info [at] nonfiction.design
55 Grace Street, San Francisco, California
Nonfiction is an award-winning creative studio specializing in industrial design, branding, user experience design, space architecture, engineering and strategy.
We turn science fiction into reality for a better future.
We engage consumers through the design of unique and sophisticated products with rich backstories. Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to funded startups all over the world. We leverage our relationships with manufacturing partners to execute your ideas on time and on budget.
Phnam designs the future of everything, on and off planet Earth. She is a French industrial designer, futurist and aerospace architect creating cutting-edge hardware and experiences in Wearables, Healthcare and Wellness, Education, Robotics, Transportation, and Aerospace. She specializes in turning groundbreaking technologies into attainable, intuitive, and beautiful products and experiences that help humans become the best versions of themselves.
Her work is exclusively focused on projects that support the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and create a positive impact on humanity, the environment and innovation.
Phnam works with a variety of companies, from startups to Fortune 500 and government agencies, covering 4 continents. Clients include NASA, Intel, Facebook, Atari, Philips, Alpine, Mistletoe, Halo Neuroscience, and more.
She speaks internationally on the subject of “Designing the Future of Everything”, covering stories of sustainability, design, space exploration, education and human flourishing. With her partner Mardis Bagley, she co-hosts an educational video series called Future Future, sharing tools and insights about design and the future of everything.
Education: Strate (FR), SICSA University of Houston (TX), Designskolen Kolding (DK), Amblard Leather Atelier (CA)
Phnam's public speaking, booking and advisory board memberships.
Mardis has designed award-winning products with a focus on novel technologies in Deep Tech, Medical Devices, Neuroscience, Transformational Tech, Climate Tech, Consumer Products, and much more.
He has designed for Nike, Facebook, Logitech, Dell, Intel, Chevron, Corning, and many smaller deep tech companies. Mardis has created numerous patents and garnered hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and venture capital for his clients.
Mardis is a Co-Founder and Creative Director at Nonfiction, a San Francisco-based creative agency. Together with his partner, Phnam Bagley, he engages clients that align with the studio’s vision; to turn science fiction into reality for a better future. This ethos aligns cutting-edge innovation with behavior change and manufacturing at scale to produce products with impact.
Mardis speaks internationally on the subject of design and sustainability. He believes that a deep understanding of the object and all the related systems are needed to create products and experiences in balance with the environments they will be used.
Mardis has taught at the collegiate level on the subjects of Design and Sustainability / Social Impact.
Education: University of Houston, University of Illinois
When confronted with very complex systems, we put research on pause while leading with intuition, personal experience and logic in order to create truly innovative solutions.
Creating new products requires validating new behaviors. We explore adoption and adherence to generate long lasting habits.
Unique to Nonfiction, our directors are also practicing designers. Team members have a variety of unique skills that bring palpable richness to each project. We do not hire interns or junior team members.
We engage with stakeholders regularly, gathering critical information and aligning goals. An honest, respectful dialogue is the key to any project success.
Designers work alongside engineers and other partners throughout the development process to ensure design fidelity, mitigate risks, and make the transition from design to manufacturing as smooth as possible.
100% of our clients are recurring ones. We’re here to build something beautiful together. No time or patience for egos.
We believe that creating beautiful, thoughtful
and durable products is far more responsible
than highly disposable, trendy designs.
Designing without shaking things up is a waste of time and money. We’re passionate about using design to turn cutting-edge technologies into reality and provide IP-rich solutions to our clients.
We turn humans into super-humans. We design transformative and sustainable communities. We influence societies to be part of the conscious revolution.
Fi credits her ability to see things differently and strive for positive change to her bicultural upbringing in Texas as a child of war refugees. A former entrepreneur and marketer, Fi now harnesses her expertise in business, design, and communications to deliver winning strategies for clients in banking, urban development, municipal government, education, and more. She also teaches fashion design at Bay State College and sits on the Advisory Council of the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, both in Boston.
Vera is an industrial designer who combines creativity and science to develop sustainable systems and innovative solutions for the Design and Fashion Industries. Born in Poland, she gathered experience in Germany, Copenhagen, Italy, and China. Last two years, she lived in New York, where she deepened her research in biomaterials and innovative technologies, thanks to Fulbright Scholarship. Her main interest is the future of materials and manufacturing. She is a part of Andel Fashion Cooperative and a Guest Lecturer at the Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics.
Kirill is a Russian architect with highly technical skills along with good problem solving abilities and a great eye for design. He specializes in both commercial and residential projects as well as LEED-certified buildings by integrating sustainable materials whenever possible.
Aigerim Akenova is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. Her professional experience spans the entire globe, most prominently Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the USA. Aigerim is passionate about the cross-fertilization between Science, Art, and Design and is driven by Sustainability. She is a forward-thinker, strong in research, and concept design development. Aigerim’s high sensitivity to colors & textures has enabled her to be successful in various roles helping to design cultural identities for state and private brands.
Experienced Producer with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. Skilled in Intercultural Communication, Broadcasting, Field Production, Storytelling, and Video. Strong media and communication professional. Produced Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, numerous documentaries for National Geographic, NPR and Curiosity Stream.
Cat is a film and sound editor who brings a profoundly human touch to all his projects. A storyteller specializing in documentary, advertising and visual quips, he captures time, awkwardness, magic, pain and passion with patient enthusiasm.
Entrepreneurial Swiss Army Knife, best at building alliances and global businesses. Luke brings order to chaos and uncertainty. His principles are integrity, loyalty, consideration for others. Background in startup acceleration, blockchain, civic innovation, cannabis venture investments, higher education, industrial design. Traveled the world as a digital nomad. Fluent in Japanese and Korean. Passionate about the intersection of frontier technology, emerging markets, research science.
