Devika Acquires Black Bear Creative Design Studio

Overview

Devika is thrilled to announce its acquisition of Black Bear Creative, a Wollongong-based design agency, effective February 2024. This strategic move positions Devika to round out its end-to-end product management services Australia wide, whilst growing a headcount in the heart of Wollongong.

Devika’s acquisition of Black Bear Creative marks a significant milestone in the expansion of its service offerings. Clients can now benefit from seamless, end-to-end product management services for app development, incorporating both technology expertise and cutting-edge design and branding services.

For Ken Kencevski, Managing Director of Devika, it was important that this acquisition took place in Wollongong. “To us, inhouse means in Wollongong. We have connections to design studios across Australia and the US, but we wanted to establish a team under one roof, and for Devika that roof will always be in Wollongong.”

Black Bear Creative Services

The following services are now available directly through Devika:

• Branding
• Illustration & graphic design
• Logo Design
• App prototyping and Web design (UX/UI)
• Product Management
• Marketing collateral such as social media assets and slide decks

Strategic rationale

Having collaborated as partners for the past six years, Devika and Black Bear Creative have decided to unite forces to provide a more integrated service. While Devika specializes in software development, business advisory, and venture capital for startups, Black Bear Creative excels in design services, including UX/UI prototyping, branding, illustration and marketing collateral.

“Many of our clients are startups building their first product, and with that, creating a new brand. Now with the acquisition of Black Bear Creative, we can cater to all of their requirements, from building their digital product, to designing a logo or establishing their first brand guidelines.”

“Not only are Black Bear Creative very good at what they do; they are already based in the Illawarra which made this decision easy.”

Integration Plans

Justin Marchant, Founder of Black Bear Creative will join the Devika team as Head of Design and Creative. “I am very excited to be joining my long-term partner, Devika, as an official member of the team. With the increase in demand for design work in the digital product space, it makes sense to work together in a closer capacity to deliver better results for our mutual clients.”

For any enquiries relating to Devika or Design Services, contact us: www.devika.com/contact