What Nuevo.Tokyo does

Nuevo.Tokyo, legally Nuevo.Studio合同会社, is a privately-held reductionist design studio founded circa 2015 in Tokyo and led by founder Alvaro Arregui. The studio operates from a single Shibuya-area location with a stated headcount of 1-10 employees, functioning as a tightly focused 'DesignJazzBand' covering R&D, concept design, and vision design work. Its service and product portfolio spans three interconnected areas: brand and product design consultancy for enterprise clients (Polaroid, SONY Mobile, Nissan R&D, Ricoh, tonari, CogentLabs); consumer digital products including the AgBr B&W Film Emulator iOS app (14 real film emulations with live-generated grain) and NOIZE Lightroom-compatible film emulation presets; and design asset packs such as Japanese Gradients for UI, which translate traditional Japanese color research into modern digital interface resources.

The studio's underlying technology combines proprietary R&D in film emulation (originating from founder-led research in London in 2013) with Japanese aesthetic systems adapted for digital interfaces, delivered via Apple App Store distribution, a Squarespace-hosted e-commerce storefront, and direct client engagement. Notable technical work includes the VWFNDR Camera concept series (co-developed with Mireia.Studio and Nemonic.io), which explores panoramic-first hardware and UX paradigms, and Neutone, an AI-powered music generation tool built in collaboration with Qosmo.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model. Enterprise design services are delivered via direct sales-led engagements, while consumer products follow a product-led motion: digital assets are sold as one-time perpetual licenses (¥888–¥1,999 in JPY) with standard and commercial tiers, and AgBr is distributed as a freemium app with free monthly preset drops and no subscription. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company is bootstrapped with no external funding, and customer mix is bifurcated between a small set of named enterprise clients and a long tail of individual/SMB digital product buyers served through global self-serve channels.

Name

Nuevo.Tokyo

Legal name

Nuevo.Studio合同会社

Website

https://nuevo.tokyo

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nuevo.Tokyo is a Tokyo-based, bootstrapped reductionist design studio (1-10 staff) founded circa 2015 by Alvaro Arregui, delivering brand/product design consultancy to enterprise clients (Polaroid, SONY, Nissan) alongside consumer products including the AgBr B&W film emulator app, NOIZE Lightroom presets, and Japanese Gradients UI assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Design Assets: Sale of downloadable digital products including Japanese gradient packs, film emulation presets, and color swatches through the company's e-commerce store. Products are sold as one-time purchases with standard and commercial licensing options.
2. Mobile Application (AgBr): iOS/iPadOS/Mac application for B&W film emulation. Free new preset monthly, all future features included, no subscription model. Revenue from app distribution.
3. Design Consultancy Services: R&D, concept, and vision design services offered to enterprise clients including brand strategy, product UX/UI design, and future vision concepts. Long-term collaborations with companies such as SONY Mobile, NISSAN Design, and Polaroid.
4. Licensing Royalties: Commercial licensing of design assets allowing use in unlimited personal or client projects with up to 100,000 instances of end products. Custom licensing available upon request for enterprise needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nuevo.Tokyo is a reductionist design studio offering brand, product UX/UI, and concept design services to enterprise clients such as SONY Mobile, Polaroid, Nissan, and Ricoh. The studio also develops and sells its own digital products, including the AgBr B&W film emulation iOS app, NOIZE monochrome film presets for Adobe Lightroom, and Japanese Gradients/Colours design asset packs. The studio operates from Tokyo under the Nuevo.Studio LLC legal entity.

Product overview

Nuevo.Tokyo is a reductionist design studio offering a portfolio of design products and services. The core product offerings include: AgBr (B&W film emulator iOS app), VWFNDR Camera concepts (hardware/UX exploration), and NOIZE film emulation presets for Adobe Lightroom. Supplementary products include Japanese Gradients and Japanese Colours design asset packs for UI, plus Neutone AI music generation tool. The studio focuses on R&D, concept design, and vision design for clients including SONY Mobile, NISSAN Design, Polaroid, Ricoh, and tonari. Services span digital products, brand & strategy, and concepts & future vision design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VWFNDR™: A series of camera concepts exploring new hardware, UX and interface design paradigms, including the VWFNDR Keirin panoramic concept camera.
• AgBr
• JAPANESE GRADIENTS [FOR UI]™
• NOIZE™

