Bakken & Bæck
A five-city European studio with PhDs in computer science on the design team.
Founded 2011 | Oslo, Norway (also Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bonn, and London) | 70+ employees
product-designux-researchweb-developmentai-development
What is Bakken & Bæck?
Johan Bakken and Tobias Bæck founded Bakken & Bæck in 2011, and the studio now works from Oslo, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bonn, and London with a 70-person team that mixes multiple computer-science PhDs into its design and engineering practice. Recent work includes shaping conversational AI products with Sierra and building decentralized platforms with Coinbase, alongside clients like IKEA and Norwegian payments app Vipps. The studio positions itself around building digital products end to end — from early exploration through launch — rather than a single design phase.
Bakken & Bæck works primarily with clients in SaaS / B2B software, Financial services / fintech, Consumer products sectors. Its primary differentiator is: A five-city European studio that blends design with genuine computer-science research depth, evidenced by recent AI work for Sierra and Coinbase.
Bakken & Bæck tech stack and services
FigmaReactNext.jsPython
| Service area |
|---|
| Product Design |
| UX Research |
| Web Development |
| AI Development |
Bakken & Bæck pricing
Short answer: Bakken & Bæck uses a fixed project, dedicated team pricing approach. Minimum engagement starts at Not published.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From Not published | Well-defined scope |
| Dedicated team | Variable; depends on team size | Large programmes or team augmentation |
Bakken & Bæck does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Bakken & Bæck pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +70-person team spans five European cities, giving real multi-market coverage | -Minimum engagement size and pricing model aren't published, making early budgeting harder |
| +Combines design with computer-science research depth, unusual among boutique product studios | -European-only office footprint may mean less overlap with US business hours for some clients |
| +Recent, high-profile AI and crypto/fintech work (Sierra, Coinbase) demonstrates currency in fast-moving categories | -AI/crypto-forward recent portfolio may read as a narrower fit for clients outside technology-heavy categories |
| +Client list also includes established consumer brands like IKEA, broadening its portfolio beyond pure tech |
Bakken & Bæck vs alternatives
How Bakken & Bæck compares to the other top Product Design agencies.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenomenon Studio | Founders needing one accountable team, not a design/dev... | Runs a mandatory discovery phase before design work starts, then keeps the same senior team through development and post-launch support — a structural choice most competitors on this list don't make | 4.9 | Full comparison |
| IDEO | Enterprises, multi-year transformation programs, big budgets. | Originated the human-centered design methodology most of this list now practices, backed by roughly 24 studios and three decades of enterprise transformation work | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Frog | Enterprises needing digital plus physical product design. | Combines physical hardware design (IoT, automotive, medical devices) with software product design, a pairing most competitors on this list have dropped | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| R/GA | Large brands, product design bundled with marketing. | Pairs product design with marketing and brand strategy under one roof, now operating independently of a holding company 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's enterprise consulting arm — the largest global footprint of any agency on this list, with compliance coverage to match | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Work & Co | Premium brands, design paired with strong engineering. | An engineering-heavy studio with a client roster (Apple, IKEA, Nike, Disney) unusually strong for its size, now operating inside Accenture Song | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Huge Inc | Large enterprise brands, big recently-restructured agency. | One of the longest-running agency names on this list, now reset under new private-equity ownership and merged with Hero Digital | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| Fantasy | Consumer/tech brands, independent studio, growing AI practice. | Stayed independently owned for over two decades while most agencies its size sold to a holding company — with a client list (Nike, Disney, Spotify) to match the larger names on this list | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Instrument | Brands wanting design bundled with marketing, Stagwell-network. | Blends product design with brand and marketing services at Stagwell-network scale, backed by a client list spanning Nike, Google, and Airbnb | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| MetaLab | Well-funded SaaS/fintech, full-stack design through design systems. | A design portfolio (Slack, Uber, Coinbase, Midjourney) that outsizes its 160-person headcount, covering