About
SOUFFL is a global design and creation studio. Our name refers to the french word → “Souffle”, meaning → “breath”. It captures both the inspiration behind new ideas and the steady breath required to sustain innovation over time. That balance between vision and endurance defines our approach. Inspired by Bauhaus design principles and research driven institutions such as the MIT Media Lab, we work across strategy, design, and execution, where use, interaction and experience are key to value creation.
SOUFFL is a global design and creation studio. Our name refers to the french word → “Souffle”, meaning → “breath”. It captures both the inspiration behind new ideas and the steady breath required to sustain innovation over time. That balance between vision and endurance defines our approach. Inspired by Bauhaus design principles and research driven institutions such as the MIT Media Lab, we work across strategy, design, and execution, where use, interaction and experience are key to value creation.
Our reference figures
Cinema, narration, video games :
Hayao Miyazaki, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, Will Wright, John Carmack …
Graphic design :
Armin Hofmann, Emil Ruder, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Neville Brody,
Alan Fletcher, Michael Bierut, Abbott Miller, Paula Scher, DJ Stout …
Industrial and product design :
Dieter Rams, Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukasawa, Roger Tallon, Charles & Ray Eames …
Architecture :
Cedric Price, Yona Friedman, Lina Bo Bardi, Le Corbusier, Bjarke Ingels …
Interaction design :
Bill Moggridge, Muriel Cooper, John Maeda, Don Norman …
Computational design :
Neri Oxman, Hugh Herr, Casey Reas …
Economy, business design :
Alexander Osterwalder, Clayton Christensen, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, Steve Blank …
Prospective :
Stewart Brand, Nicolas Nova …
Photography :
Alexander Rodchenko, Raymon Depardon, Richard Avedon, Bernd Becher & Hilla Becher, Walker Evans, Daido Moriyama …
Our reference figures
Cinema, narration, video games :
Hayao Miyazaki, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, Will Wright, John Carmack …
Graphic design :
Armin Hofmann, Emil Ruder, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Neville Brody,
Alan Fletcher, Michael Bierut, Abbott Miller, Paula Scher, DJ Stout …
Industrial and product design :
Dieter Rams, Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukasawa, Roger Tallon, Charles & Ray Eames …
Architecture :
Cedric Price, Yona Friedman, Lina Bo Bardi, Le Corbusier, Bjarke Ingels …
Interaction design :
Bill Moggridge, Muriel Cooper, John Maeda, Don Norman …
Computational design :
Neri Oxman, Hugh Herr, Casey Reas …
Economy, business design :
Alexander Osterwalder, Clayton Christensen, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, Steve Blank …
Prospective :
Stewart Brand, Nicolas Nova …
Photography :
Alexander Rodchenko, Raymon Depardon, Richard Avedon, Bernd Becher & Hilla Becher, Walker Evans, Daido Moriyama …
We support bold organizations navigating strategic transitions, from digital transformation and the reinvention of their offerings to innovation and anticipation of what comes next.
Rooted in video game production, interaction design, and graphic design, creation is central to our practice. Insight to form, form to impact, we design products, services, and experiences that define how people will play, work, shop, and feel tomorrow.
Our convictions structure everything we do.
Care is genuine.
Empathy, honesty, humility and attention to detail are not soft values. They are our working principles guiding both our relationships and our projects.
Small is a choice.
We stay intentionally human sized. A senior, agile, multi-disciplinaries core team, deeply involved in every project.
Efficiency is structural.
By working within a horizontal, non hierarchical structure, our tight and remote team moves fast and efficiently, from early strategy to delivery.
Work is transdisciplinary.
We collaborate with trusted experts when needed, bringing in the right skills at the right moment to complement our core team.
We support bold organizations navigating strategic transitions, from digital transformation and the reinvention of their offerings to innovation and anticipation of what comes next.
Rooted in video game production, interaction design, and graphic design, creation is central to our practice. Insight to form, form to impact, we design products, services, and experiences that define how people will play, work, shop, and feel tomorrow.
Our convictions structure everything we do.
Care is genuine.
Empathy, honesty, humility and attention to detail are not soft values. They are our working principles guiding both our relationships and our projects.
Small is a choice.
We stay intentionally human sized. A senior, agile, multi-disciplinaries core team, deeply involved in every project.
Efficiency is structural.
By working within a horizontal, non hierarchical structure, our tight and remote team moves fast and efficiently, from early strategy to delivery.
Work is transdisciplinary.
We collaborate with trusted experts when needed, bringing in the right skills at the right moment to complement our core team.
FAQ
FAQ
“I’m familiar with product or object design, but how is global design different ?”
