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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, where it was initially named “esslinger design”. Soon after the company moved to Altensteig, Germany, and then opened a new studio in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was ...

, and ultimately to its current headquarters in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The company has studios in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. The name was changed to frog design in 1982 (the name originating from an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...

for Esslinger's home country, the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south ...

; it was originally styled exclusively in lower-case as an expression of its belief in a democratic place of work, where ideas are openly and freely shared, and in opposition to the capitalization of

nouns A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

). The brand was once again restyled as frog in 2011 to signify an expanded portfolio of services that included strategy and organization activation. The company was acquired by

Capgemini Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France. History Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The com ...

in 2021 and is now a part of Capgemini Invent.

History

The firm's first designs, in 1969, were for WEGA, a German radio and television manufacturer that was later acquired by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

. frog continued to work for Sony and designed the

Trinitron Trinitron was Sony's brand name for its line of aperture-grille-based CRTs used in television sets and computer monitors. One of the first truly innovative television systems to enter the market since the 1950s, the Trinitron was announced in ...

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 Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

, starting with the case of the portable

Apple IIc The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, is Apple Inc., Apple Computer's first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported fro ...

, introducing the

Snow White design language The Snow White design language is an industrial design language which was developed by Hartmut Esslinger's Frog Design. Used by Apple Computer from 1984 to 1990, the scheme has vertical and horizontal stripes for decoration, ventilation, and t ...

used by Apple during 1984–1990, and continuing with several Macintosh models. The firm designed the

NeXT Computer NeXT Computer (also called the NeXT Computer System) is a workstation computer that was developed, marketed, and sold by NeXT Inc. It was introduced in October 1988 as the company's first and flagship product, at a price of , aimed at the hig ...

in 1987 and Sun's SPARCstations in 1989. More recently, the firm is known for its work with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

(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 its current parent company, the consulting firm

. Today, frog is organized under the “Capgemini Invent” umbrella, integrating staff from Fahrenheit 212, Idean, June21, and Capgemini Invent into the frog brand.

Gallery

File:WEGA Studio 3214 Hifi und Telefunken L 250.jpg, WEGA Studio 3214 Hifi () File:Thinktank Birmingham - object 1986S03911.00001(1).jpg, Sony Walkman WM-2 () File:Apple IIc with monitor.jpg,

and the

() File:NeXTcube.jpg,

NeXTcube The NeXTcube is a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured, and sold by NeXT from 1990 until 1993. It superseded the original NeXT Computer workstation and is housed in a similar cube-shaped magnesium enclosure, designed by frog desi ...

() File:DisneyMagicdepartsCanaveral.JPG,

Disney Magic ''Disney Magic'' is the first cruise ship owned and operated by Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. She has 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,700 passengers in 875 staterooms, and has a crew of approximately 950. The in ...

() File:SAP-Logo.svg,

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

Corporate Identity and digital design language () File:TouchTunes (7984914359).jpg, Touchtunes () File:Let the Magic begin -disney -magicbands (22988341716).jpg, Disney Magicband and MyMagic+ ()

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frog Design Inc. Industrial design firms Design companies of the United States Companies based in San Francisco Design companies established in 1969 1969 establishments in West Germany German companies established in 1969 International management consulting firms

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links