What Voilà: does

Voilà: is a Montreal-based information design firm founded in 2013 by Francis Gagnon that combines data analysis and graphic design to produce visualizations, reports, presentations, and training for institutional clients. The firm specializes in climate, sustainability, and policy-focused information design, with a stated commitment to sustainable development, gender equality, social development, transparency, diversity, and inclusion. The client roster is concentrated in mission-driven institutional buyers and includes the World Bank, CPP Investments, Scientific American, the Canadian Climate Institute, Ville de Montréal, the Gouvernement du Québec, McGill University, FinDev Canada, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Economic Innovation Group, the Arctic Eider Society, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The firm delivers through three core service lines — Visualizations (interactive and static data visualizations), Reports and Presentations (longer-form data-rich document production), and Teaching/Training (sessions from one hour to one day, plus conference talks) — supported by named sub-products such as the Heat Pump Calculator (a consumer-facing web tool comparing heating costs across Canadian cities), the Qikiqtait Resource Calendar / Harvest Wheel (a multilingual Inuktitut/English/French interactive for Inuit and Cree communities), and a portfolio of scrollytelling pieces and report suites for the Canadian Climate Institute. The technology stack is grounded in standard front-end web development combined with interactive scrollytelling, animated data graphics, and accessibility best practices; no proprietary AI/ML capability is referenced.

Revenue is generated entirely through project-based professional services delivered by a small core team of six people (with named collaborators in front-end development and graphic design) on a quote-based pricing model with no public rate card. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with clients engaged through the company website, email, newsletter, and the firm's multilingual portfolio (French/English). Geographic reach is claimed globally, with active client work spanning Washington, New York, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Brussels, Ottawa, and Montreal, despite the single Montreal headquarters at 5714 Clark.

Name

Voilà:

Legal name

Voilà:

Website

https://chezvoila.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Voilà: is a Montreal-based information design firm founded in 2013 that produces data visualizations, reports, and training for climate, sustainability, and policy-focused institutional clients worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Data Visualization Services: Project-based consulting services creating data visualizations for clients. Engagements include reports, presentations, interactives, and scrollytelling pieces for climate, sustainability, and policy audiences.
2. Training and Education: Training sessions ranging from one hour to one day duration, teaching information design principles and data visualization best practices
3. Conference Talks: Speaking engagements at conferences and events on information design topics

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Voilà: is an information design firm that combines analysis and design to convey complex information visually for organizations working on sustainable development, climate change, and social impact topics. Its core offerings are Visualizations (interactive and static data visualizations), Reports and Presentations (production of longer data-rich documents with graphic design), and Teaching/Training (workshops, talks, and conferences). Engagements are project-based, delivered to global and local institutions through direct client dialogue.