Products and services

• AgBr B&W Film Emulator iOS/iPadOS/Mac black-and-white film emulator app featuring 14 real B&W film emulations with live-generated film grain for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, developed in collaboration with Héliographe. Targeted at photographers and film enthusiasts seeking authentic analog film looks digitally.
• VWFNDR Camera (KEIRIN concept) A series of camera concepts exploring new hardware, UX, and interface design paradigms. The KEIRIN model features a panoramic-first side-to-side flexible touchscreen, compact metal body, and novel navigation for shooting, viewing, sorting, and storing images. Targeted at photography hardware audiences and camera industry partners.
• NOIZE x11 B+W Film Emulations Adobe Lightroom preset pack containing 11 real monochrome film emulations distributed as .XMP files compatible with Lightroom Desktop, Mobile, and Camera Raw. Targeted at photographers and Lightroom users seeking authentic B&W film looks.
• JAPANESE GRADIENTS [FOR UI] Curated collection of 45 gradients with 9 versions of traditional Japanese colours for digital UI design, delivered as 8000x8000px JPG files, PNG for linear gradients, and SVG files. Includes Standard and Commercial license for up to 3 users and unlimited projects. Targeted at UI/UX designers and digital product teams.
• JAPANESE GRADIENTS [FOR UI] Smartphone Edition Mobile-optimized edition of the Japanese Gradients collection featuring 20 textured gradients in 1769x3834px JPG format for smartphone interface design. Targeted at mobile UI designers.
• Design Consultancy Services R&D, concept, and vision design services offered to enterprise clients covering brand strategy, product UX/UI design, and future vision concepts from discovery to launch. Long-term collaborations include SONY Mobile, Nissan Design, Polaroid, Ricoh, tonari, Qosmo, nearMe, and CogentLabs.
• Neutone AI Music Generation

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% on-time delivery rate across 99+ projects over 9.9 years

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• HéliographecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on AgBr B&W Film Emulator application development. Héliographe is a Tokyo-based partner contributing to the product's design and development alongside Nuevo.Tokyo.
• Mireia.StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIdeation, UX & Industrial Design collaboration on VWFNDR camera concept project. Joint development partnership for the Keirin camera concept.
• Nemonic.iocoreTechnology or IntegrationEngineering partner for VWFNDR camera concept. Responsible for technical implementation and development of the camera's hardware and software systems.
• PolaroidflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaborative relationship involving brand and product design. Direct client for design services.
• SONY MobileflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTight collaboration on UX branding and design. Direct client for design services.
• Nissan R&D (Creative Box)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign collaboration with Nissan's R&D division. Direct client for design services.
• RicohcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCamera concept collaborations including Ricoh GR concept designs. Direct client relationship for design services.
• tonariflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing product experience design, interface and brand collaboration since 2018. Co-development partnership for making technology more human.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VSCO: Mobile-first photo and video editing platform with a strong film-emulation and preset library positioning. Directly competes with Nuevo.Tokyo's AgBr app and NOIZE preset pack for the same photographer and creative-professional segment, though at substantially greater scale.
• Pentagram: Partner-led design consultancy serving enterprise clients on brand identity, product design, and digital experiences. Comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo in offering end-to-end design services for premium clients, though Pentagram operates across multiple geographies with a much larger partner bench.
• Mastin Labs: Specializes in film-emulation presets for Adobe Lightroom and Capture One, including signature B&W and color film profiles. Directly competes with Nuevo.Tokyo's NOIZE x11 B&W Film Emulations in the same creator/photographer workflow market.
• Hakuhodo: Japan-headquartered integrated creative and advertising agency offering brand strategy, digital design, and product experience services. Comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo in Japanese-market design services and enterprise client base, though at much larger scale across advertising, media, and content.
• nendo: Tokyo-based design studio known for reductionist, minimalist Japanese aesthetics across product, brand, and interior design. Closely comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo in philosophy, geography, and product-design orientation, though nendo operates at significantly larger scale with global brand exposure.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy delivering brand strategy, identity systems, and experience design for enterprise clients. Comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo's brand and product-design services, with a similarly premium client roster, though at a larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Dehancer: Film-emulation software and plugins for photo and video editors featuring authentic analog film stock reproductions. Directly overlaps with Nuevo.Tokyo's film-emulation product strategy (AgBr app, NOIZE presets) and addresses the same analog-aesthetic-seeking creator audience.
• RNI Films: Producer of film-emulation presets and apps for mobile and desktop photography workflows, with a long-standing presence in the analog-film digital-reproduction niche. Comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo's AgBr and NOIZE lines in product category and target user.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy offering strategy, product, brand, and UX services to enterprise clients. Comparable to Nuevo.Tokyo's consultancy arm in service categories and client tier, but IDEO operates at vastly larger scale with full innovation-consulting capabilities.
• frog design: Industrial design and innovation consultancy (now part of Capgemini Engineering) serving enterprise hardware and consumer-product clients. Comparable in the product-design and UX space where Nuevo.Tokyo works with SONY, Nissan, and Ricoh, but frog operates with global scale and broader technology focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nuevo_tokyo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nuevotokyo
• Instagraminstagram.com/nuevo.tokyo
• Facebookfacebook.com/nuevostudiotokyo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Nuevo.Tokyo