Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc. (KLAD)

What Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc. (KLAD) does

Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc. (KLAD) is a privately-held, New Jersey-certified woman-owned (WBE) and small-business (SBE) entertainment and experiential design firm headquartered in Clifton, NJ. The firm provides turnkey scenic, set, exhibit, immersive environment, and brand-activation design for broadcast television networks, motion picture and television studios, museums, theatrical productions, fashion shows, corporate events, and government installations. Its client roster spans Fortune 500 enterprises and major cultural institutions, including CNN, CNBC, Fox News, Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch InBev, Chase, Amazon, Sony Pictures, Disney, Geico, Toyota, HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, the TSA, the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and fashion brands J. Mendel and Isaac Mizrahi/Target.

The firm operates with a small, flexible core team (1–10 employees) that scales project-by-project through IATSE Local 829 union members and a curated network of contract craftspeople. Its technical core is built around Vectorworks-based Computer-Aided Design for shop drawings, construction documentation, and rendering of fabricated scenic elements. KLAD does not publish a software product, API, or mobile application; revenue is generated through quote-based professional services engagements combining design fees with build and installation contracts, typically sourced via industry referrals, award recognition, and reputation-driven RFPs.

The firm is led by co-founders Kevin Lee Allen (Designer/Producer/Author/Artist; IATSE Local 829 member; Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Programming and Set Design for Petrified Forest; BDA Award winner for CNN Moneyline) and Kathleen McDonough (President/Director of Design). It has operated under its current corporate form since approximately 1999, building on Kevin Allen's scenic design work dating to 1989. The firm's geographic reach spans three continents, with the bulk of engagements centered on the New York City metropolitan area, and it maintains recurring partnerships with the New York Musical Festival (NYMF), Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, and Faculty Productions.

Name

Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc. (KLAD)

Legal name

Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc.

Website

https://klad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KLAD is a Clifton, NJ-based experiential design firm providing scenic, exhibit, set, and immersive environment design for broadcast networks, museums, brand activations, theatrical productions, and government clients including CNN, Budweiser, Disney, and the TSA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Clifton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Design and Production Services: Project-based professional services for entertainment and experiential design, including creative direction, concept development, design, production, and installation management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

KLAD provides end-to-end production design and creative direction services, taking projects from conceptualization through design, production, and installation management. The firm designs environments, sets, and activations for Brand Communication, Live Entertainment, Film, Television, and Events, assembling custom teams of artists, engineers, producers, managers, and designers for each engagement.

Product overview

KLAD is an award-winning entertainment and experiential design firm operating as a single-service company rather than a platform architecture. The firm provides end-to-end production design and creative direction services spanning Corporate Television Studios, Television News & Interview Sets, Scripted Stage & Screen, Commercials, Spaces & Places, Fashion presentations, Events/Experiences/Activations, and miscellaneous creative projects. KLAD's core offering is custom design-to-implementation services for theatrical sets, television scenery, experiential environments, events, activations, and branded experiences across film, television, live performance, and retail/hospitality sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Television Studios Design and creation of television studio environments for networks, corporations, and organizations, including real physical construction and virtual spaces for news presentations, interviews, and announcements.
• Television News & Interview Sets Set design for news programs, interview shows, and broadcast television, including iconic sets for CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and local stations.
• Scripted Stage & Screen Production design for theatre, film, and television including Broadway productions, HBO projects, and streaming series such as Sneaky Pete for Amazon/CBS/Sony Pictures.
• Commercials Commercial production design including long-form, short-form, special effects, product demonstrations, and complex set builds such as DC-3 aircraft interiors for Geico commercials.
• Spaces & Places Environmental design for museums, civil rights institutes, restaurants, retail spaces, hotel lobbies, and themed environments for everyday life theatricality.
• Fashion Fashion industry presentation design including runway shows, in-store displays, flagship store environments, and fashion event production for clients like J Mendel and Isaac Mizrahi.
• What Not Creative projects that defy categorization including logo design, branding, sculptural work, and specialized design solutions for out-of-the-box client requests.
• Events, Experiences and Activations Experiential marketing design including brand activations, pop-up experiences, festival installations, and social media-driven experiences such as the Budweiser Beechwood House and Happy Place installations.

Quantifiable outcome

• EMMY Award winner for Outstanding Programming and Outstanding Set Design for The Petrified Forest
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Carnegie Mellon University - Entertainment Technology CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKLAD collaborated with the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University to create the Ben Franklin's Ghost interactive exhibit. Students combined old technology with new to create the experience, utilizing Pepper's Ghost technology with video projection.
• New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time supporters of NYMF, KLAD has designed for productions, created pop-up stores, and designed cultural awards presented at annual galas honoring celebrities like Baz Luhrmann, Bobby Lopez, Chita Rivera, and Ben Vereen.
• Faculty Productions (The Happy Place)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKLAD worked with Faculty Productions to create The Happy Place Upside Down Room for The Happy Place interactive entertainment installation. Parnelli Award-winning Production Designer Butch Allen of Blame Funnel Creative served as Creative Director.
• Philadelphia Historical CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBen Franklin's Ghost exhibit was installed in the Historic Center of Philadelphia, featuring actor Ralph Archbald playing Benjamin Franklin using Pepper's Ghost technology.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sparks: Global experiential marketing agency specializing in brand activations, pop-ups, and live events. Directly overlaps with KLAD's events and activations practice, particularly for enterprise consumer-brand budgets.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency creating events, activations, and immersive experiences for major brands. Overlaps with KLAD's brand activation work but operates at significantly larger scale with global staffing.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Large experiential marketing agency producing events, activations, and conferences for enterprise clients. Comparable to KLAD's events and activations offerings but with materially deeper production resources.
• Momentum Worldwide: Global experiential marketing agency within the McCann Worldgroup network. Comparable to KLAD's experiential design work across brand activations, retail experiences, and event environments.
• MKG: Independent experiential marketing and creative agency producing events, brand experiences, and activations. Overlaps with KLAD's brand activation and event design services at a broader scale.

Direct peers

• Thinkwell Group: California-based themed entertainment and experience design firm producing theme park attractions, museums, and brand experiences. Directly comparable to KLAD's Spaces & Places and Events/Activations offerings.
• Stufish Entertainment Architects: UK-based entertainment architecture firm designing theatres, concert stages, and immersive venues (e.g., U2, Cirque du Soleil, MSG projects). Closest direct comparable to KLAD's theatrical and entertainment-environment design focus.
• BRC Imagination Arts: Experience design firm specializing in museums, brand experiences, and themed environments (e.g., Grammy Museum, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum). Comparable to KLAD's museum and brand experience work.
• Jack Rouse Associates: Strategic experience design firm serving cultural institutions, museums, and brand experiences. Comparable to KLAD's interpretive, narrative-driven design work for museums and themed spaces.
• Luci Creative: Exhibit and experience design firm for museums, visitor centers, zoos, and cultural institutions. Comparable to KLAD's museum concept work (e.g., Birmingham Civil Rights Institute).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kevin-lee-allen-design-inc.-klad-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Kevin Lee Allen Design, Inc. (KLAD)