What Slash Design Company does

Slash Design Company is a multidisciplinary strategic design studio founded in 1995 by Nuno Abreu, originally in Portugal and since 2019 headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The firm operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ripple Collective Holding LLC and delivers four integrated service lines: Research and Content, Strategy and Narrative, Visual Design, and Space Design. Its client base consists of organisations seeking purpose-driven design, strategic brand development, and cultural identity work, with a particular emphasis on UAE and GCC-context projects. The studio has operated across multiple geographies in its history, including Angola, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Chile, and currently maintains a second office in Tokyo, Japan.

The underlying operating model is project-based professional services with no publicly disclosed pricing, no app or software product, and no proprietary technology platform beyond a Squarespace-hosted website and content properties. Go-to-market is direct client engagement supported by top-of-funnel and mid-funnel content marketing through the Scrapbook blog, the Instagram account @ripplecollective.ae, and the Small Talk podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Distribution is entirely relationship-driven rather than channel-based.

Revenue mechanics flow from the Ripple Collective ecosystem: Slash generates service revenue, which is complemented by sibling subsidiary Fabrica (industrial design and craftsmanship), Fount (a curated concept retailer), Oxalá (a product design brand produced by Fabrica and sold through Fount), and Central (an internal logistics platform). No external funding rounds, revenue figures, or customer logos are disclosed, and ownership remains concentrated with the founders under the Ripple Collective holding structure. Headcount is approximately 26 employees across the Abu Dhabi and Tokyo studios.

Name

Slash Design Company

Legal name

Ripple Collective Holding LLC

Website

https://slash.ae

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Slash Design Company is a multidisciplinary strategic design studio in Abu Dhabi, founded in 1995, serving organisations with research, brand strategy, visual design, and space design services, operating as part of Ripple Collective Holding LLC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Interior Design Services (54141), Interior Design Services (541410)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Strategy & Planning (BPAFAIAG)

Keywords

• Strategic design services
• Visual brand design
• Space design
• Research and content
• Multidisciplinary design studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Abu Dhabi

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Slash is a multidisciplinary strategic design studio providing research and content, strategy and narrative, visual design, and space design services. The studio develops strategic foundations for projects, delivers coherent branding and visual design, collaborates with select studios on architectural and spatial concepts, and conducts cultural research and content development focused on the UAE.

Product overview

Slash Design Company is a multidisciplinary design studio founded in 1995, operating as part of the Ripple Collective—a community of creative projects, businesses, and adventures based in Abu Dhabi. The company offers strategic design services through its core Slash brand, which encompasses research and content, strategy and narrative, visual design, and space design. The broader portfolio includes Fabrica (industrial design and craftsmanship), Fount (curated concept store), Oxalá (product design brand), Central (logistics platform), Small Talk (podcast), and Scrapbook (editorial content platform). The collective functions as an integrated ecosystem where design services, manufacturing, retail, and content creation support one another.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Slash Multidisciplinary strategic design studio providing research and content, strategy and narrative, visual design, and space design services for organizations commissioning purpose-driven design projects in the UAE.
• Fabrica Industrial design and craftsmanship studio where custom designs come to life in physical objects, combining passion for stories with hands-on making. Part of the Ripple Collective.
• Fount Curated concept store that celebrates good design, selling and distributing design brands including Fabrica Collections and introducing world-class design brands to the UAE market.
• Oxalá Product design brand inspired by the UAE, creating objects that tell stories through contemporary design. Designed and produced by Fabrica and sold by Fount.
• Central Logistics platform offering lean and efficient storage and logistics services to support the Ripple Collective family of brands.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Tarek Atrissi Design: UAE-based multidisciplinary design practice with academic and cultural design work. Comparable regional positioning to Slash in the Middle East with overlapping cultural-design orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Designworks (BCG): Design consultancy within BCG offering strategy, brand, and experience design. Comparable interdisciplinary strategic-design remit to Slash but as part of a global consulting giant.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy with strategy, identity, and experience design. Comparable strategic-design remit to Slash but operating at global incumbent scale.
• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy with strategy, identity, and experience design capabilities. Comparable to Slash's strategy + visual + space offering but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• Manual (design studio): Boutique brand and identity studio with strategy, design, and content capabilities. Comparable boutique scale and interdisciplinary remit to Slash, though focused on tech-forward clients.
• Heimat (TBWA): Independently positioned brand and design agency within TBWA network doing strategy, identity, and content. Comparable to Slash's interdisciplinary offering though operating at larger scale within a network.

Direct peers

• Saffron Brand Consultants: Independent strategic brand consultancy working on cultural positioning and identity projects. Comparable to Slash's interdisciplinary brand-and-narrative practice, with similar emphasis on cultural context.
• Pentagram: Multidisciplinary design firm with partner-led model offering strategy, identity, and visual design. Comparable to Slash as a high-end multidisciplinary strategic design studio serving purpose-driven clients.
• Mucho Studio: Boutique multidisciplinary design studio with identity, editorial, and space design work. Comparable scale and interdisciplinary remit to Slash, both positioning themselves as culturally engaged independent studios.
• Koto Studio: Boutique brand and design studio with strategy, identity, and motion capabilities. Comparable to Slash in size and offering focus, both serving ambitious brand-building briefs for select clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/41PhYXJ0mMG66JVVW7jTNE
• Instagraminstagram.com/ripplecollective.ae
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slash-design-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries5 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 Slash Design Company