NK Design

What NK Design does

NK Design LLC is a private design studio founded in Los Angeles in 2014 by Nick Kinney and now headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The studio delivers architecture, experiential design, visualization, and digital fabrication services for enterprise clients across entertainment, technology, cultural institutions, government, and consumer brand sectors. Project work spans event installations (Governors Ball boombox, T-Mobile Network Portal LED tunnel, Coachella Astronaut/Escape Velocity), architectural commissions (Port Discovery Skyclimber, ECDI Food Fort warehouse, Eyewagon mobile boutique), public art and urban design (Columbus Love Mural, Tumbling Hearts, CDDC Parklet), and entertainment key art for FX Network shows (Atlanta, Legion, Snowfall) and music clients (Faulkner).

The studio's underlying capability set combines proprietary 3D modeling (a custom system developed for the Port Discovery Skyclimber that enables real-time updating of interconnected structural, netting, and barrier components), a patent-pending modular parklet system, flat-pack design methodology for efficient shipping and on-site assembly, and integration of animatronics, LED programming, projection mapping, and stage rigging. The portfolio of 30+ documented projects demonstrates delivery of large-scale festival installations (a 64'x30' LED boombox, a 60-foot LED cooling tunnel, a 16-foot basketball tree with 12 rims) alongside smaller art commissions and architectural proposals.

The business model is project-based, commissioned one-time engagements priced per scope. Revenue streams include design and visualization services (modeled as one-time license work) and fabrication and installation services (professional services). Go-to-market is event-driven, relying on portfolio demonstrations, direct client relationships, and collaborations with creative agencies, event producers (Goldenvoice), fabrication partners (Becore, Roto Group), artist collectives (Poetic Kinetics), and urban design firms (Designing Local). Distribution is direct enterprise sales with no disclosed marketing channels beyond organic social (Instagram). No pricing, deal size, or financial disclosures are public; the company is founder-controlled, privately held, and bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding.

Name

NK Design

Legal name

NK Design LLC

Website

https://nkdsgn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

NK Design LLC is a Columbus, Ohio-based private design studio founded in 2014 that delivers architecture, experiential design, visualization, and digital fabrication services for enterprise clients across entertainment, technology, cultural, government, and consumer brand sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture and Experiential Design Services

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Experiential design services
• 3D visualization services
• Digital fabrication services
• Fabrication and installation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Design and Visualization Services: Project-based design, visualization, and architectural services for clients across experiential installations, art, and architecture sectors. Revenue generated through commissioned projects including key art concepts, installations, structural designs, and fabrication.
2. Fabrication and Installation Services: Physical fabrication and on-site installation of designed structures, installations, and experiential elements. Includes design consultation and fabrication management for complex installations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

NK Design is a Columbus, Ohio-based design studio founded in Los Angeles in 2014 that provides architecture, visualization, experiential design, and digital fabrication services. It designs and fabricates commissioned installations, structures, key art, and public art for brands, events, cultural institutions, and public-sector clients, often taking projects from concept and 3D modeling through fabrication and on-site installation.

