We  
designed a better way
to work.  

Meet the founders

Our cofounders built UME on a core belief: how we work impacts what we make. In 2017, they designed the UME collective to give creatives the structure and freedom to do their best work and thrive — and to give clients the candid counsel and breakthrough brands they need to transform their organizations and realize their mission. They guide every partnership and project.

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Aztec o1Labs Mina Stanford Impact Labs Amazon CNN

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Aztec Sia BlueDot Impact Blue Current SoFi NIKE

Meet the collective

UME brings together thought-provoking talent and leading experts from around the world — hand-selected for every project.

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Aztec HBO Future Farm

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Gladly Crusoe Blue Current Grail Bio ServiceNow

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Aztec Sia Sia Foundation

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Galaxy Resilience Google Clear Inflection

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Stanford Impact Labs Newlab Emerson Collective Airbnb Netflix

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Mina Institute of Integrated Nutrition ORGCAS

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Aztec Uptake WeTransfer Live Nation

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Aztec Toyota DuPont Spectrum Brands Saatchi & Saatchi

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MIT Media Lab IDEO Harvard School of Engineering Nasdaq

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SYPartners Loosecubes Ashoka Global Fund for Women

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VF Corporation Nike Marriott

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Mina Sia Aztec

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CES SoFi Microsoft Endeavor Health

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Aztec Sia Project STEM Fila HMH

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Pagaya Google Uber Social Impact ACLU The Nature Conservancy

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Mina Foundation Lens Protocol XPrize Ideo CoLab Ventures

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Mina XQ Institute Collectively Selfmade

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Google Microsoft Carlyle Clair Piermont Bank

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Mina Sona Google Airbnb Venmo

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Imbue Pavo Superluminal Ventures Giftr

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NationSwell Mother New Pluralists Springbank Collective The Care Gap

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Nothing Aztec Mira Boost Avara

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Mina The New York Times Primary Ventures Uptake

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Red Hat SYPartners The Love Consortium

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Aztec Sharp Type Type Together Universal Thirst

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ABLE Ecosystems Payoneer Mina BCG X

A committed collective, united
by our shared values.

More respectful, adaptable and inspiring, UME’s committed collective model attracts thought-provoking talent and leading experts from around the world. We build independently and collaborate generously.

We are not interested in selling more stuff, or touting the next band-aid solution. Instead we partner with teams redefining how we live together on planet Earth. These are the values that guide us.

Mutual Respect

Despite having distinct capabilities, we are all equal in our humanity.

Mutual respect is the foundation of UME as a collective. It’s our default orientation and a prerequisite to any relationship—whether with team members, partners, or clients. It allows us to exercise radical candor, lean into creative friction, and push each other to new heights.

Essential Collaboration

Collaboration is essential to great work, and doing it well is its own skill.

It's bringing the right people in at the right time—centering the work, letting go of unproductive pride, and learning from each other. UME balances clear ownership with structured collaboration to create work none of us could have conceived of at the start.

Technical Rigor

Rigor is what turns decoration into infrastructure—and infrastructure into impact.

Technical rigor means going deep: into technologies, industries and our own craft. At UME, we lead with curiosity, ask sharper questions and master faster than anyone expects from a design studio. That's what makes our work not just beautiful—but accurate, durable, and genuinely transformative.

Liberating Creativity

Reimagining how we live and thrive together on planet Earth requires radically new mindsets, technologies, systems and structures.

Creativity isn't about novelty—it's about refusing to accept the constraints others take for granted. At UME, we honor our clients' vision, then push past it. We help founders see their work and their path more expansively, and build the magnetic brands and aligned organizations to bring the world with them.

Regenerative Impact

Design shapes the world around us — and we take that seriously.

We're intentional about who we partner with and how we show up. We work with leaders reimagining relationships to people, planet, and power — in biotech and care, climate and energy, decentralized technology, and human-centered AI. Every engagement should leave the client team sharper, the mission clearer, and the path forward stronger.