ohisse

What ohisse does

ohisse is a Montreal-based social design studio (legal name: ohisse; doing business as 'ohisse – Atelier de design social') operating as a private consulting practice composed of three principal members: Pénélope Seguin-Mathieu (11 years in urban research and public policy), Elora Vix (9 years in public service design), and Samuel Rancourt (10+ years in innovation strategy and architecture-trained cultural project management). The studio's core offering is a portfolio of nine bespoke professional services rather than a software product: strategic consulting; public consultation and participatory workshop facilitation; experience, space, and event design (scenography); experimentation project support; content vulgarization and communication tools; facilitation, analysis and summary writing; two recurring training programs ('L'engagement des publics' and 'Élaborer une démarche de codesign'); and creative residencies. The underlying 'technology' is methodological and human-centered — custom participatory frameworks, graphic facilitation tools, and scenographic devices — delivered through direct engagement rather than a scalable platform.

The firm generates revenue exclusively through project-based professional services engagements plus fees for recurring short-format training (1h30 sessions, in-person or online). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; inquiries are routed through a named contact ([email protected]). The go-to-motion is sales-led and relationship-driven: project mandates are sourced through direct engagement with public, cultural, and community organizations and through referrals from satisfied institutional clients (municipalities, museums, NGOs). No paid acquisition channels or external funding rounds are evidenced. Customer segments are organized vertically into four groups, with public sector/government, cultural organizations, and community organizations as primary and educational institutions as secondary.

ohisse is headquartered at 3980 Saint-Denis, local 200, Montréal, Quebec, H2W 2M2, with operating geographies spanning Quebec (primary), France, and Spain. The customer book disclosed across source material comprises more than a dozen named institutional clients including Ville de Montréal (Service de la culture; Bureau du design), Ville de Laval, Ville de Saint-Sauveur, MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Maison de l'innovation sociale, Productions Nuits d'Afrique, VISÉ Laboratory (Collège Montmorency), Confédération québécoise des coopératives d'habitation, and a collective of partners (Entremise, ALTE Coop, Pivot coopérative d'architecture, TIESS). Notable strategic partnerships include Maushaus Architecture Lab (Spain, 2025), Maison de l'innovation sociale, and Bureau du design, Ville de Montréal. The company is privately held, founder/member-owned, with no parent, subsidiaries, funding rounds, or public listing disclosed.

Name

ohisse

Legal name

ohisse

Website

https://ohisse.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ohisse is a Montreal-based social design studio of three principals delivering participatory strategic consulting, public consultation, scenographic experience design, training, and creative residencies to municipal governments, cultural institutions, and community organizations across Quebec, France, and Spain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Design and Participatory Consulting Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Graphic Design Services (541430), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Event Theming, Mood Boards & Concept Design (HSACAOAH)

Keywords

• Participatory design services
• Public consultation
• Social design studio
• Creative residency programs
• Facilitation training

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting: Project-based consulting mandates for organizations seeking to clarify objectives, prioritize actions and structure projects. Combines strategic analysis, co-creation and decision-making support.
2. Public Consultation Services: Design and facilitation of public participation processes adapted to institutional realities and territorial contexts
3. Training Programs: Custom-designed training programs combining theoretical knowledge, practical tools and real-world scenarios. Recurring programs include 'Public Engagement' and 'Co-design Approach Development'
4. Creative Residencies: Design-focused creative stays exploring design as a dialogue device, stimulating critical reflection and in situ conception

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ohisse is a Montreal-based social design studio (Atelier de design social) that helps public, cultural, community, and educational organizations design services, spaces, experiences, and events through participatory and co-creative methods. The studio offers strategic consulting, public consultation, facilitation, training programs, creative residencies, and content creation, engaging citizens and communities directly in the design process.

Product overview

ohisse is a social design studio offering a comprehensive suite of services centered around collaborative design, public participation, and social innovation. The portfolio consists of six core services: Strategic Consulting (Conseil stratégique), Public Consultation and Participatory Workshop Facilitation, Experience/Space/Event Design, Experimentation Project Support, Content Creation and Communication Tools, and Facilitation and Analysis. These are complemented by two recurring training programs (L'engagement des publics and Élaborer une démarche de codesign) and Creative Residencies that explore design as a dialogue device. Together, these offerings enable organizations to transform how they design, consult, and collaborate through human-centered and participatory approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Engaged 41 organizations in consultation for Ville de Montréal cultural program redesign
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Maushaus Architecture Lab (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Creative residency collaboration exploring design as a dialogue device. The partnership focuses on critical reflection and in situ conception around architecture, emotions, and collective relationships to space.
• VISÉ Laboratory, Collège MontmorencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned and facilitated a networking event bridging academic research and community practice. VISÉ is a social science research center focused on co-construction of knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Maison de l'innovation socialecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration on civic innovation laboratory (LICER) in regulatory experimentation. Supported transition socio-ecological through municipal regulation evolution experiments.
• Productions Nuits d'AfriquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration since 2021 supporting collective laboratory for discoverability of musical content. Includes archival heritage valorization and traveling exhibitions.
• Bureau du design, Ville de MontréalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEvaluated and critiqued Biblio.Tests public service design laboratory. Developed replicable process tool for service design experimentation in public libraries and cultural facilities.
• EntremisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on collective real estate projects, including forum design and deployment, and building requalification initiatives.
• ALTE CoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in collective real estate forum and collaborative projects.
• Pivot coopérative d'architecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in collective real estate forum and architectural projects.
• TIESScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in collective real estate initiatives and forum organization.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design consultancy offering service design, public-sector innovation, and participatory research as part of a much broader portfolio. A larger incumbent operating in the same social/public-sector design space but at wholly different scale and generality.

Others

• Forum for the Future: UK-based sustainability and social innovation charity that convenes multi-stakeholder processes for public and private institutions. Thematically aligned with ohisse's participatory and territorial-development work but operates on a non-profit/convener model rather than a studio model.
• Maushaus Architecture Lab: Spanish architecture lab collaborating with ohisse on creative residencies around architecture, emotions, and collective relationships to space. Listed as a peer because of explicit partnership and methodological overlap on dialogue-driven spatial design, though not a commercial competitor.
• Code for America: US non-profit working with government on digital service delivery and civic participation. Not a direct competitor but an adjacent civic-tech player addressing the same underlying citizen-engagement problem through different tooling.

Direct peers

• Dark Matter Labs: International civic design and futures lab working with municipalities on participatory approaches to complex social challenges. Overlaps significantly with ohisse's scenography, public engagement, and territorial development practices.
• LiveWork: Pioneering UK/Netherlands service design consultancy with public-sector practice. Operates in a similar hybrid consulting/training/embedded-project model applied to government and institutional clients.
• Public Digital: UK consultancy advising governments and mission-driven organizations on digital and service transformation, with explicit citizen participation as a core method. Comparable on the public-sector engagement mandate though with a stronger technology angle.
• Meld Studios: Australian participatory and co-design firm working with government and community organizations. Shares ohisse's collaborative design methodology, training practice, and cultural-sector clients.
• Bridgeable: Toronto-based service design consultancy with extensive experience serving Canadian public-sector and social-sector clients on citizen engagement, service innovation, and co-design. Closest Canadian analog to ohisse's municipal and cultural-sector mandate.
• Snook: UK-based service design agency focused on social impact and public-sector transformation. Closely comparable on methodology (participatory workshops, training, strategic consulting) and on the type of institutional clients served.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ohisse

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 ohisse