“I’m familiar with product or object design, but how is global design different ?”
Answer → Nicolas
“Product design begins with an artefact, global design begins with a system. Product or object design focuses primarily on a specific artefact : its form, use, ergonomics, manufacturing, and sometimes its environmental impact. The scope is intentionally defined, with a clearly identified beginning and end.
Global design operates at a different scale and of a different nature.
It does not start from an object, but from a system.
It looks at all the elements that create meaning and value within an continuous experience: real uses, user journeys, services, interfaces, physical spaces, technologies, data, narrative, internal organisation and business constraints.
In practice, global design:
→ works before form, by clarifying strategic, cultural and human challenges,
→ connects strategy, experience and execution, rather than treating them separately,
→ designs coherent ecosystems, not isolated objects or screens,
→ integrates the long term: adoption, evolution, maintenance, and appropriation by teams and users.
Where product design answers the question “how do we design this object well ?”, global design first asks “what truly needs to be designed, why, for whom, and how everything fits together ?”.
It is therefore not a level “above” product design, but a transversal and systemic approach, enabling product, digital or service design to express itself in a fair, coherent and sustainable way.”
Answer → Nicolas
“Product design begins with an artefact, global design begins with a system. Product or object design focuses primarily on a specific artefact : its form, use, ergonomics, manufacturing, and sometimes its environmental impact. The scope is intentionally defined, with a clearly identified beginning and end.
Global design operates at
a different scale and of
a different nature.
It does not start from an object, but from a system.
It looks at all the elements that create meaning and value within an continuous experience: real uses, user journeys, services, interfaces, physical spaces, technologies, data, narrative, internal organisation and business constraints.
In practice, global design:
→ works before form, by clarifying strategic, cultural and human challenges,
→ connects strategy, experience and execution, rather than treating them separately,
→ designs coherent ecosystems, not isolated objects or screens,
→ integrates the long term: adoption, evolution, maintenance, and appropriation by teams and users.
Where product design answers the question “how do we design this object well ?”, global design first asks “what truly needs to be designed, why, for whom, and how everything fits together ?”.
It is therefore not a level “above” product design, but a transversal and systemic approach, enabling product, digital or service design to express itself in a fair, coherent and sustainable way.”
"How can global design help me address complex business challenges, such as digital or customer experience reinvention ?"
"How can global design help me address complex business challenges, such as digital or customer experience reinvention ?"
→ Arnaud
"Global design addresses complex business challenges through a user-centered, systemic and stakeholder-aligned approach. It helps organisations clarify a shared vision, translate it into concrete scenarios, and align leaders, teams and partners, especially when multiple perspectives, constraints and interactions must be managed
at once.
In customer experience reinvention, it connects user insights with strategy, technology, brand and operations, making the system legible: who impacts what, where friction sits, what trade-offs exist, and which levers create the most value. This breaks down silos and enables coherent ecosystems -journeys, services, tools, governance and operating models - that create long-term value.
The result is not only better experiences, but better decisions,
because complexity becomes visible, shared and actionable.
Through cartographies (i), visual synthesis and information design, global design produces artefacts that provide a synthetic, precise view of the situation, support collective alignment, and accelerate decision-making.
This approach is particularly relevant for high-complexity contexts such as value-chain (“filière”) challenges, large-scale digital ecosystems, coalition projects, brands functioning as “worlds”, and societal or public innovation projects.
(i) Typical deliverables include: an ecosystem & stakeholder map (roles, influence, dependencies), an experience map (actors, objects, interactions, contexts, codes), an end-to-end journey map (moments that matter, pain points, opportunities), a service blueprint/operating model map (frontstage–backstage, processes, tools, handovers, KPIs), and an interactive decision dashboard (scenarios, options, impacts, roadmap choices)."
Answer → Arnaud
"Global design addresses complex business challenges through a user-centered, systemic and stakeholder-aligned approach. It helps organisations clarify a shared vision, translate it into concrete scenarios,
and align leaders, teams and partners, especially when multiple perspectives, constraints and interactions must be managed
at once.
In customer experience reinvention, it connects
user insights with strategy, technology, brand and operations, making the system legible: who impacts what, where friction sits, what trade-offs exist, and which levers create the most value. This breaks down silos and enables coherent ecosystems -journeys, services, tools, governance and operating models - that create long-term value.
The result is not only better experiences, but better decisions, because complexity becomes visible, shared and actionable.
Through cartographies (i), visual synthesis and information design, global design produces artefacts that provide a synthetic, precise view of the situation, support collective alignment, and accelerate decision-making.
