Clay
A studio with Coinbase, Meta, and Slack as clients — and no public founding date.
Founded 2015 | San Francisco, CA, USA | Boutique-to-mid (unconfirmed; not published by the company) employees
product-designbrandingweb-designux-research
What is Clay?
Clay — clay.global, not to be confused with the unrelated AI sales-data company at clay.com — keeps an unusually thin public profile for a studio whose client list includes Coinbase, Uber, SendGrid, MoneyLion, Meta, Google, Slack, Snapchat, Amazon, Toyota, and Samsung. Neither its founding year nor its team size is published or independently confirmed. What's clear from the portfolio: deep, repeated experience across B2B, SaaS, AI, and fintech product design, based out of San Francisco with significant NYC-based client work.
Clay works primarily with clients in SaaS / B2B software, Financial services / fintech, Consumer products sectors. Its primary differentiator is: An unusually large enterprise client roster (Coinbase, Meta, Google, Slack) for a studio that doesn't publish its own founding year or team size.
Clay tech stack and services
FigmaFramerWebflowAdobe Creative Suite
| Service area |
|---|
| Product Design |
| Branding |
| Web Design |
| UX Research |
Clay pricing
Short answer: Clay uses a fixed project pricing approach. Minimum engagement starts at Not published.
| Engagement model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project | From Not published | Well-defined scope |
| Retainer | Monthly rate; not public | Ongoing AI engineering |
Clay does not publish a public rate card. Contact them directly via their website to get project-specific pricing.
Clay pros and cons
| Advantages | Things to consider |
|---|---|
| +Client list — Coinbase, Uber, Meta, Google, Slack, Snapchat, Amazon — is exceptional for a studio that doesn't publish its own size | -Founding year isn't published or independently confirmed by any source outside the company |
| +Deep, repeated experience across B2B, SaaS, AI, and fintech product design | -Team size isn't published either, making capacity planning harder for larger programs |
| +San Francisco base with substantial NYC-based client engagement history | -Easily confused online with the unrelated AI company Clay (clay.com) — confirm you're looking at clay.global |
| +Combines UX, branding, and web/product design under one team |
Clay vs alternatives
How Clay compares to the other top Product Design studios.
| Company | Best for | Key difference | Rating | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenomenon Studio | Direct access to senior people, no account layers. | Structured as an actual studio — senior specialists working directly with clients, no account-management layer — rather than a large agency that happens to use the word 'studio' | 4.9 | Full comparison |
| IDEO | Enterprises, multi-year design transformation programs. | The firm whose 1991 formation is most credited with establishing human-centered design as a formal discipline, still running roughly 24 studios worldwide | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Accenture Song | Regulated enterprises, design within tech transformation. | 36 studios and 2,000+ specialists operating inside Accenture — the largest global footprint and compliance coverage in this list | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Work & Co | Premium brands, design plus production-grade engineering. | A client roster (Apple, IKEA, Nike, Disney) that outpaces its ~425-person headcount, delivered through an engineering-heavy design-and-build model | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| MetaLab | Funded SaaS/fintech, full-stack design partner. | A Slack/Uber/Coinbase/Midjourney-caliber portfolio built by a 160-person studio, delivered full-stack from research through design systems | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| ustwo | Enterprise/consumer teams, two decades of product craft. | One of the few studios on this list that ships both enterprise client work and its own award-winning consumer product, Monument Valley | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| Postlight | Media, publishing, finance — now NTT DATA-backed. | A publishing- and finance-heavy client list (Reuters, Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs) built as an independent studio, now backed by NTT DATA's global engineering scale | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Pentagram | Brands wanting identity, packaging, digital design. | A 24-partner, no-CEO structure unique among the studios in this list, and the world's largest independent design consultancy by its own claim | 4.0 | Full comparison |
