Business

Accenture has acquired MATTER, a design and innovation firm focused on designing products and experiences for the connected world. The acquisition strengthens Accenture Interactive’s design and innovation unit, Fjord, by adding physical product design to its service design and digital product creation. Based in San Francisco, MATTER specializes in producing innovative consumer products through collaboration and agile prototyping delivered through a human-centered approach.

The combination of Fjord and MATTER creates leading capabilities that fuse physical and digital design to produce experiences that span hardware, software and digital services. “As digital is increasingly embedded in the physical world, brands are coming to us to create connected experiences that capitalize on the potential of the union of digital and physical realms,” said Baiju Shah, global co-lead, Fjord and managing director, Accenture Interactive. “MATTER allows us to fully address our clients’ needs to connect their physical products and experiences with digital services, furthering our ambition to improve the full human experience with brands.”

Founded in 2012, MATTER has worked with iconic brands including Intel, Samsung and Sonos. The firm is known for its inventiveness in using emerging digital technologies to embed interactivity into physical objects and environments. It is led by renowned product and interaction designer, Max Burton, who contributed to the inception of Nike+ while at Nike’s Tech Lab and to MyMagic+ and the Disney Magic Band.

“Fjord shares our fundamental belief in the transformative power of design to enhance everyday lives and shape the way we work and live,” said Max Burton, founder and CEO of MATTER. “As part of a world-class Accenture-owned design & innovation firm, we’re thrilled about the opportunity to design and deliver connected experiences and improve the way humans work and live.”

With the addition of MATTER, Fjord is even better positioned to help its Fortune 500 clients transform by putting design at the heart of their innovation. Fjord and MATTER have a proven track record of collaborating on joint client projects, including Carnival.

Fjord recently celebrated the four-year anniversary of its acquisition by Accenture Interactive. Since then, Fjord has tripled its geographic reach to 25 studios across five continents and surpassed the 1,000-employee mark. The addition of MATTER strenthens its position as a world-leading design and innovation consultancy.