This approach is particularly relevant for high-complexity contexts such as value-chain (“filière”) challenges, large-scale digital ecosystems, coalition projects, brands functioning as “worlds”, and societal or public innovation projects.
(i) Typical deliverables include: an ecosystem & stakeholder map (roles, influence, dependencies),
an experience map (actors, objects, interactions, contexts, codes), an end-to-end journey map (moments that matter, pain points, opportunities), a service blueprint/operating model map (frontstage–backstage, processes, tools, handovers, KPIs), and an interactive decision dashboard (scenarios, options, impacts, roadmap choices)."
“How do we know if it’s the right moment
to work with you ?”
“How do we know if it’s the right moment
to work with you ?”
→ Arnaud
"It’s the right moment to work with an innovation studio when your priority is to create value - growth - either by inventing what doesn’t exist yet, or by reinventing what already does.
When you need to build something new: a new business model, offer, product or service, starting from a blank page or a broad ambition.
When what exists needs a second wind: product, service, brand or end-to-end experience no longer delivers enough differentiation, adoption, or efficiency.
When complexity is slowing you down: multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, unclear ownership, or decisions stuck between strategy, tech, operations and brand.
When users move faster than you do: expectations shift, standards rise, and incremental iterations no longer keep up.
When things feel uncomfortable (in a useful way): you sense change is needed, but the “what” and the “where to start” are still unclear.
The best moment is usually “as early as possible”.
Our impact is highest when we work at the root of the project and the root of the problem: framing the right question, de-risking key assumptions, aligning stakeholders, and setting a direction before constraints harden.
Whether you come to us with a blank page or a very detailed brief, we adapt:
→ Blank page: we run a fast exploration-to-creation process to generate clear opportunity areas, concepts, and a credible path forward in a short timeframe.
→ Detailed brief: we can challenge and strengthen the scope, testing relevance with users, identifying blind spots, and refining the specification so execution creates real value.
If everything is stable and incremental optimisation is enough, we may not be the best fit. We’re most useful at moments of transition, when strategic clarity and tangible delivery need to move together."
Answer → Arnaud
It’s the right moment to work with an innovation studio when your priority
is to create value - growth - either by inventing what doesn’t exist yet, or by reinventing what already does.
When you need to build something new: a new business model, offer, product or service, starting from a blank page or a broad ambition.
When what exists needs
a second wind: product, service, brand or end-to-end experience no longer delivers enough differentiation, adoption,
or efficiency.
When complexity is slowing you down: multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, unclear ownership, or decisions stuck between strategy, tech, operations and brand.
When users move faster than you do: expectations shift, standards rise, and incremental iterations no longer keep up.
When things feel uncomfortable (in a useful way): you sense change is needed, but the “what” and the “where to start” are still unclear.
The best moment is usually “as early as possible”.
Our impact is highest when we work at the root of the project and the root of the problem: framing the right question, de-risking key assumptions, aligning stakeholders, and setting a direction before constraints harden.
Whether you come to us with a blank page or a very detailed brief, we adapt:
→ Blank page: we run a fast exploration-to-creation process to generate clear opportunity areas, concepts, and a credible path forward in a short timeframe.
→ Detailed brief: we can challenge and strengthen the scope, testing relevance with users, identifying blind spots, and refining the specification so execution creates real value.
If everything is stable and incremental optimisation is enough, we may not be the best fit. We’re most useful at moments of transition, when strategic clarity and tangible delivery need to move together.
“How would we work together ?”
“How would we work together ?”
→ Marc-Alexandre
We work as a close partner, not as a supplier on the side.
From the start, you collaborate directly with a small, senior, multidisciplinary team, deeply involved in every stage of the project.
Our process is iterative and hands-on. We move in short cycles: exploring ideas, making them tangible quickly, testing them with users or stakeholders, learning, adjusting, and moving forward. This keeps decisions grounded in reality, reduces risk, and ensures progress is visible at every step.
We work according to different models, depending on the project’s scope and maturity, each model can be adapted to ensure flexibility, budget control, and sustainable value creation:
→ fixed-fee projects: a set price for a defined scope and deliverables.
→ framework agreement: a long-term contract establishing terms, rates, and collaboration processes, allowing multiple projects to be executed efficiently under a single agreement.
→ phase-by-phase with go/no-go: the project progresses in validated, separately funded stages.
Answer → Marc-Alexandre
We work as a close partner, not as a supplier on the side.
From the start, you collaborate directly with
a small, senior, multidisciplinary team, deeply involved in every stage of the project.
Our process is iterative and hands-on. We move in short cycles: exploring ideas, making them tangible quickly, testing them with users or stakeholders, learning, adjusting, and moving forward. This keeps decisions grounded in reality, reduces risk, and ensures progress is visible at every step.
We work according to different models, depending on the project’s scope and maturity, each model can be adapted to ensure flexibility, budget control, and sustainable value creation:
→ Fixed-fee projects: a set price for a defined scope and deliverables.
→ Framework agreement:
a long-term contract establishing terms, rates, and collaboration processes, allowing multiple projects to be executed efficiently under a single agreement.
→ Phase-by-phase with go/no-go: the project progresses in validated, separately funded stages.
“How do you turn user research into concrete products and experiences ?”
“How do you turn user research into concrete products and experiences ?”
→ Aude & Sara
“User research is not just a phase in a project; it is a core capability and a practical guide that shapes what we design, how it works, and why it exists.
It is a discipline grounded in methods and tools, but also in a posture: curiosity, empathy, analytical rigor, and the ability to listen without bias. Good user research requires sensitivity to people, contexts and signals, as well as the discipline to structure, question and interpret what is observed.
We do not apply a fixed methodology. We draw from a broad research toolbox and assemble the right approach depending on the project’s maturity, complexity and stakes. Beyond interviews and observations, our work may include sociological and ethnographic inquiry, cultural analysis, field immersions, participatory workshops, prototype testing, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, or co-creation sessions.
Crucially, we don’t look only at individuals, but at the system they operate in: actors and roles, objects and tools, codes and norms, rules and constraints, interactions, situations and contexts. This systemic reading allows us to understand not just what people say or do, but why behaviours persist and where change is possible.
Research findings are then processed and structured: from raw signals to patterns, from patterns to clues, from clues to actionable insights. These insights inform hypotheses that we test, validate or invalidate through iterative experimentation. The outcome is a set of clear design principles and priorities - what should be simplified, reinforced or rethought - which we translate into flows, interfaces, services or products, and continuously refine until they work in real-life conditions.”
Answer → Aude & Sara
“User research is not just
a phase in a project; it is a core capability and a practical guide that shapes what we design, how it works, and why it exists.
It is a discipline grounded
in methods and tools, but also in a posture: curiosity, empathy, analytical rigor, and the ability to listen without bias. Good user research requires sensitivity to people, contexts and signals, as well as the discipline to structure, question and interpret what is observed.
We do not apply a fixed methodology. We draw from a broad research toolbox and assemble the right approach depending on
the project’s maturity, complexity and stakes. Beyond interviews and observations, our work may include sociological and ethnographic inquiry, cultural analysis, field immersions, participatory workshops, prototype testing, quantitative and qualitative data analysis,
or co-creation sessions.
Crucially, we don’t look only at individuals, but at the system they operate in: actors and roles, objects and tools, codes and norms, rules and constraints, interactions, situations
and contexts. This systemic reading allows us to understand not just what people say or do, but why behaviours persist and where change is possible.
Research findings are then processed and structured: from raw signals to patterns, from patterns to clues, from clues to actionable insights.
These insights inform hypotheses that we test, validate or invalidate through iterative experimentation.
The outcome is a set of clear design principles and priorities - what should be simplified, reinforced or rethought - which we translate into flows, interfaces, services or products, and continuously refine until they work in real-life conditions.”
"How do you ensure your work engages users, delivers memorable experiences and goes beyond their expectations ?"
"How do you ensure your work engages users, delivers memorable experiences and goes beyond their expectations ?"
→ Nicolas
"As John Mæda would say, engagement emerges when complexity is mastered, not removed.
Compelling work begins with the ability to make what is fundamentally complex feel simple, without reducing its meaning. This requires a deep understanding of technology, use cases, and cultural context, so that the experience becomes self-evident to the user.
Memorable experiences arise when function, form, and emotion are aligned. The role of design is not to add, but to remove what is unnecessary, allowing what truly matters to surface. When technology recedes behind the experience, users can focus on what they do and how they feel.
Going beyond expectations is not about impressing through sophistication, but about creating human, clear, and elegant experiences, where every detail has a reason to exist. Design then becomes an act of mediation between people and the complexity of the digital world, and more broadly, of the real world."
Answer → Nicolas
"As John Mæda would say, engagement emerges when complexity is mastered, not removed.
Compelling work begins with the ability to make what is fundamentally complex feel simple,
without reducing its meaning. This requires a deep understanding of technology, use cases, and cultural context, so that the experience becomes self-evident to the user.