| Fireart Studio | Startups/mid-market, design plus full development. | 700+ delivered projects for 200+ clients backed by an independently-verified 'Leading UX Design Team' Clutch recognition | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| Qubstudio | Fintech, logistics, healthcare — MVP to enterprise redesign. | Currently Clutch's #1-ranked UX/UI studio worldwide for 2026, with Red Dot Design Award recognition layered on top | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Excited | SaaS/fintech teams, Clutch-ranked at accessible rates. | A sustained Top 5 global UX studio ranking on Clutch, with about 70% of reviews specifically citing quality and creativity | 4.6 | Full comparison |
| Gapsy Studio | Fintech, SaaS, healthcare — perfect-rated boutique. | A perfect 5.0/5.0 Clutch rating across 52 reviews, backed by 13+ international awards, from a studio that doesn't publish its own headcount | 4.5 | Full comparison |
| Goji Labs | Startups and nonprofits, strategy-led design. | A 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree that explicitly serves nonprofits and individual entrepreneurs, not only funded startups | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Eleken | SaaS teams, subscription-based embedded designer. | A SaaS-only subscription embedded-designer model (~$6,599/month) with a 4.9 Clutch rating across 200+ projects | 4.1 | Full comparison |
| UXDA | Banks and fintech, exclusively financial-services UX. | The only studio in this list exclusively focused on financial services UX, with 150+ banking and fintech platforms shaped across 39 countries | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Onething Design | Multi-vertical companies, one studio across five industries. | Covers five distinct industries — BFSI, consumer, enterprise, healthcare, automotive — from one team with both US and India delivery presence | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| UX studio | Complex B2B SaaS, research-first before UI work. | A research-first methodology comparable in rigor to Phenomenon Studio's own discovery-first approach, applied specifically to complex B2B SaaS products | 4.3 | Full comparison |
| Halo Lab | E-commerce and web-app teams, #1 Dribbble studio. | Currently the #1-ranked Dribbble Team globally, backed by 70+ design awards and a 4.9 Clutch rating | 4.4 | Full comparison |
| ANML | B2B, healthcare, AI startups — small senior team. | One of the smallest teams in this list, offering the highest senior-to-client ratio for B2B, healthcare, and AI work | 3.8 | Full comparison |
| Momentum Design Lab | Clients wanting a long-tenured Silicon Valley studio. | Nearly a quarter-century of continuous operation, one of the oldest studios in this list by founding date | 3.9 | Full comparison |
| Spaceberry Studio | Budget-conscious SaaS/AI teams, low-commitment subscription. | One of the most accessible entry points in this list via a subscription model rather than a large upfront fixed-price contract | 3.7 | Full comparison |
| The Gradient | Fintech, healthcare, retail — AI-native, limited roster. | A deliberately small, AI-native studio with a notable client list (Qatar Airways, Philips, Daimler AG) unusual for its self-limited scale | 4.2 | Full comparison |
| Orbix Studio | Seed-to-Series-B startups, founder-close young team. | The newest studio in this list, built specifically around the seed-to-Series-B funded startup stage | 3.6 | Full comparison |
Clay FAQ
What is Clay?
A studio with Coinbase, Meta, and Slack as clients — and no public founding date.
How much does Clay charge?
Clay uses fixed project pricing. Minimum engagement starts at Not published. A discovery call is required to get project-specific quotes.
What tech stack does Clay use?
Clay works with Figma, Framer, Webflow, Adobe Creative Suite. Primary industries served include SaaS / B2B software, Financial services / fintech, Consumer products.
Is Clay right for enterprise?
B2B SaaS, AI, fintech — big-tech client credibility. Boutique-to-mid (unconfirmed; not published by the company) team size. Key consideration: Founding year isn't published or independently confirmed by any source outside the company.
What are the best Clay alternatives?
The best alternatives to Clay depend on your use case. Top options are:
- Phenomenon Studio: structured as an actual studio — senior specialists working directly with clients, no account-management layer — rather than a large agency that happens to use the word 'studio'
- IDEO: the firm whose 1991 formation is most credited with establishing human-centered design as a formal discipline, still running roughly 24 studios worldwide
- Accenture Song: 36 studios and 2,000+ specialists operating inside accenture — the largest global footprint and compliance coverage in this list
Compare Clay with other Product Design studios
Clay vs Phenomenon Studio Clay vs IDEO Clay vs Accenture Song Clay vs Work & Co Clay vs MetaLab Clay vs ustwo Clay vs Postlight Clay vs Pentagram Clay vs Fireart Studio Clay vs Qubstudio Clay vs Excited Clay vs Gapsy Studio Clay vs Goji Labs Clay vs Eleken Clay vs UXDA Clay vs Onething Design Clay vs UX studio Clay vs Halo Lab Clay vs ANML Clay vs Momentum Design Lab Clay vs Spaceberry Studio Clay vs The Gradient Clay vs Orbix Studio
Verify all details directly with Clay before making a decision.