What MAK Design does

MAK Design (legal name: MAK Design Co.) is a privately held, founder-operated creative production company based in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. It is owned and operated as a solo practice by Michael A. Kraus, who personally performs every production role — producer, director, writer, editor, cinematographer, camera operator, and production specialist — across the firm's assignments.

The company's core offering is documentary filmmaking and adjacent multimedia production, including video production, film production, website design and development, animation, and audio production, framed on its website as 'consulting • video • film • web • animation • audio.' Its two flagship productions are Landmark: Erie's Bicentennial Tower (premiered 2023, 2023 Telly Award winner, featured on WQLN PBS's Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein) and Wind & Water – The Legacy of The Erie Yacht Club (broadcast premiere on PBS/WQLN scheduled for September 11, 2025). Named customers include the Lake Erie Regional Conservancy (a non-profit for which MAK delivered consulting, website design, and multiple videos) and WQLN PBS (broadcast distribution partner). The company also produces facility tours, music videos, and marketing videos for regional clients.

Commercially, MAK operates as a project-based professional services studio: clients initiate engagement via a website contact form (makdesigncompany.com/contact-us) or direct email ([email protected]), and pricing is quoted per project rather than published. Its go-to-market is sales-led, regional in scope (Lake Erie Region and broader Northeast USA), and dependent on YouTube, LinkedIn, and X for portfolio and brand visibility. There is no external institutional investment, no parent entity, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed revenue or headcount data; the operation is consistent with a bootstrapped solo creative practice.

Name

MAK Design

Legal name

MAK Design Co.

Website

https://makdesigncompany.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MAK Design is a solo, founder-operated creative production studio in Erie, Pennsylvania, offering documentary filmmaking, video, website, animation, and audio production services to regional non-profits, broadcasters, and local organizations in the Lake Erie / Northeast USA market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-Based Production Services: One-time project fees for documentary filmmaking, video production, website development, and marketing material creation. Services include producing, directing, writing, filming, and overall production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MAK Design is a solo creative production studio that provides end-to-end documentary filmmaking, video production, website design and development, animation, audio production, and creative consulting services. The founder-producer handles producing, directing, writing, filming, editing, and cinematography for clients including non-profits and regional broadcasters. The studio produces documentary films such as Landmark: Erie's Bicentennial Tower (2023 Telly Award winner) and Wind & Water - The Legacy of The Erie Yacht Club.

Product overview

MAK Design is a creative production company offering documentary filmmaking and multimedia production services. The core offerings consist of documentary film production (Landmark: Erie's Bicentennial Tower and Wind & Water: The Legacy of The Erie Yacht Club), video production services (producing, directing, writing, filming), and web design/development with integrated video content. Services are delivered by a single-producer team led by Michael A. Kraus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Video Production Services End-to-end video production services including producing, directing, writing, filming, and overall production for client projects such as tooling facility video tours, music videos, marketing videos, and production reels. Provided for organizations needing professional video content.
• Web Design & Development Services Website design and development services for organizations, including integration of overview videos, customer testimonial videos, donation submission forms, and contact forms. Delivered as full-service consulting, design, writing, and overall production.
• Wind & Water - The Legacy of The Erie Yacht Club A documentary film exploring the history and significance of The Erie Yacht Club, broadcast premiered on WQLN PBS on September 11, 2025.
• Landmark: Erie's Bicentennial Tower A documentary film exploring the history and significance of Erie's Bicentennial Tower, including the history of Erie and U.S. National history. Won a 2023 Telly Award and was featured on PBS.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2023 Telly Award winner for Landmark: Erie's Bicentennial Tower documentary

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WQLN PBScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 September 2025Broadcast partner for Wind & Water documentary premiere on September 11, 2025. Also featured Landmark documentary in the series 'Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories' with David Rubenstein. WQLN PBS provides broadcast distribution and audience reach for MAK Design productions.
• Lake Erie Regional ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFull-service production partner for conservancy website and video content. Responsibilities included consulting, design, writing, and overall production of conservancy overview video, customer testimonial video, donation submission form, and contact form.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Kartemquin Films: Independent documentary production company producing social-issue and historical documentaries. Directly comparable to MAK's documentary filmmaking specialization, including broadcast and award-circuit exposure.
• Lemonlight: Video production company producing branded video content for businesses and organizations. Directly comparable to MAK Design's core video production offering, though Lemonlight operates at significantly larger scale across multiple geographies.
• Demo Duck: Explainer video and documentary-style production studio serving brands and non-profits. Comparable to MAK in service mix (video production, storytelling, multi-format content), though Demo Duck serves a broader national client base.
• Epipheo: Video production and animation studio producing explainer and storytelling videos for organizations. Comparable service stack to MAK's video + animation + audio offering.

Emerging players

• Sandbox Films: Independent documentary production company and distributor focused on feature-length non-fiction films. Comparable documentary specialization to MAK but with theatrical and streaming distribution ambitions.
• Field Studio: Boutique video and documentary production company serving mission-driven organizations and brands. Comparable in client type (non-profits, purpose-driven organizations) and integrated service offering to MAK Design.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Studios: Large-scale documentary and factual content producer and distributor. Operates in the same documentary production space as MAK but at vastly greater scale and global reach.
• Discovery Studios: Major documentary and non-fiction production entity within Warner Bros. Discovery. Comparable category (documentary production) but operates as a broad incumbent with global infrastructure.
• PBS: National public broadcaster and distributor of documentary content. Functions both as a distribution partner to MAK (via WQLN) and as a broad incumbent in the documentary production ecosystem.

Regional players

• Wavelength Productions: Regional video and film production company producing documentary and branded content for organizations. Comparable in scale and project-based model to MAK Design's solo-operator creative services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MakKraus
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@makdesigncompany/playlists
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mak-design-company

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 MAK Design