Product overview

NK Design LLC is a design studio based in Columbus, Ohio, founded in Los Angeles in 2014, specializing in experiential installations, architecture, visualization, and digital fabrication. The company does not offer a unified software product or platform but rather provides a portfolio of project-based services across four main categories: Architecture (including ECDI Food Fort, Eyewagon, Port Discovery Skyclimber, UCLA), Experiential (Escape Velocity astronaut, Network Portal LED tunnel, Dude Perfect basketball tree, GovBall Boombox, Fire Pavilions, Sonic Garden, Adobe activation), Art (mural installations like Columbus Love, public sculptures like Tumbling Hearts, key art for FX shows including Atlanta, Legion, Snowfall), and Case Studies (T-Mobile Spirit Animals and other brand activations). Their work ranges from small-scale private art commissions to large-scale festival installations, collaborating with various partners including Becore, Poetic Kinetics, Studio Autoforma, and Designing Local.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CDDC Parklet A modular parklet system with patent-pending technology designed as an observation deck for Janet Echelman's sculpture 'Currents' in Columbus, Ohio. The design comprises four forklift-loadable units for deployment, storage, and mobility.
• Las Vegas Private Commission A private art commission involving original concept creation, design, and on-site installation, including Moire Wall artwork.
• Tumbling Hearts A temporary outdoor public sculpture with two concentric drums of spinning hearts that cast heart-shaped light beams, part of the Sullivant Bright public art project in Columbus, Ohio.
• Port Discovery Skyclimber A climbing structure for Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore, MD, supported by proprietary 3D modeling for real-time updating of netting and barrier systems with landing platforms and structural components.
• Columbus Love Mural (#CBUSLOVEMURAL) An experiential mural in downtown Columbus, Ohio that reads 'COLUMBUS' by day and 'LOVE' by night, featuring LED lighting powered by Prism Lighting.
• Escape Velocity (Coachella Astronaut) A massive festival-roaming astronaut installation with a projection-mapped visor, animatronics, and precision engineering, built atop a JLG telehandler forklift and later located at the Minnesota Science Museum.
• Impermanent Collection - Gradient Machine A flip book series of physically printed motion graphic sequences exploring form, light, and color gradation, produced for the A+D Museum in Los Angeles.
• AD Color Google An installation for Google and YouTube showcasing up-and-coming artists and social-injustice awareness through social media posting stations.
• JUUL Container Design, visualization, and development of a traveling JUUL shipping container activation, completed in collaboration with Becore.
• Atlanta Key Art Key art concepts for the second season of the FX network show Atlanta, created in collaboration with PAWN creative.
• Snowfall Key Art Key art concepts for the second season of the FX network show Snowfall.
• Legion Key Art Key art concepts for the second season of the FX network show Legion, created in collaboration with PAWN creative.
• Faulkner Hot Streak Single cover art and an animated sequence for Faulkner's single 'Hot Streak'.
• Network Portal A 60-foot LED cooling tunnel for T-Mobile at the Electric Zoo music festival, featuring LED programming by Grant Davis Lumens.
• Dude Perfect Basketball Tree A 16-foot-tall basketball tree with 12 rims designed, fabricated, and installed for Dude Perfect and YouTube at Tompkins Square Park NYC.
• Sonic Garden / Seed Pods A T-Mobile Sonic Garden installation at TomorrowWorld 2014 in Atlanta, featuring five flat-pack-designed Seed Pods with magenta framework, silk foliage, and ambient lighting.
• Adobe Creative Cloud Activation A student-led activation at Bloom Square in the DTLA arts district featuring three projection-mapped tunnels recreating photographic experiences for Adobe Creative Cloud.
• UCLA Lives Changed Gala Set design and fabrication for UCLA's Lives Changed fundraiser gala, completed in partnership with Becore.
• GovBall Boombox A 64'x30' LED-activated boombox structure for the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City, assembled using traditional stage truss and rigging.
• Eyewagon A retrofit of a 1957 SS Clipper trailer into a mobile eyewear boutique for Starling Eyewear in Austin, TX, completed in collaboration with Studio Autoforma.
• Fire Pavilions Fire activation design and visualization for Poetic Kinetics at Burningman and Coachella events.
• ECDI Food Fort 2.0 Architectural design and visualization for ECDI's OCS grant proposal, including a proposed renovation of a 10,000 sqft warehouse.
• Design and Visualization Services Project-based design, visualization, and architectural services for clients across experiential installations, art, and architecture, including key art concepts, installations, structural designs, and fabrication.
• Fabrication and Installation Services Physical fabrication and on-site installation of designed structures, installations, and experiential elements, including design consultation and fabrication management for complex installations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully installed 16-foot basketball tree under time and budget constraints for Dude Perfect NYC activation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Alex HaldiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Graphic design contributor for Governors Ball boombox project. Haldi created the graphic design for the 64'x30' LED activated boombox structure.
