About the studio

Independent since day one.

We started Northbound because we wanted a studio where the people who sell the work also make it. Fourteen years later, that’s still how we run.

Our story

2012
Founded in a Clerkenwell attic by Amara Okoye and Jonas Weller, with one client and two laptops.
2016
Opened our Lisbon studio. First product design project, for a then-tiny fintech called Halden.
2020
Crossed the Atlantic with a New York studio, and went fully hybrid across all three cities.
2024
Certified B Corp. Introduced a four-day week in August and a paid month of sabbatical every five years.
2026
42 people, 120+ launches and still independent. Still answering our own phones.

Culture

Say the brave thing
Our best work starts with an honest opinion, shared early and kindly.
Show, don’t tell
Prototypes beat presentations. We make things to find out, not to impress.
Small teams, big trust
Every project gets a senior team of 4–8 who stay from kick-off to launch.
Leave it better
For our clients, their teams and the places we work. We’re a certified B Corp.