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Kittl (design platform)
Online graphic design platform From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kittl is a Berlin-based company specializing in all-in-one graphic art software that enables users to create graphic designs for various outputs.[1] The platform allows users to create logos, posters, t-shirts, packaging, social media graphics, branding materials, marketing assets, and other graphic design materials directly in the web browser.
Founded in 2020, Kittl's platform provides an extensive content library, including fonts, licensed typefaces from third-party foundries (including a partnership with Monotype), design templates, mockups, and integrated AI tools.
By 2025, Kittl reported more than 5 million users worldwide and is used by various companies, brands, and self-taught advanced graphic designers.[1][2][3]
In August 2025, analyst firm Tracxn listed Kittl among the most-funded German companies in the “Online Photos and Graphic Design” sector, alongside Canva and Adobe.[4]
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History
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2020–2022: Origins and early development
Kittl traces its roots to typography design. Co-founder Tobias Saul worked as an independent lettering artist with an interest in early 20th-century graphic styles. Finding few typefaces that fit this aesthetic, he began creating his own fonts, which gained traction within the design community.[5]
In 2020, Saul partnered with Nicolas Heymann to found Heritage Type Co.. The company began as a marketplace for vintage-style fonts and design assets, generating about US$2 million in revenue while receiving €24,000 from the Berlin Founders Fund.[6] Early customers included Warner Bros., Netflix, and German publisher Hubert Burda Media.[6]
Heritage Type also developed Heritage Designer, a browser-based tool for decorative typography and graphics. The software attracted more than 10,000 users and demonstrated demand for accessible online design tools.[6]
In 2022, Heritage Designer was rebranded as Kittl, expanding beyond typography into a full-featured graphic design platform.[6]
2023 - 2025: Expansion and partnerships
In January 2023, Kittl announced a $11.6 million Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital, with Speedinvest and several angel investors including Intercom co-founder Des Traynor, former Bebo CEO Shaan Puri, and individuals from Calm, Amazon, and Instagram participating. This investment allowed the company to expand its technology and product teams.[7]
In January 2024, the company had surpassed one million users and was gaining traction with B2B clients, including Netflix and Warner Bros.[8]
In November 2024, Kittl announced a partnership with Monotype, a globally recognized provider of type and design solutions.[9] This collaboration enabled Kittl to integrate 135 of Monotype's fonts such as Helvetica, Futura, and Avenir into its platform, giving users access to a wider range of professionally designed typefaces.[10] Outlets such as Creative Bloq described this as a notable upgrade for Kittl's typography offerings.[11]
In 2025, Printify announced a partnership with Kittl as part of its Amplified program, enabling entrepreneurs to access Kittl's design tools within the print-on-demand ecosystem.[12]
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Business model
Kittl operates on a freemium model, offering a free version with essential features and premium subscriptions that provide access to advanced tools, additional assets, and high-resolution exports.[13][14]
Paid plans are divided into Pro and Expert tiers, while business licenses are available for larger organizations. Analysts and reviewers have highlighted the platform's cost competitiveness compared to Adobe Creative Cloud[14][15]
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Features
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Kittl's primary product is the Kittl Editor, a browser-based design environment that combines typography, vector editing, templates, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.[16]
Independent coverage has highlighted several key functions like their typography and fonts tools. The platform emphasizes typography, offering more than 1,400 free fonts and one-click text styling options. Following a 2024 partnership with Monotype, Kittl also integrated 135 licensed typefaces, including Helvetica, Futura, and Avenir.[9][10][11]
Kittl also features AI-powered tools for background removal, image and logo generation, and vectorization.[4] Media reports note that its image generator incorporates multiple external model providers, including Nano Banana, DALL·E 3, Google Imagen, Ideogram, and FLUX.[13]
Beyond these creative tools, Kittl provides a large library of templates for logos, posters, apparel, and social media graphics, along with a catalog of design elements included in a single subscription. Its Infinite Canvas supports flexible, multi-artboard projects, while mockup generation tools enable visualization for t-shirts, bottles, posters, and packaging.[13]
Collaboration features allow multiple users to edit projects in real time through Kittl Teams.[17] In mid-2025, they introduced Kittl Flows, a generative feature in Kittl that allows users to create stylistic and compositional variations of a design without starting over.[13]
According to CEO Tobias Saul, Kittl aims to provide “a design platform built for designers, by designers,” combining vector and pixel editing in a single workspace while reducing reliance on traditional desktop software.[17]
Reception and Recognition
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Coverage in industry and technology media has described Kittl as an emerging competitor in online graphic design software. Business Insider characterized the company as “an AI-powered design startup rivaling Canva” in 2025.[1] TechCrunch reported that the platform was gaining business clients including Netflix and Warner Bros. while surpassing one million users in early 2024.[8]
Design-focused outlets have also covered Kittl’s product features. Creative Bloq described its 2024 Monotype partnership as a “significant upgrade” to the platform’s typography offerings,[11] while XDA Developers published a 2025 review positioning Kittl as a potential replacement for Illustrator, highlighting its typography tools and templates.[16] Forbes Advisor also included Kittl in its 10 Best T-Shirt Design Websites of 2025, awarding it the category of “Best for Advanced Customization" for print-on-demand users.[18]
Beyond press reviews, Kittl has been cited in entrepreneurship handbooks and print-on-deman (POD) guides as a beginner-friendly tool for designing apparel and poster graphics.[19][20] In August 2025, Tracxn listed Kittl among the most-funded German companies in the “Online Photos and Graphic Design” sector, alongside Canva and Adobe[4]
Analyst firms CB Insights and PitchBook also profiled the company, reporting total funding of approximately US$47.8 million and an active user base exceeding five million by 2025[2][3]
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See also
References
External links
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