• Governors Ball Music FestivalminorOthersClient for the 64'x30' LED activated boombox installation in NYC, assembled using traditional stage truss and rigging.
• Randy RubinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVideo and photography documentation for Network Portal installation at Electric Zoo festival.
• BecorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration partner on multiple projects including JUUL shipping container activation and UCLA Lives Changed gala. Becore provides fabrication and execution support.
• Poetic KineticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary collaboration partner for large-scale festival installations including Fire Pavilions (Burningman, Coachella) and Escape Velocity (Coachella Astronaut). Poetic Kinetics provides the artist collective spirit and animatronics expertise.
• GoldenvoiceminorOthersClient that commissioned the Escape Velocity Coachella Astronaut project. NK Design helped create imagery that won the proposal from Goldenvoice.
• Studio AutoformaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetrofit partner for the Eyewagon project, transforming a 1957 SS Clipper trailer into a mobile eyewear boutique.
• Starling EyewearminorOthersClient for the mobile eyewear boutique conversion project in Austin, TX.
• Roto GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the Port Discovery Children's Museum Skyclimber project in Baltimore, MD. Roto Group collaboration involved architectural design, 3D modeling, systems design, and visualization.
• Port Discovery Children's MuseumminorOthersClient for the Skyclimber architectural design and visualization project in Baltimore, MD.
• ECDIminorOthersClient for architectural design and visualization of 10,000 sqft warehouse renovation proposal in Columbus, Ohio.
• Designing LocalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on multiple public art and urban design projects including Tumbling Hearts sculpture and CDDC Parklet. Designing Local handles local implementation and community engagement.
• Columbus Downtown Development CorporationminorOthersCommissioning organization for the Gay + High Streets parklet in downtown Columbus, serving as observation deck for Janet Echelman sculpture.
• Janet EchelmanminorOthersArtist whose sculpture 'Currents' serves as the focal point for the CDDC Parklet observation deck installation.
• UCLAminorOthersClient for set design and fabrication of the Lives Changed fundraiser gala event.
• Adobe Creative CloudminorOthersClient for student-led activation at Bloom Square in DTLA arts district featuring projection mapped tunnels.
• Tiffany KinneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial thanks contributor to the Columbus Love experiential mural project.
• Brett DuganminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial thanks contributor to the Columbus Love experiential mural project.
• FX NetworksminorOthersClient for Impermanent Collection flip book series originating from previous FX Networks branding studies.
• PAWN creativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for Atlanta key art concepts project for the second season of the FX network show.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Snarkitecture: NYC practice by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen exploring the intersection of architecture and art through installations. Directly comparable in creating experiential architecture pieces for brands and museums.
• Moment Factory: Montreal-based multimedia studio specializing in immersive environments and experiential installations. Comparable to NK Design in combining design, fabrication, and technology for branded and cultural spaces.
• Local Projects: NYC-based design studio focused on interactive and experiential design for museums, cultural institutions, and public spaces. Comparable to NK Design's museum and municipal project work (e.g., Port Discovery Skyclimber).
• Random International: London-based studio producing experimental art installations that blend design, engineering, and digital systems. Comparable to NK Design in technical-art hybrid projects for cultural and brand contexts.
• Aranda\Lasch: NYC architecture and design studio producing installations and experimental structures. Comparable to NK Design's blend of architecture, fabrication, and art-direction for cultural and commercial commissions.
• teamLab: Japanese interdisciplinary art collective producing large-scale immersive digital and physical installations. Comparable to NK Design's festival-grade experiential work, though at significantly larger scale.
• Jason Bruges Studio: London design studio creating permanent and temporary installations at the intersection of architecture, art, and technology. Comparable to NK Design's branded installation and architectural-design work.
• Studio Drift: Amsterdam-based studio creating experiential sculptures and installations blending nature, technology, and design. Comparable to NK Design's large-format installation work for cultural and brand settings.
• Poetic Kinetics: Artist collective creating large-scale festival installations at Coachella and Burning Man. NK Design is a core technical/design partner; their collaborations (Escape Velocity astronaut, Fire Pavilions) make them directly comparable in experiential art-build work.

Others

• Becore: Fabrication and execution studio that collaborates on multiple NK Design projects (JUUL container, UCLA gala). It is an ecosystem peer — adjacent fabrication capability rather than a creative competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

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 NK Design