Taking a product from sketch to global success is no small feat. It’s the difference between a great idea that fades and a real-world innovation that thrives.

Hallgrim Sagen knows exactly how to make that leap.

With over two decades of experience—from early-stage scaleup to billion-dollar acquisition—Hallgrim has helped navigate the messy, unpredictable path from concept to launch to scale. Now, as a co-founder of Lomi Agency, he’s bringing that expertise to businesses that want more than just nice-looking designs. They want real, market-moving impact.

And if you’re expecting a typical consultant with a rigid playbook, think again. Hallgrim’s approach is about balancing ambition with pragmatism. He pushes boundaries while keeping an eye on what actually works.

Because, at the end of the day, great design isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about building something valuable, that works and lasts.

Hallgrim’s journey started at Tandberg, a Norwegian startup pioneering video conferencing technology. Fresh out of design school, he quickly found himself wearing multiple hats: designer, mechanical engineer, and even project manager. “They only needed half a designer at the time,” he laughs. But being at the center of a fast-growing company meant he wasn’t just working in the design studio. He was sitting in management meetings, shaping the bigger picture. As Tandberg skyrocketed to a billion-dollar company, and was eventually acquired by Cisco, Hallgrim learned one of the most overlooked lessons in business:

“A great product isn’t enough. If you don’t think about scalability from the start, you’ll drown in complexity later.”

Too many startups chase their first big customers, tweaking their products to fit every new request. It seems like a smart move until they wake up to a mess of custom solutions and technical debt.

The companies that succeed? They don’t just design products. They design portfolios. They think beyond the next launch and build for long-term growth, usability, and efficiency.

After nearly 20 years in the industry, Hallgrim had worked with plenty of design agencies. And while they brought fresh ideas, he noticed a pattern.

“Agencies love to dream big, but they often don’t know how things get made and sold. You end up with beautiful concepts that can’t survive in the real world.”

That gap between vision and execution was what drove him to start Lomi Agency.

Hallgrim didn’t want to build another agency that just handed off ideas. He wanted Lomi Agency to be a partner that ensures those ideas actually work in the market, one that understands business constraints, engineering realities, and go-to-market strategies as deeply as it understands design.
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Hallgrim is a big believer in strategic design, but not in the way most people think about it.

“Design strategy is just one of many strategies in a company. But Strategic Design is about applying a designer’s mindset; exploration, iteration, adaptability, concrete impact, to solve big business challenges.”

And in today’s rapidly shifting market, that mindset is more important than ever. The old way of slow-moving strategy decks and five-year roadmaps is obsolete.

The companies that win are the ones that test, learn, and adapt fast.

“The digital revolution has changed everything. Companies that thrive aren’t the ones that analyze trends to death. They’re the ones that experiment and iterate.”

Right now, Hallgrim and his team at Lomi Agency are focused on helping companies navigate big, complex business challenges through design-driven thinking.

But as Lomi Agency grows, so does its own challenge:

“We need more senior talent. A lot of agencies rely on young designers fresh out of school. But companies need experienced people who can bridge business, engineering, and design.”

That’s what sets Lomi Agency apart. It’s not just another design agency. It’s a business partner that helps companies create, refine, and scale products that actually work in the market.

For companies looking to bring groundbreaking products to market, Hallgrim’s expertise is invaluable. He’s been through the trenches, scaled companies, launched successful products, and navigated massive industry shifts.

Now, through Lomi Agency, he’s helping companies do the same.

Because if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s this:

“Great design doesn’t just inspire. It delivers.”