Memorable experiences arise when function, form, and emotion are aligned. The role of design is not to add, but to remove what is unnecessary, allowing what truly matters to surface. When technology recedes behind the experience, users can focus on what they do and how they feel.
Going beyond expectations is not about impressing through sophistication, but about creating human, clear, and elegant experiences, where every detail has a reason to exist. Design then becomes an act of mediation between people and the complexity of the digital world, and more broadly, of the real world."
"What services do you offer ?"
"What services do you offer ?"
→ Arnaud
"Our work spans strategy, design, and execution across five main areas:
→ Customer and brand experience
→ Interactive products and experiences
→ Entertainment
→ Future and innovation
→ Design for leadership"
→ Arnaud
"Our work spans strategy, design, and execution across five main areas:
→ Customer and brand experience
→ Interactive products and experiences
→ Entertainment
→ Future and innovation
→ Design for leadership"
"What does a successful project mean to
you ?"
"What does a successful project mean to you ?"
→ Nicolas & Marc-Alexandre
"A successful project is both rigorously clear and culturally meaningful.
It masters complexity rather than denying it, turning it into something intelligible, usable, and human. Success begins with clarity: deeply understanding systems, use cases, constraints, and contexts so that the solution feels simple, evident, and durable in real-world conditions.
A successful project works first and foremost in use. It is intuitive, robust, and quietly efficient. It disappears into everyday experience, asking nothing of the user beyond focusing on what truly matters. Form is never decorative; it is the direct expression of function, structure, and intent.
But success is not limited to neutrality. A project must also take a position. Beyond clarity and utility, it should carry meaning, express a point of view, and resonate with its time. Design is not only a way to organize information or optimize systems; it is a language capable of questioning norms, creating tension, and engaging emotionally.
Ultimately, a project is successful when clarity and conviction coexist:
when it is rational without being cold, expressive without being gratuitous, and when its intent is legible, its use is effortless, and its voice is unmistakably its own.
A project is not only defined by what it delivers, it is also defined by how it is made. Rigour and quality go hand in hand with a smooth, fluid collaboration between clients and teams. Clear communication, attentiveness, and mutual understanding create trust and alignment throughout the process, allowing complexity to be handled collectively. When collaboration is human, engaged, and genuinely enjoyable (with always a touch of humour) the work gains precision, depth, and resilience."
→ Nicolas & Marc-Alexandre
"A successful project is both rigorously clear and culturally meaningful.
It masters complexity rather than denying it, turning it into something intelligible, usable, and human. Success begins with clarity: deeply understanding systems, use cases, constraints, and contexts so that the solution feels simple, evident, and durable in real-world conditions.
A successful project works first and foremost in use. It is intuitive, robust, and quietly efficient. It disappears into everyday experience, asking nothing of the user beyond focusing on what truly matters. Form is never decorative; it is the direct expression of function, structure, and intent.
But success is not limited to neutrality. A project must also take a position. Beyond clarity and utility, it should carry meaning, express a point of view, and resonate with its time. Design is not only a way to organize information or optimize systems; it is a language capable of questioning norms, creating tension, and engaging emotionally.
Ultimately, a project is successful when clarity and conviction coexist:
when it is rational without being cold, expressive without being gratuitous, and when its intent is legible, its use is effortless, and its voice is unmistakably its own.
A project is not only defined by what it delivers, it is also defined by how it is made. Rigour and quality go hand in hand with a smooth, fluid collaboration between clients and teams. Clear communication, attentiveness, and mutual understanding create trust and alignment throughout the process, allowing complexity to be handled collectively. When collaboration is human, engaged, and genuinely enjoyable (with always a touch of humour) the work gains precision, depth, and resilience."
"What types of projects are you able to support us with ?"
"What types of projects are you able to support us with ?"
→ Team SOUFFL
"If your challenge sits at the intersection of humans, technology, and meaning, we can probably help. Let’s get in touch !"
→ Team SOUFFL
"If your challenge sits at the intersection of humans, technology, and meaning, we can probably help. Let’s get in touch !"
New business inquiries
New business inquiries
If you have ideas for your brand, your business, or the world at large, we’re here to listen and collaborate. We can design a more human future together.
If you have ideas
for your brand,
your business,
or the world at large, we’re here to listen and collaborate.
We can design
a more human
future together.
SOUFFL is a global design and creation studio.
SOUFFL is a global design
and creation studio.
We collaborate with the boldest organizations to shape today
the vision of tomorrow.
We create products, services,
and experiences that define
the future and transform
people’s lives.
We collaborate with the boldest organizations to shape today
the vision of tomorrow.
We create products, services,
and experiences that define
the future and transform
people’s lives.
