383 Group & LION+MASON merge for AI-powered product design
383 Group and LION+MASON have announced a merger to form a new entity focused on AI-driven, human-centric digital product innovation.
The combined business will operate from Birmingham, Leeds and London, bringing together digital product and design consultancy capabilities under a single organisation supporting the entire digital product lifecycle. This merger aims to provide clients with a partner that is equipped to research, design, and deliver next-generation AI-powered products and services, addressing challenges faced by organisations seeking to create valuable, human-centred AI solutions.
The collaboration leverages 383 Group's experience in digital product agency services, alongside LION+MASON's strength in strategic research and user experience (UX) design. The new group intends to utilise its varied sector expertise to position itself as a provider of end-to-end services spanning from strategic design to technical delivery and ongoing support.
Expertise and methodology
Sukhi Dehal, Chief Executive Officer of 383 Group, emphasised the complementary nature of the merger.
"LION+MASON's deep research and UX expertise brings senior capability across multiple sectors. When you blend that with our Friction Mapping framework, which helps companies identify and prioritise customer pain points, alongside our AI and product delivery capabilities, you get a truly compelling end-to-end client offering."
The merger brings together LION+MASON's research methodologies and behavioural insight with 383 Group's technologies, particularly its Friction Mapping approach. Friction Mapping is a registered trademark of 383 Group and is designed to pinpoint areas of customer and service journeys that create obstacles and identify opportunities for targeted improvement. With the integration of LION+MASON's research methods, the framework will now benefit from deeper data, improved prioritisation, and enhanced support for client decision-making in commercial contexts.
Focus on loyalty programmes
Another focus of the new enterprise is the provision and enhancement of loyalty and referral programmes. 383 Group has established itself in this area by developing schemes to drive customer trust and sustained engagement. The merger will see these offerings bolstered by LION+MASON's user research and design expertise, strengthening the ability to personalise loyalty programmes through AI, while also ensuring that they address real user needs as identified by evidence-led UX processes.
Leadership perspectives
Andrew Machin, Founder of LION+MASON, highlighted how strategic design and user understanding are at the heart of the merged business.
"Strategic design has always been our core expertise, the ability to take a deep understanding of user behaviour and translate that into highly effective design outcomes, especially as new technologies emerge. Our merger is a deliberate move to combine our strategic foresight with 383 Group's established expertise in AI, product development. Together, we're creating a new kind of partner that helps clients build AI-driven products that are technically brilliant, valuable, and effective for users from day one."
By combining the two companies' resources, the new group states it will be able to both diagnose and design for growth, creating a unified process that integrates proprietary intellectual property with human-centred research and AI-powered delivery mechanisms.
Offering to clients
The unified group will operate under an expanded leadership team, delivering an extended range of services across three main pillars: strategic design centred on user behaviour and technological change, AI-led product development backed by established technical capability, and continuous partnership support for ongoing product and service growth.
The teams aim to guide clients through the evolving digital landscape, helping organisations create products that not only respond to commercial imperatives but also address actual user requirements identified by research and data analysis. As AI technologies continue to advance, the group states it is positioned to help clients make strategic investments in digital product development with more confidence.