KITE Design Research GmbH

What KITE Design Research GmbH does

KITE Design Research GmbH is a Berlin-based design research consultancy founded in 2019 that provides human-centered design, qualitative research, and co-creation services across three practice areas: Social Design, Health UX, and Responsible Tech. The firm works primarily with healthcare organizations, public-sector institutions, academic research consortia, and civil society NGOs, helping clients make complex digital and medical systems more usable, understandable, and accountable. Notable engagements include a multi-year UX research and design collaboration with Siemens Healthineers on radiological workflows and a role in the KLEVER research consortium (2025-2029) with Universitätsklinikum Würzburg and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg on AI-supported confocal laser endomicroscopy for oncology surgery.

The company monetizes through project-based professional services, offering both compact starter packages (UX Check, Process Analysis Clinic, Co-Creation Sprints) and long-term engagements. Alongside fee-for-service consulting, KITE has shipped several named artifacts that double as deliverables and reusable IP, including the SPLINT App for special education teachers (with Inklusion Digital GmbH), the AI.CUBE escape room for AI literacy, the Together-At-Home card game for digital seminars (with BUND), the Audiowalk for Radical Reflection, the Hybrid Learning Path (with ifeu institute), and the Self-Organisation Compass for youth participation. Its methodology library emphasizes participatory and speculative design, system mapping, futures scenarios, and explainable AI approaches that embed GDPR, AI Act, and accessibility compliance into design processes.

KITE is a privately held German GmbH with 11-50 employees and no disclosed outside funding. Go-to-market is direct and community-led: the firm engages clients via [email protected], leverages relationships with academic and public-sector partners, and uses its website and conference presentations as primary discovery channels. Geographic reach is centered on the DACH region with selective international engagements in South Africa and Spain.

Name

KITE Design Research GmbH

Legal name

KITE Design Research GmbH

Website

https://kite.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KITE Design Research GmbH is a Berlin-based design research consultancy providing human-centered UX, co-creation, and responsible tech services to healthcare, academic, public-sector, and NGO clients across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Research Consultancy

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Industrial Design Services (54142), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

UX, Design Thinking & Customer Research for PMs (EDABAHAK)

Keywords

• Design research consultancy
• UX research services
• Health UX design
• Responsible technology design
• Participatory design methods

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. UX Research and Design Consultancy Services: Project-based consulting engagements including UX research, design, process analysis, and co-creation workshops for healthcare, public sector, and social transformation clients.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

KITE Design Research GmbH is a Berlin-based design research consultancy providing human-centered UX research, co-creation workshops, and design consulting for healthcare organizations, public sector institutions, NGOs, and technology developers. The firm operates three practice areas—Social Design, Health UX, and Responsible Tech—delivering project-based engagements that include UX checks, process analysis in clinical settings, co-creation sprints, and long-term collaborative formats. Their work applies qualitative research methods such as contextual inquiry, participatory field formats, and prototyping to make digital systems transparent, accessible, and socially sustainable.

Product overview

KITE Design Research GmbH is a design research consultancy offering a portfolio of service areas (Social Design, Health UX, and Responsible Tech) alongside specific products and methodologies developed through their project work. The core offering consists of qualitative UX research, co-creation workshops, and design consulting services. Notable products developed include the SPLINT App (co-developed with Inklusion Digital for special education support), AI.CUBE Escape Room (educational AI experience), Together-At Home Card Game (digital seminar facilitation tool), Audiowalk for Radical Reflection (participatory conference format), Hybrid Learning Path (sufficiency-oriented educational trail), Self-Organisation Compass (youth participation toolbox), and the KLEVER AI Surgical Guidance System (AI-assisted medical imaging for oncology). The company also offers UX research services for medical technology (Siemens Healthineers projects), process analysis for hospitals, and inclusive healthcare design with a focus on FLINTA* communities. They employ human-centered design methodologies including contextual inquiry, co-creation workshops, usability testing, and speculative design approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UX Research and Design Consulting (Health UX practice) Project-based UX research and design consulting for healthcare clients including UX checks, process analysis in clinical contexts, co-creation sprints, and long-term collaborative formats. Target customers are hospitals, medical device companies, and healthcare technology developers seeking human-centered solutions for clinical workflows and medical technologies.
• Social Design and Participatory Consulting Project-based design research and participatory consulting for public sector, municipalities, NGOs, research teams, and civil society organizations. Engagements include co-creation formats, participatory mapping, community engagement, and social transformation design processes.
• Responsible Tech and Explainable AI Design Consulting Design research and consulting for technology developers building AI systems, data platforms, and digital tools that need to be transparent, understandable, and accountable. Engagements integrate GDPR, AI Act, and accessibility standards as design opportunities and apply XAI, visual feedback, and Impact Mapping methods.

