500 projects and designed more than 25 multi-family housing developments, partnering with clients such as Chick-fil-A, H-E-B Grocery Company, and numerous educational institutions and municipalities throughout Oklahoma and across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services
• Interior Design
• Planning Services
• Multi-Family Housing Design
• Education Design
• Retail Architecture
• Nonprofit and Community Architecture
• Municipal and Civic Design
• Preservation and Adaptive Reuse
• Office and Workplace Design

Quantifiable outcome

• $41 million project investment for Tulsa International Airport Customs Facility
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Hampton CreativesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Creative partnership for OK Music Hall of Fame redesign, with Hampton Creative leading brand and concept exhibit visuals while Narrate handles architectural design.
• Key ConstructionsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Construction manager partner for Tulsa Classical Academy Phase II expansion, working with Narrate and the school to deliver design within strict budget constraints.
• MKSKsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Landscape architecture and urban planning partnership for Center of the Universe plaza reimagining project in Downtown Tulsa.
• New Partner Group (Shane D. Aaron, Hank Spieker, Whitney Stauffer)coreOthers · 1 January 2017In 2017, a partner group assumed ownership of the firm from founders Janet Selser and Bob Schaefer. Partners Shane D. Aaron, Hank Spieker, and Whitney Stauffer took leadership of the firm.
• Chick-fil-AcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership since 2014 with over 80 restaurant design projects. Narrate serves as a critical partner for Chick-fil-A when projects deviate from typical prototypes, handling site adaptation, custom systems design, and unique concepts like the Dwarf House.
• H-E-B Grocery CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Long-standing partnership since 2000 with over 500 projects including grocery stores across Texas markets. H-E-B is one of the firm's most significant clients, with projects spanning new construction, prototypical design, and site adaptation across the DFW Metroplex and beyond.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wallace Design Collective: Oklahoma-based architecture, structural engineering, and interiors firm; a local peer and listed project reference in Narrate's preservation portfolio. Competes for the same institutional, civic, and adaptive reuse commissions in the Oklahoma market.
• Quinn Evans Architects: Mid-size architecture firm with notable specialization in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, directly mirroring Narrate's preservation sector expertise. Both compete for cultural, educational, and civic preservation commissions nationally.
• Wight & Company: Mid-size US architecture, engineering, and construction firm offering integrated design-build delivery — closely paralleling Narrate's integrated architecture + interiors + planning service model and competing for similar institutional, civic, and education clients.
• Page (Page Southerland Page): Texas-based integrated architecture, engineering, and interiors firm with overlapping education, healthcare, civic, and cultural practice areas. Comparable size and multi-discipline model serving institutional clients across the same southern US geography.
• Legat Architects: Mid-size integrated architecture firm with similar education, civic, and workplace practice areas; comparable scale and project-sector diversification to Narrate's portfolio across the Midwest and southern US.
• Lake|Flato Architects: San Antonio-based integrated architecture and design firm of similar mid-size scale with strong sustainability credentials and comparable H-E-B retail work (co-designed H-E-B Austin Mueller, the 2016 COTE Top Ten project with Narrate). Both firms operate integrated architecture + interiors practices serving Texas/Oklahoma markets with similar commercial and cultural portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• SmithGroup: Large US integrated design firm with significantly broader scale and national footprint; competes with Narrate for higher-education, civic, and cultural commissions while also offering engineering and planning services similar to Narrate's integrated offerings.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture and design firm with strong education and civic practices; competes for larger institutional commissions that Narrate also pursues (including OSU and other higher-ed work), while offering much broader geographic and disciplinary reach.
• DLR Group: National integrated design firm with architecture, interiors, and planning capabilities; competes for education, civic, and cultural work that Narrate pursues, though at substantially larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Others

• gh3 | Grisdale Hail: Design firm with comparable integrated architecture, landscape, and interiors practice; thematically relevant as a similarly-sized integrated practice, though primarily Canada-based — included as an ecosystem peer showcasing a comparable integrated delivery model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NarrateDesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/narrate-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/narratedesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Narrate Design (Formerly Selser Schaefer Architects)