DGCooley & Co. Acquires Healthcare Innovation Leader Forge Harmonic
Combined Practice to Operate as Forge Harmonic
DGCooley & Co. Founder Danielle Cooley Named CEO
15 July 2026 — DGCooley & Co., the best-in-class strategic UX research practice, today announced it has acquired Forge Harmonic, a leading healthcare innovation and experience design firm. The combined practice will operate under the Forge Harmonic name with Danielle Cooley serving as CEO. Forge Harmonic founder and exiting CEO Lisa deBettencourt will support the transition to ensure continuity for clients and partners.
The acquisition brings together two complementary disciplines: DGCooley & Co.’s strategic research practice, built on 17 years of work across sectors such as financial services, healthcare, automotive, agriculture, and consumer technology; and Forge Harmonic’s expertise developed over seven years of focused design work to radically redefine healthcare, patient and provider experiences and health technology. Together, the firms form a full-spectrum research and design practice with deeper healthcare specialization and a broader network of partner practitioners across subspecialties including accessibility, quantitative research, visual design, and analytics.
“The problems our clients face today are rarely solved within a single discipline,” said Danielle Cooley. “They need rigor, bespoke service, and end-to-end expertise within one team who guides the work from discovery to solution design. I’m proud to build on the formidable momentum Lisa has created and uphold her reputation for creating solutions that feel effortlessly human.”
“This is a natural step in the evolution of Forge Harmonic,” said Lisa deBettencourt. “As a peer in the research and design space, I have greatly admired DGCooley & Co.’s ability to go deep across industries and anticipate their clients’ needs. This is a fantastic opportunity to bolster Forge Harmonic’s capabilities as a research partner in the healthcare sector and beyond.”
Forge Harmonic’s combined client base now spans healthcare, medical devices, enterprise applications, higher education, financial services, and more. The firm’s recent work includes human factors research supporting FDA clearance for a cardiac monitoring device, restructuring the web presence of a leading engineering R&D organization, and reimagining an e-prescribing workflow for millions of physicians and patients.
Clients of both firms will continue to work with their existing points of contact. There is no change to active engagements, contracts, or service levels as a result of the transition.
Forge Harmonic’s updated website is now live at forgeharmonic.com.
About Forge Harmonic
Forge Harmonic is a strategic experience research and design practice serving industries of all kinds. The firm partners with a network of specialists across research, design, accessibility, and analytics to help organizations understand and diagnose complex problems and design effective solutions.
Media Contact
Danielle Cooley, CEO
danielle@forgeharmonic.com