Hippo is a digital services partner that supports organisations deliver the very best experiences for users
With a team approaching 400 specialists, we deliver meaningful transformation by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and engineering to support organisations like yours to scale digital delivery and upskill internal teams.
Founded in 2016, we’ve done this for nearly a decade with some of the world’s fastest-growing and most recognisable organisations, each relying on us to drive their digital ambitions from concept to reality and beyond.
In 2023, we acquired Leeds-based data consultancy, The Data Shed, widening our data offering and enabling us to deliver meaningful transformation for customers on a bigger scale.
Located in offices throughout the UK, our expert teams – working across design, engineering, data, and agile product – can support you every step of the way to deliver high-quality digital projects and the processes and people you’ll need to grow and sustain them.
400
Consultants, experts and staff
6
Locations across the UK
What we do
Hippo brings user-centred practices into complex, large-scale agile deliveries.
At Hippo, we believe that delivering user-centric experiences in large-scale Agile projects is not just a matter of design but a holistic approach that encompasses every aspect of delivery. This approach was born from the visionary thinking of our co-founders, Adam Lewis and Robert Coop. It all started back in 2011 when Adam was leading the delivery for an NHS project and needed to appoint a partner with User Experience skills (amongst others) that would deliver not only wireframes and concepts but also lead significant aspects of the project to ensure that the user’s needs were always at the forefront. Unfortunately, he found that many User
Experience companies were used to working in a way that required the hand-off of the delivery aspect to third-party engineering firms, which went against the principles of Agile delivery, which advocates integrated, multidisciplinary teams.
After failing to find that partner, Adam needed to build his own internal capability, integrating capabilities from several suppliers. Rob was brought in to lead the Experience Design work. Fast forward to 2016, when they successfully delivered the Identity and Access Management service. The Government Digital Service released the Service Standard mandating agile and user-centred design for all public-facing government projects. They both knew from there that what they could offer would be in massive demand, and they could do it better and with more transparency than a lot of other companies. And that was the birth of Hippo.
What’s in a name?
We were determined to find a name that was simple and memorable.
Our goal was to create a brand that was easily recognisable and made a lasting impression on everyone who came into contact with it.
Being connected to the iconic semiaquatic mammal gives us an immediate talking point, especially with all the hippo-related artwork around our offices. When people join us, they become a Hippo and part of our herd, which reinforces our brand and makes us feel even more connected to our name.
Discover
Culture and values
We believe that if we all act in line with these core values, together we create a great culture. At the heart of everything we are human, and we have to balance our ambitious and pragmatic qualities in order to succeed.
People
With both talent and ethic, our leadership team are delivering meaningful transformation by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and engineering in a manner that is consistent with our organisation’s values.