the full stack from research through design systems | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Clay | B2B SaaS, AI, fintech — big-tech credibility, low... | An unusually large enterprise client roster (Coinbase, Meta, Google, Slack) for a studio that doesn't publish its own founding year or team size | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| ustwo | Enterprise/consumer teams, two decades, genuine product craft. | One of the few studios on this list that ships both enterprise client work and its own award-winning consumer product, Monument Valley | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Ramotion | Startups/mid-market, brand identity plus product design. | Bundles brand identity work with UX/UI and app development for a client range spanning early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Netguru | Companies wanting design plus full development, one team. | Combines product design with full software delivery at a scale (600–900+ people, 1,000+ projects) most boutiques on this list can't match | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Fireart Studio | Startups/mid-market, design plus full development, one studio. | 700+ delivered projects across 200+ clients, with independently verified 'Leading UX Design Team' recognition on Clutch | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Qubstudio | Fintech, logistics, healthcare — MVP through enterprise redesign. | Ranked #1 UX/UI agency on Clutch's 2026 rankings across 90+ reviews, with Red Dot Design Award recognition on top | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Excited | SaaS/fintech teams, Clutch-ranked specialist, accessible pricing. | Repeatedly ranked Top 5 UX agency worldwide by Clutch, with roughly 70% of reviews citing quality and creativity by name | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Big Human | Startups/consumer brands, small senior studio, product builders. | A compact 35-person studio with its own consumer product hits (HQ Trivia, Vine) behind it, not just client work | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| UXDA | Banks and fintech, exclusively financial-services UX. | The only studio on this list built exclusively around financial-services UX, with 150+ banking and fintech platforms shaped across 39 countries | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Onething Design | Multi-vertical companies, one studio across five industries. | Covers five distinct industries — BFSI, consumer, enterprise, healthcare, automotive — from one team with both US and India delivery presence | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| UX studio | Complex B2B SaaS, research-first design partner. | A research-first methodology comparable in rigor to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach, applied specifically to complex B2B SaaS products | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Halo Lab | E-commerce/web-app teams, #1 Dribbble studio, award-heavy. | Currently ranked the #1 Dribbble Team globally, backed by 70+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating | 4.5 | Full comparison |
Bakken & Bæck FAQ
What is Bakken & Bæck?
A five-city European studio with PhDs in computer science on the design team.
How much does Bakken & Bæck charge?
Bakken & Bæck uses fixed project, dedicated team pricing. Minimum engagement starts at Not published. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Bakken & Bæck use?
Bakken & Bæck works with Figma, React, Next.js, Python. Primary industries served include SaaS / B2B software, Financial services / fintech, Consumer products.
Is Bakken & Bæck right for enterprise?
Tech companies (AI, decentralized systems), design plus research. 70+ team size. Key consideration: Minimum engagement size and pricing model aren't published, making early budgeting harder.
What are the best Bakken & Bæck alternatives?
The best alternatives to Bakken & Bæck depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Phenomenon Studio: runs a mandatory discovery phase before design work starts, then keeps the same senior team through development and post-launch support — a structural choice most competitors on this list don't make
- IDEO: originated the human-centered design methodology most of this list now practices, backed by roughly 24 studios and three decades of enterprise transformation work
- Frog: combines physical hardware design (iot, automotive, medical devices) with software product design, a pairing most competitors on this list have dropped
Compare Bakken & Bæck with other Product Design agencies
Bakken & Bæck vs Phenomenon Studio Bakken & Bæck vs IDEO Bakken & Bæck vs Frog Bakken & Bæck vs R/GA Bakken & Bæck vs Accenture Song Bakken & Bæck vs Work & Co Bakken & Bæck vs Huge Inc Bakken & Bæck vs Fantasy Bakken & Bæck vs Instrument Bakken & Bæck vs MetaLab Bakken & Bæck vs Clay Bakken & Bæck vs ustwo Bakken & Bæck vs Ramotion Bakken & Bæck vs Netguru Bakken & Bæck vs Fireart Studio Bakken & Bæck vs Qubstudio Bakken & Bæck vs Excited Bakken & Bæck vs Big Human Bakken & Bæck vs UXDA Bakken & Bæck vs Onething Design Bakken & Bæck vs UX studio Bakken & Bæck vs Halo Lab
Verify all details directly with Bakken & Bæck before making a decision.