Quantifiable outcome

• SPLINT app deployed in multiple schools to support students and reduce teacher workload
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Siemens HealthineerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration on UX research and design for medical technology, specifically radiological approaches in computed tomography and interventional radiology. KITE conducts in-depth studies, interviews, observations, and data analysis to improve diagnostic and interventional procedures.
• Universitätsklinikum WürzburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner in the KLEVER project for AI-supported microscopy in oncology. Provides clinical expertise and research environment for developing AI-assisted surgical decision-making tools.
• Julius-Maximilians-Universität WürzburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner in the KLEVER consortium, contributing AI research expertise alongside clinical practice for developing AI-assisted microscopy in cancer surgery.
• Erzgebirge Jugend Atlas teamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Social Village Development project 'Junge Täler' providing youth participation expertise and regional networks for engaging young people in rural development.
• Oberwiesenthal aktiv e.V. (Wiesenthaler Wohnzimmer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for the 'Junge Täler' project, contributing community networks and local implementation capacity for youth participation in Oberwiesenthal.
• ifeu institutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient and collaborator for developing the hybrid sufficiency path at Collegium Academicum. ifeu is an environmental research institute focusing on sustainability topics.
• ARUA Climate Change and Inequalities SymposiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for the Audiowalk for Radical Reflection project presented at the ARUA Climate Change and Inequalities Symposium 2023 in Cape Town.
• DeGrowth ConferenceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresentation of Audiowalk for Radical Reflection at the DeGrowth Conference 2024 in Pontevedra, Spain.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ustwo (now ustwo studios): Independent design and engineering studio delivering UX research, digital products, and social impact programs; similar size and methodology fit as KITE, especially in health and public-good projects.
• Livework Studio: Service-design and social-innovation consultancy with European roots; shares KITE's focus on participatory design, public-sector transformation, and human-centered research.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global human-centered design and innovation consultancy with deep healthcare, public sector, and social impact practices; comparable to KITE on design-research methodology and project-based consulting for complex organizations.
• Method (Material): Global experience design consultancy serving healthcare, financial services and tech; directly comparable on Health UX research, responsible tech frameworks, and co-creation approaches.
• Sapient Experience (Publicis Sapient): Large digital-transformation consultancy with research-led UX practices serving healthcare and public-sector clients; comparable at enterprise end of market but far larger.
• Designit (now part of Wipro): Global experience-design consultancy with significant Nordic and European healthcare and sustainability practices; comparable on responsible-tech, health UX, and co-creation work.
• Frog (frog design): Global design and engineering consultancy owned by Capgemini Invent; overlaps with KITE in qualitative UX research, product design, and socially-oriented transformation projects for enterprises.

Emerging players

• EARTHSHIPS / Project Together: Organizations in the participatory social design and youth participation space in Germany; adjacent to KITE's Social Design practice though not commercial consultancies.
• Zalando Research / UX teams: Berlin-based tech employers whose in-house UX research functions occasionally contract boutique consultancies like KITE for specialized qualitative work; tangential peer on geography and demand.

Regional players

• Dark Horse (formerly Method Hamburg / Nordpol+): German digital agency with strong UX research and digital transformation practices across DACH; comparable on health and public-sector consulting footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kite-design-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 KITE Design Research GmbH