SPIRIT DESIGN - INNOVATION AND BRAND GMBH

Their core work

Spirit Design is a Vienna-based design and innovation consultancy that brings industrial design, branding, and user-centered product development expertise to European transport and mobility projects. They specialize in translating complex engineering concepts into functional, market-ready vehicle designs — from lightweight electric urban vehicles to railway interiors. Their work bridges the gap between engineering feasibility and real-world usability, making them a design integration partner for technology-heavy consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Spirit Design's H2020 activity spans a short but focused window from 2015 to 2019. Their early involvement (EU-LIVE, Science2Society) centered on participating in larger consortia exploring efficient vehicles and innovation ecosystems. By 2017, they had progressed to coordinating their own SME Phase 1 project (Carr-e), signaling a shift from supporting others' visions to developing their own electric logistics vehicle concept. The Mat4Rail project in the same period shows an expansion from road vehicles into railway design.

Spirit Design moved from contributing design services to larger consortia toward developing its own electric vehicle concepts, suggesting growing ambition in sustainable urban logistics.

How they like to work

Spirit Design operates primarily as a participant (3 of 4 projects), joining established consortia where they provide specialized design and branding capabilities. Their one coordinator role was an SME Phase 1 instrument — a solo feasibility study — rather than leading a large consortium. With 43 unique partners across 13 countries from just 4 projects, they have been embedded in large, diverse consortia (RIA projects), indicating comfort working within big international teams where they deliver a focused design contribution.

Despite being a small company with only 4 projects, Spirit Design has built a broad network of 43 partners across 13 countries, reflecting their participation in large RIA consortia. Their network is concentrated in Western and Central Europe, anchored from their Vienna base.

What sets them apart

Spirit Design brings something rare to technical consortia: professional industrial design and brand thinking. While most transport R&D partners are engineering labs or technology developers, Spirit Design ensures that the end product is usable, attractive, and market-ready. For consortium builders, they fill the design-to-market gap that engineering-heavy teams often lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EU-LIVE
  Largest funding (EUR 236,500) and a flagship project on efficient urban light vehicles, placing Spirit Design at the center of European e-mobility R&D.
• Carr-e
  Spirit Design's only coordinator role — an SME Phase 1 feasibility study for their own lightweight electric logistics vehicle concept, showing entrepreneurial ambition beyond consultancy.
• Mat4Rail
  Expanded their transport design work into railways, applying modular design thinking to fire-resistant composite materials for future train interiors.