Product overview

Voilà: is an information design firm offering a portfolio of specialized services centered on three core offerings — Visualizations (interactive and static data visualizations), Reports and Presentations (data-rich document production with graphic design), and Teaching/Training — supported by a dedicated team of six. The core offerings are delivered through named sub-products spanning climate, sustainability, health, and economic policy topics. Notable named interactives include the Heat Pump Calculator (a web-based tool for Canadian consumers comparing heating costs), the Qikiqtait Resource Calendar / Harvest Wheel (an interactive seasonal wheel for Inuit and Cree communities), and the Heat Exchange Report (for the Canadian Climate Institute). Other sub-products are tailored single-project deliverables such as scrollytelling pieces (Health Costs, Infrastructure Crisis), report suites with animated infographics (The Big Switch, Sink or Swim), and specialized ecosystem visualizations (Tokyo Start-Up Ecosystem, Economic Case for Nature). All offerings are project-based professional services rather than a SaaS platform with modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Visualizations Interactive and static data visualizations that help clients find and communicate the stories in their data, using best practices for clear and convincing visual communication. Designed for organizations needing to communicate complex data to diverse audiences.
• Reports and Presentations Production of longer documents including data visualization and graphic design, with assistance in narrative focus and visual selection for policy and expert audiences.
• Teaching and Training Training sessions ranging from one hour to one day, plus talks and conference presentations, sharing information design methodologies with clients and audiences.
• Heat Pump Calculator A web-based interactive tool for Canadian consumers comparing the costs of different heating and cooling configurations across five cities, four building types, and three build years, with mobile optimization.
• Qikiqtait Resource Calendar (Harvest Wheel) An interactive seasonal harvest wheel for the Qikiqtait region combining traditional Indigenous knowledge with scientific data from the SIKU app, available in Inuktitut, English, and French, adapted for the Canadian Museum of Nature exhibition.
• Heat Exchange Report A report with supporting PowerPoint presentation developed for the Canadian Climate Institute visualizing the transition of buildings from gas to electric heating, featuring intermediate shapes for error margins and accessibility best practices.
• Moving the Lines (Economic Dynamism Interactive) An interactive visualization developed with the Economic Innovation Group explaining economic dynamism in the United States, featuring a hex map with 1,400 data points, state-level dashboards, and playful animations for narrative pacing.
• Health Costs Scrollytelling A scrollytelling piece for the Canadian Climate Institute presenting the impact of climate change on Canadian health, featuring 15 diverse silhouettes with layered vulnerability shields and circular cost projections under moderate and high emission scenarios.
• Net Zero Pathways Interactive An interactive summary for the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices explaining Canada's path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, organizing solutions into safe bets and risky bets and showing how they can be combined.
• The Big Switch Report Suite A multi-report suite for the Canadian Climate Institute exploring Canada's electricity system transition to net zero, featuring animated infographics, static charts, and electronic presentations organized around 'bigger, cleaner, smarter' electricity infrastructure.
• Sink or Swim Report Visuals Static and animated visualizations for the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices presenting opportunities and risks for the Canadian economy in the global low-carbon transition, including Voronoi graphs, hexagon charts, and vulnerable community maps.
• Infrastructure Crisis Interactive An interactive scrollytelling piece for the Canadian Climate Institute illustrating the costs of climate change on Canadian infrastructure through layered isometric illustrations, zoom features, and scroll-triggered animations.
• Tokyo Start-Up Ecosystem Report A screen-optimized report with network graphs, quantitative charts, and electronic presentations comparing Tokyo's start-up ecosystem to innovation hubs globally, developed for the Tokyo Development Learning Center (World Bank).
• Economic Case for Nature Report A report for the World Bank Group connecting biodiversity to economic development, using an abacus-inspired design to visualize ecosystem service impacts, policy scenarios, and economic losses across regions and socio-economic groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Project shortlisted for Information is Beautiful Awards 2023 (Economic Dynamism interactive)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Arctic Eider SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative project to create an interactive seasonal harvest wheel for the Qikiqtait region, combining traditional Inuit knowledge with community-collected data via the SIKU mobile application. Project adapted for exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
• Canadian Museum of NaturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned interactive version of the harvest wheel for exhibition, featuring multilingual support (Inuktitut, English, French) and educational content about Inuit and Cree seasonal food resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Largest independent design consultancy with partners working across data visualization, editorial, and brand design for major institutions. Represents a larger-scale competitor that bids on similar institutional visualization mandates, but as part of a much broader portfolio rather than a dedicated data-viz niche.
• Frog Design: Global design and innovation consultancy with capabilities in data-driven storytelling, service design, and digital experiences. Overlaps with Voilà: on data viz and report deliverables but operates at significantly larger scale across many industries.

Direct peers

• Stamen Design: Boutique San Francisco-based data visualization and cartography studio with a comparable project-based model serving cultural institutions, cities, and foundations on interactive map and data experiences — directly competing for the same institutional and mission-aligned data viz work as Voilà:.
• Moritz Stefaner: Independent data visualization designer with award-winning work for international, policy, and institutional clients. Comparable in craft specialization and client mix to Voilà:, though operating as a single practitioner rather than a firm.
• Two-N: NYC-based data visualization and design studio producing editorial-style interactive graphics and reports for media, NGO, and institutional clients — directly comparable project type and client base to Voilà:.
• Periscopic: Portland-based data visualization studio focused on social-impact work for nonprofits, foundations, and governments. Closely aligned mission (data viz for good causes) and similar boutique project model make it one of the most direct peers to Voilà:.
• Information is Beautiful: David McCandless's data visualization brand and awards community, pioneering editorial data viz and authoring reference work that Voilà: explicitly cites via its awards shortlisting — directly comparable in craft category and audience.
• Office for Creative Research: NYC-based data visualization and research studio that produces custom interactive data work for cultural, civic, and institutional clients — closely matches Voilà:'s small-team, project-based, institutionally focused delivery model.
• Pitch Interactive: Seattle-based interactive data visualization studio known for award-winning journalism, policy, and climate visualizations — directly comparable in craft, project type, and award-recognition profile to Voilà:.
• Accurat: Italy- and NYC-based data-driven design and research studio producing editorial-style visualizations, reports, and interactive essays for international clients — directly comparable to Voilà: in scale, craft, and institutional clientele.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chezvoila
• Instagraminstagram.com/chezvoila/?hl=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/chezvoila

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Voilà: