Private company

Frogdesign

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Creative and design consultancy

frog (styled as "frog, part of Capgemini Invent") is a global creative and design consultancy founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger in Mutlangen, Germany, where it was initially named "esslinger design". Soon after, the company moved to Altensteig, Germany, then opened a new studio in Palo Alto, California, and ultimately moved to its current headquarters in San Francisco, California. The company has studios in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1969Founded1
  • Industrybusiness and other management consultancy activities, experience design, industrial design, interaction design, service design1
  • HeadquartersSan Francisco1
  • Websitewww.frog.co

frog (styled as "frog, part of Capgemini Invent") is a global creative and design consultancy founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger in Mutlangen, Germany, where it was initially named "esslinger design". Soon after, the company moved to Altensteig, Germany, then opened a new studio in Palo Alto, California, and ultimately moved to its current headquarters in San Francisco, California. The company has studios in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia.2

The story

Founded by Hartmut Esslinger in 1969.1

The firm's first designs, in 1969, were for WEGA, a German radio and television manufacturer that was later acquired by Sony. frog continued to work for Sony and designed the Trinitron television receiver in 1975, and several editions of the Walkman. Their first designs for computer manufacturers were for proprietary systems by CTM (Computertechnik Müller) in 1970 and Diehl Data Systems in 1979. More prominent are the designs for Apple Computer, starting with the case of the portable Apple IIc, introducing the Snow White design language used by Apple during 1984–1990, and continuing with several Macintosh models. The firm designed the NeXT Computer in 1987 and Sun's SPARCstations in 1989. Frog also worked with Microsoft and designed logos and identities for Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6 and Windows Media Player 8 in 2000, not all of which were used in production. More recently, the firm is known for its work with General Electric (2010–2015) and on Disney's Magicbands and MyMagic+ (launched 2015).

In August 2004, the company announced that Flextronics International, a large electronics manufacturing services provider, was taking an equity stake in the company for approximately $25 million; in 2006, frog was part of a deal through which private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) acquired nine of Flextronic's assets. frog was later acquired by engineering firm Aricent, which itself was acquired by Altran, which in 2019 was in turn acquired by the consulting firm Capgemini. Today, frog is organized under the "Capgemini Invent" umbrella, integrating staff from Fahrenheit 212, Idean, and June21 into the frog brand.

frog has had studios across Europe, North America, and Asia for much of its history, and as of 2024, has studios across the globe, including having a presence in Milan, Munich, San Francisco, New York, London, Bangalore, and Singapore.

From Wikipedia’s article on Frog Design, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Frogdesign, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1969Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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