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
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2012
Founded in a Clerkenwell attic by Amara Okoye and Jonas Weller, with one client and two laptops.
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2016
Opened our Lisbon studio. First product design project, for a then-tiny fintech called Halden.
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2020
Crossed the Atlantic with a New York studio, and went fully hybrid across all three cities.
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2024
Certified B Corp. Introduced a four-day week in August and a paid month of sabbatical every five years.
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2026
42 people, 120+ launches and still independent. Still answering our own phones.
Culture
How we behave when nobody’s watching.
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Say the brave thing
Our best work starts with an honest opinion, shared early and kindly.
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Show, don’t tell
Prototypes beat presentations. We make things to find out, not to impress.
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Small teams, big trust
Every project gets a senior team of 4–8 who stay from kick-off to launch.
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Leave it better
For our clients, their teams and the places we work. We’re a certified B Corp.
Leadership
The people you’ll work with.
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Amara Okoye
Founder & Creative Director
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Jonas Weller
Managing Partner
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Inês Duarte
Design Director, Lisbon
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Hannah Brooks
Strategy Director
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Marcus Bell
Technology Director
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Yuki Tanaka
Head of Product Design
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Dele Adeyemi
Creative Developer
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Freya Lund
Head of Production
42 people. 19 nationalities. One four-day week every August.
We hire for curiosity and kindness, then give people the time to do their best work.