Ueno

Ueno as a studio

Ueno calls itself a full-service digital agency with offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Iceland, founded in 2014 with 50 to 249 people. Design is 70 percent of the mix: UX/UI 40 percent and web design 30 percent, with content marketing and web development at 10 percent each. The three Clutch reviews on record average 4.8 and describe interaction design, information architecture and prototyping for a visual system tying product features together, a community platform redesign, and a multi-platform news app. Rates are $200 to $300 per hour; the minimum is undisclosed.

Who it fits

Consider Ueno when a software or media company wants a design-led agency that treats interfaces as visual systems and can carry marketing content alongside. Software and IT is half its industry work. With only three reviews and no listed minimum, treat the public record as thin and ask directly for current team, capacity and pricing before assuming its reputation.

Strengths

• Seventy percent design mix with UX/UI leading, unusual for an agency calling itself full-service
• Reviews describe systems-level interface work: interaction design, IA and prototyping across features
• Premium rate band of $200 to $300 per hour, consistent with senior design time

Watch-outs

• Three reviews and no headquarters or minimum on record; verify the current state of the studio
• Content marketing and development lines mean it can drift toward campaign work

Evidence

• Services: UX/UI design 40 percent, web design 30 percent, content marketing 10 percent, web development 10 percent; design share 70 percent
• Industries: software and IT 50 percent, advertising and marketing 30 percent, consumer 20 percent; 4.8 from 3 Clutch reviews
• A Clutch reviewer: "completed the interaction design, information architecture, and prototyping for a visual system that ties the features together"