krohn design
Krohn Design is a private, founder-led multi-disciplinary design studio offering brand strategy, product design, packaging, furniture, lighting, interiors, graphics, and web design for enterprise clients including MillerKnoll, Disney, Alessi, and CAO International.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What krohn design does
Krohn Design is a private, founder-led multi-disciplinary design studio led by Creative Director Lisa Krohn, who holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, a BFA from Brown University, and a Fulbright fellowship completed with Mario Bellini in Milan. The studio offers integrated services spanning brand strategy, user experience, packaging, furniture, lighting, interiors, graphics, web, and product design, with the stated objective of clarifying each asset to its most simple and elegant form into a single cohesive functional, aesthetic, and symbolic statement. Its client base spans enterprise, education, hospitality, and luxury categories, including MillerKnoll, Disney, Alessi, CAO International, Fenty x PUMA, HBO, Brown University, and the San Diego Children's Museum.
The studio's product portfolio blends commercially produced work and conceptual speculative designs. Notable products include the Tuffet Stool (in the permanent collections of MoMA New York, MoMA SF, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian, and Brooklyn Museum), the Stingray and Skateboard Stools (MoMA SF), the Phonebook Answering Machine (Cooper Hewitt and Cranbrook permanent collections), the Effigy Tray produced by Alessi in Italy, the Safebrite multi-function rechargeable light, and conceptual devices such as the Cyberdesk virtual retinal scanning garment, the Wrist Computer, and NIA, an augmented-reality headset with an AI companion that communicates via voice and gesture. The firm has earned the Forma Finlandia Grand Prize, the Daimler Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design, and ID Magazine Best of Category, and its work has been featured in Cigar Aficionado, IEEE Spectrum, and INNOVATION Quarterly.
Krohn Design operates a sales-led, direct-engagement professional services model: project-based commissions with custom (undisclosed) pricing, sourced through founder reputation, referral, and portfolio showcase rather than through a scaled sales organization or marketing-led funnel. The studio maintains a brand presence through its website portfolio and Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels, and the founder teaches design and innovation at the USC Iovine and Young Academy. No external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or funding rounds are disclosed, and the firm operates from a single Carmel/Beverly Glen base without disclosed office locations.
krohn design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- krohn design
- Website
- https://krohndesign.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Krohn Design is a private, founder-led multi-disciplinary design studio offering brand strategy, product design, packaging, furniture, lighting, interiors, graphics, and web design for enterprise clients including MillerKnoll, Disney, Alessi, and CAO International.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
krohn design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Multidisciplinary Design Services
- NAICS
- Industrial Design Services (541420), Interior Design Services (54141), Graphic Design Services (541430)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
krohn design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Design Services: Comprehensive design services including brand strategy, user experience, packaging, furniture design, lighting, interiors, graphics, web design and product design for enterprise and individual clients.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
krohn design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Krohn Design is a multidisciplinary studio providing brand strategy, user-experience, packaging, furniture, lighting, interior, graphic, web and product design. It strategizes, designs and brands at all scales, and refines client touchpoints into one cohesive functional, aesthetic and symbolic statement. Its portfolio also contains named physical products, conceptual technology designs and spatial projects.
Product overview
Krohn Design is a multi-disciplinary design studio offering brand strategy, user experience, packaging, furniture, lights, interiors, graphics, web and product design services. Their portfolio spans physical products (NIA augmented reality headset, conceptual computing devices, furniture, lighting, and accessories) and service offerings (branding, web design, interior design). The studio's approach focuses on clarifying each asset to its most simple and elegant form, creating cohesive functional, aesthetic and symbolic statements for clients including MillerKnoll, Disney, Alessi, and others.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- NIA (Nomadic Intelligent Assistant) A sleek, lightweight augmented-reality headset that overlays a personalized digital desktop onto the user's field of vision. It includes an AI companion that acts as a muse, copilot and assistant, communicates through voice and gesture, and monitors health metrics through neurofeedback.
- Wrist Computer A wrist-worn device combining GPS, phone, wristwatch and regional information-guide functions, with a flexible display and energy harnessed from the body and sun.
- Portable Fax Machine A conceptual device combining facsimile transmission with tablet functions for drawing and writing, with a scanning wand that swipes across documents.
- Phonebook Answering Machine A device integrating telephone and answering-machine functions with message printing and a leather datebook form whose plastic pages transition between modes.
- Cyberdesk A pliable, high-tech garment that extends the user's senses by overlapping real and virtual worlds through virtual retinal scanning that projects a laser beam through the pupil onto the retina.
- Tuffet Stool An elegant, simple and nomadic stool combining flexible closed-cell EVA foam with domestic maple plywood. It has appeared in film and television and is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the New York and San Francisco Museums of Modern Art.
- Stingray Stool An occasional stool styled after the banana seats of classic American bicycles, combining familiarity with an understated design on four black rubber balloon tires. It is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
- Skateboard Stool A sculptural seat in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with a curving elliptical perch on a minimal stainless-steel frame.
- Meow Series A collection of chairs, barstools and lounges developed for the retro-futuristic Encounter restaurant at LAX and also used as signature seating at Petroglyph Ceramic Lounges in the Bay Area.
