Uncover What Matters

We are a creative growth consultancy dedicated to helping companies meet the unspoken needs of a changing world.
For fifteen years, we’ve partnered with the world’s most valuable companies and start-up leaders to turn our original insights into decisive wins.
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Our Expertise

What We Do

The key to our success is our unique approach. We clarify the underlying forces that bring people together and pull them apart, the same forces that shape human relationships and drive business success.

We are in the business of forging emotional connections.

We excel at discovering hidden markets and disrupting old ones, creating new product and brand opportunities, and unlocking a company’s deepest purpose for tomorrow’s future.

“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
“Brilliant and invaluable work, truly.” - Elon Musk
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01

Hidden Markets :

How do we adapt to new or disrupted markets?

01 Hidden Markets
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01 Hidden Markets

When companies are faced with a seemingly unanswerable question, they turn to us for a breakthrough answer. We help CEOs and leaders adapt to developing markets or grow beyond their initial ones by giving them the tools to more effectively and efficiently meet new market needs.

The Result /

You answer stakeholder questions with a game-changing offense.

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02

Product Creation :

How do we deepen consumer engagement?

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02 Product Creation

Great teams build great products. That happens when you unite human diversity, clarity of mission, and a cohesive product offering. With this in mind, we spent years perfecting a new playbook for product creation and universal engagement. We call it the Slanted Light Method, and it’s powered by our expertise in Inclusive Design.

The Result /

You lead product teams with a co-created prototype.

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03

Innovation Fit :

Does our product positioning move consumers?

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03 Innovation Fit

Slanted Light helps you understand your consumers’ hidden and unsaid needs, so you can build the right product and get the right message in front of the right people. With our insights, you possess a powerful advantage to position your product with precision.

The Result /

You exceed revenue expectations by hitting the emotional mark with consumers.

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04

Brand Growth :

How do we grow with (and beyond) our consumers?

04 Brand Growth
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04 Brand Growth

Brand loyalty is earned by what you do in the world, and how you do it. Your brand is not just a set of internal values to inform creative decisions; to your consumers, it’s all the ways you show up. When executive teams can marry their company’s purpose with their customers’ aspirations, growth becomes something more than measuring sales. It’s about relevance.

The Result /

You align profit growth with consumer values.

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05

Tomorrow’s Future :

How does our company shape a better future?

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05 Tomorrow’s Future

Decoding the future is more art than science. We know this because we forged our craft over many years working with our clients, the very people who are shaping the future right now. Daring to imagine a better world is a practice. Our goal is to share that practice with you and secure your legacy for the next 10, 20, 50 years.

The Result /

You prioritize new acquisitions, new products, and new consumer aspirations.

Our Track Record Speaks for Itself

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We help leaders stay on top /

Nike has trusted us with 40 projects to strengthen many facets of its business.

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We help companies grow /

We helped Pinterest Co-Founder Evan Sharp understand what drives Pinners at the deepest level to shape its growth.

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We empower disruption /

When few believed in electric cars, we worked with Elon Musk to take Tesla public.

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We discover hidden markets /

With China and India shifting the way people pay, we discovered new opportunities for Visa to own.

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We humanize technology /

Powered by our discoveries, we helped Microsoft create an award-winning Inclusive Design Ethos.

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We dig deep /

Google Nest turned to us to decipher a new psychology of the home that went beyond the physical infrastructure of the house.

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We set design principles /

We laid the foundation for the Capital One Innovation Lab that ignited a FinTech revolution.

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We protect a brand's soul /

As Virgin America continued to grow, we captured Richard Branson's thoughts about what powered his legendary employee culture.

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We chart new offerings /

NerdWallet founder Tim Chen asked us to help define a broader product vision to engage new consumers.

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We build brand experiences /

Our team worked with Virgin Voyages to build its new cruise ship from concept to execution.

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We design apps /

We built an app for Aetna's innovation team that balanced the practical and emotional needs of aging parents.

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We include everyone /

We developed a Gender Expansive standard to meet the needs of a gender-fluid world for Google's ethics team.

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We identify unmet needs /

We set a go-to-market strategy for the Grassfed Alliance to help Ranchers reach more consumers.

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We bridge For-Profit with Non-Profit /

Planet Labs asked us to message its Earth Observation Data to non-profit leaders.

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We launch products /

Charles Schwab trusted us to launch investor-led stories that captured the spirit of its new investor platform.

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We amplify disability culture /

Diageo asked us to position its inclusive efforts.

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We inspire new products /

Designers at Incase needed new product inspiration and market know-how.

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We support academics /

A team of forward-thinking professors needed a point of view on the future of journalism.

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We tap new cultures /

We co-published an article on a novel research tool to access the culture of secondhand clothing.

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We create brand identities /

Darwin AI's breakthrough technology needed a brand identity to scale its company, and it did.

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Transformation is closer than you think.

How can Slanted Light engage your team and empower your daring vision? We have designed the perfect starting point, a three-day workshop experience led by our world-class team and founder, Sydney Martin.

We’d love to hear from you.

Discover the value of our workshop today