Doberman
A Stockholm design consultancy since 1998, now running inside EY's global network.
Founded 1998 | Stockholm, Sweden (also Oslo and Copenhagen) | 100+ (within EY's global network) employees
product-designux-researchbranding
What is Doberman?
Doberman started in Stockholm in 1998 and grew into a 100+ person design and innovation firm with studios in Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen before EY acquired a majority stake, folding it into EY's much larger consulting network. Its client list spans Google, Swedish banks, and public-sector organizations, and Doberman positions itself around service and product innovation rather than pure visual design — helping organizations design new services and customer experiences, not just interfaces.
Doberman works primarily with clients in Financial services / fintech, Enterprise transformation sectors. Its primary differentiator is: Nearly three decades of Nordic service-and-product-design work, now backed by EY's global consulting network after its majority-stake acquisition.
Doberman tech stack and services
FigmaMiroAdobe Creative Suite
| Service area |
|---|
| Product Design |
| UX Research |
| Branding |
Doberman pricing
Short answer: Doberman uses a enterprise consulting engagement (project-based or retainer) pricing approach. Minimum engagement starts at Not published.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From Not published | Well-defined scope |
| Retainer | Monthly rate; not public | Ongoing AI engineering |
Doberman does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Doberman pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Nearly three decades of continuous operation since 1998, longer than most European boutiques on this list | -Majority acquired by EY, so clients are hiring into a large consulting network rather than an independent boutique |
| +Three-city Nordic studio footprint (Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen) | -Nordic-centered office footprint may mean less overlap with US or APAC business hours |
| +EY's majority-stake backing provides access to a much larger global consulting network | -Team size figures blend Doberman's own ~100 staff with EY's much larger combined network, making direct capacity comparison harder |
| +Client list includes Google alongside major Swedish banks and public-sector organizations |
Doberman vs alternatives
How Doberman compares to the other top Product Design agencies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenomenon Studio | SaaS, fintech, healthcare, EdTech — senior-only team, no... | Built around 70+ senior specialists across USA, Estonia, and Switzerland entities — no junior bench to hand work off to — serving four deliberately chosen verticals: SaaS, fintech, healthcare, and EdTech | 4.8 | Full comparison |
| IDEO | Enterprises funding multi-year, cross-functional transformation. | Coined the human-centered design methodology the rest of the industry now runs on, still delivering it through roughly 24 studios worldwide three decades later | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Frog | Enterprises, digital plus physical product design, one team. | Still designs physical hardware (IoT, automotive, medical devices) alongside software — a combined scope most of its peers have abandoned | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| R/GA | Global brands, product design bundled with brand strategy. | Fuses product design with marketing and brand strategy for large platforms, now operating independently for the first time in over two decades | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Accenture Song | Regulated enterprises — banking, telecom, automotive — embedded... | 36 studios and 2,000+ specialists operating inside Accenture — the broadest global footprint and compliance coverage of any name on this list | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Work & Co | Premium brands, design paired with production-grade engineering. | A client roster (Apple, IKEA, Nike, Disney) that outsizes its ~425-person headcount, delivered through an engineering-heavy design-and-build model | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Huge Inc | Large enterprise brands, big agency mid-restructure. | One of the oldest agency names on this list, now rebuilt through a 2024 AEA Investors acquisition and Hero Digital merger | 3.6 | Full comparison |
| EPAM Continuum | Enterprises, design integrated with strategy and engineering. | Carries Continuum's decades-old industrial-design pedigree (the Reebok Pump) into EPAM's enterprise software engineering scale | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| MetaLab | Well-funded SaaS/fintech, full-stack design through design systems. | A Slack/Uber/Coinbase/Midjourney-caliber portfolio built by a 160-person studio, delivered full-stack from research through design systems | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Cantina | Financial services, health/life-science — strategic design plus development. | A financial-services-heavy client list (Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Empower) delivered through a combined strategy-design-development model | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Fireart Studio | Startups, mid-market — design plus full development, one... | 700+ delivered projects for 200+ clients, backed by Clutch's independently verified 'Leading UX Design Team' recognition | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Qubstudio | Fintech, logistics, healthcare — MVP to enterprise redesign. | Currently Clutch's #1-ranked UX/UI agency worldwide for 2026, with Red Dot Design Award recognition layered on top | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Excited | SaaS/fintech teams, Clutch-ranked specialist, accessible rates. | A sustained Top 5 global UX agency ranking on Clutch, with about 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Gapsy Studio | Fintech, SaaS, healthcare — 5.0-rated boutique, deep track... | A perfect 5.0/5.0 Clutch rating across 52 reviews, backed by 13+ international awards, from a studio that doesn't publish its own headcount | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Goji Labs | Startups, entrepreneurs, nonprofits — strategy-led, accessible pricing. | A 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree that explicitly serves nonprofits and entrepreneurs, not only funded startups | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Eleken | SaaS teams, subscription embedded designer, no fixed-price haggling. | A SaaS-only subscription embedded-designer model (~$6,599/month) with a 4.9 Clutch rating across 200+ projects | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Fresh Tilled Soil | Mid-market, enterprise — long-tenured Boston UX boutique. | 700+ delivered projects over two decades from a compact 11–50 person team, now operating inside the ADK Group | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| UXDA | Banks, fintech — exclusively financial-services UX. | The only studio in this roster built exclusively around financial-services UX, with 150+ banking and fintech platforms shaped across 39 countries | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Onething Design | Companies wanting BFSI, healthcare, automotive — one studio,... | Covers five distinct industries — BFSI, consumer, enterprise, healthcare, automotive — from one team with both US and India delivery presence | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| UX studio | B2B SaaS teams, research-first before UI. | A research-first methodology comparable in rigor to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach, applied specifically to complex B2B SaaS products | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Halo Lab | E-commerce, web apps — #1 Dribbble-ranked studio. | Currently the #1-ranked Dribbble Team globally, backed by 70+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Spaceberry Studio | Budget-conscious SaaS/AI teams, low-commitment subscription. | One of the most accessible entry points in this roster via a subscription model rather than a large upfront fixed-price contract | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| ANML | B2B, healthcare, AI startups — tiny senior team. | One of the smallest teams in this roster, giving clients the highest senior-to-client ratio for B2B, healthcare, and AI work | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Momentum Design Lab | Clients wanting a long-tenured Silicon Valley studio. | Nearly a quarter-century of continuous operation, one of the oldest boutiques in this roster by founding date | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| The Gradient | Fintech, healthcare, retail — AI-native, limited roster for... | A deliberately small, AI-native studio with a notable client list (Qatar Airways, Philips, Daimler AG) unusual for its self-limited scale | 4.2 | Full comparison |
Doberman FAQ
What is Doberman?
A Stockholm design consultancy since 1998, now running inside EY's global network.
How much does Doberman charge?
Doberman uses enterprise consulting engagement (project-based or retainer) pricing. Minimum engagement starts at Not published. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Doberman use?
Doberman works with Figma, Miro, Adobe Creative Suite. Primary industries served include Financial services / fintech, Enterprise transformation.
Is Doberman right for enterprise?
Nordic/European enterprises, service design backed by EY network. 100+ (within EY's global network) team size. Key consideration: Majority acquired by EY, so clients are hiring into a large consulting network rather than an independent boutique.
What are the best Doberman alternatives?
The best alternatives to Doberman depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Phenomenon Studio: built around 70+ senior specialists across usa, estonia, and switzerland entities — no junior bench to hand work off to — serving four deliberately chosen verticals: saas, fintech, healthcare, and edtech
- IDEO: coined the human-centered design methodology the rest of the industry now runs on, still delivering it through roughly 24 studios worldwide three decades later
- Frog: still designs physical hardware (iot, automotive, medical devices) alongside software — a combined scope most of its peers have abandoned
Compare Doberman with other Product Design agencies
Doberman vs Phenomenon Studio Doberman vs IDEO Doberman vs Frog Doberman vs R/GA Doberman vs Accenture Song Doberman vs Work & Co Doberman vs Huge Inc Doberman vs EPAM Continuum Doberman vs MetaLab Doberman vs Cantina Doberman vs Fireart Studio Doberman vs Qubstudio Doberman vs Excited Doberman vs Gapsy Studio Doberman vs Goji Labs Doberman vs Eleken Doberman vs Fresh Tilled Soil Doberman vs UXDA Doberman vs Onething Design Doberman vs UX studio Doberman vs Halo Lab Doberman vs Spaceberry Studio Doberman vs ANML Doberman vs Momentum Design Lab Doberman vs The Gradient
Verify all details directly with Doberman before making a decision.