- Safebrite Light A multifunction manually rechargeable light combining a nightlight, emergency light, hands-free utility lamp, traditional flashlight and lantern, with a built-in crank for recharging.
- Effigy Tray A stainless-steel tray resting on a cast-aluminum stand, echoing Northwest Native American effigy vessels. It was produced by Alessi in Italy.
- Poker Bag An ergonomic ballistic-nylon messenger bag incorporating cigars, custom chips, dice and cards, with a built-in Humidipak and Spanish-cedar-lined humidor.
- Cubist Ashtray Functional art inspired by the avant-garde Cubist movement, translating an idea into a practical working instrument.
- Charlotte Social Network Brand, web and user-experience design for a social-media platform intended to let women network and share resources digitally.
- LGLA Website Website redesign for Laura Gross Literary Agency, including WordPress migration, mobile responsiveness and a no-code backend.
- CAO Cigars Brand Identity Complete brand redesign for CAO Cigars over 11 years, including logos, packages, displays and trade-show environments.
- Atherton Residence Interior design for a 13,000-square-foot pavilion with custom rugs, furniture, draperies, lighting, bathroom finishes and outdoor furniture for seven offices, three guest suites and entertainment seating.
Quantifiable outcome
- CAO rose from small family-run company to industry leader within 5 years and was acquired by major international conglomerate
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use krohn design
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
krohn design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
krohn design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- MillerKnollmajorDesign collaboration with MillerKnoll, a major furniture and interiors company, on furniture and product design projects.
- DisneymajorCreative partnership with Disney on design projects for the entertainment company and its subsidiary brands.
- AlessicoreProduct design partnership with Alessi, the renowned Italian home goods manufacturer. The Effigy Tray was produced by Alessi in Italy.
- Walt Disney ImagineeringmajorCollaboration with Disney's Imagineering division on the Encounter LAX Restaurant project, designing seating for the retro-futuristic restaurant.
- April GreimanminorCollaborated with graphic designer April Greiman on the Nicola restaurant project in downtown LA alongside architect Michael Rotondi.
- Michael RotondiminorArchitecture collaboration with Michael Rotondi on Nicola restaurant project, contributing to overall design vision.
- HBOmajorPartnership with HBO for CAO Sopranos Edition and Entourage packaging and products - co-commissioned by CAO and HBO.
- W3 ArchitectsminorArchitectural assistance for studio addition at Beverly Glen home/studio project.
- Mario BelliniminorFounder Lisa Krohn completed Fulbright fellowship working with architect and designer Mario Bellini in Milan.
- USC Iovine and Young AcademyminorFounder Lisa Krohn teaches design and innovation at USC Iovine and Young Academy, representing academic partnership.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
krohn design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IDEO: Global design consultancy spanning brand, product, and experience design for Fortune 500 clients. Most directly comparable multi-disciplinary design firm operating at a larger scale.
- RKS Design: Psyche Group-affiliated consultancy offering product, brand, and experience design. Comparable mid-sized multi-disciplinary peer serving enterprise clients.
- Ammunition Group: Robert Brunner's studio spanning product, brand, and experience design for premium consumer brands (e.g., Beats, Oculus). Closely analogous founder-led model with museum-grade work.
- Lunar Design: Industrial design and product strategy firm with strong heritage in physical product design for consumer brands. Directly comparable on product and furniture design work.
- Frog Design: Design and innovation firm offering product, brand, and experience design. Direct peer on multi-disciplinary work for enterprise clients, especially in consumer electronics.
- Smart Design: Independent design consultancy with product, brand, and experience capabilities. Comparable in offering breadth and enterprise client focus.
- Pentagram: Partner-led design firm offering branding, graphic design, product, and environmental design. Closely aligned boutique-to-mid-sized peer with a similar founder/partner-driven model.
- fuseproject: Yves Béhar's studio covering brand strategy, product design, and consumer experience. Comparable multi-disciplinary boutique with strong industrial design DNA and founder-led identity.
Others
- Alessi: Italian design manufacturer that produces objects by external designers (including Krohn's Effigy Tray). Included as an ecosystem participant — a manufacturing partner and channel for studio-designed products rather than a direct competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with brand, interior, and product practices. Broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities at significantly greater scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
krohn design social profiles
Digital presencekrohn design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
krohn design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
krohn design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
krohn design M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about krohn design
What does krohn design do?
Krohn Design is a multidisciplinary studio providing brand strategy, user-experience, packaging, furniture, lighting, interior, graphic, web and product design. It strategizes, designs and brands at all scales, and refines client touchpoints into one cohesive functional, aesthetic and symbolic statement. Its portfolio also contains named physical products, conceptual technology designs and spatial projects.
Is krohn design a public or private company?
krohn design is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was krohn design founded?
krohn design was founded in -1.
How does krohn design make money?
One revenue line is on record: design Services.
Who are krohn design's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IDEO, RKS Design, Ammunition Group, Lunar Design, Frog Design, Smart Design, Pentagram and fuseproject. Alessi is listed as an others. Gensler is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does krohn design have an API?
No public API is recorded for krohn design.
What industry is krohn design in?
krohn design's product category is Multidisciplinary Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAM, Industrial/Product & Furniture Design, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAB, Interior Design Services. Its NAICS code is 541420.