In between daily gategrind, do you ever catch yourself staring up into the stars and wondering “who designed this weird ship I’m flying?”? No? Oh… Well, lets discuss this fascinating topic anyway!
Between the latest expansions updated ship window(‘s industrial tab) and the new ship cutscenes, a wealth of new information has been revealed on who designed and/or manufactured these funky space behemoths.
Now some of these we already knew, either due to existing lore, or… well, their T2 designers name was stitched to the hull of the ship in case it went missing. But others are rather new. So without further ado, lets look at what has been revelled (minus the Empire T2 stuff):
Amarr Ships
| Amarr | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Designer | Prior sources and notes |
| Frigates, etc | ||
| Amarr Shuttle | Imperial Navy | |
| Impairor | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Crucifier | Carthum Conglomerate | The Frigates of EVE Online mentions the current version was from a research program between Amarr Navy, Imperial Armaments, and Carthum Conglomerate. |
| Crucifier Navy Issue | Imperial Navy and Viziam | |
| Executioner | Imperial Navy | Aligns with the info from The Frigates of EVE Online |
| Inquisitor | Imperial Navy and Carthum Conglomerate | Fits well with the info from The Frigates of EVE Online |
| Magnate | Ministry of Assessment | |
| Magnate Navy Issue | Imperial Navy and Ministry of Assessment | Ship description mentions Ministry of War rather than Ministry of Assessment |
| Tormentor | Viziam | This contradicts Frigates of EVE where it states the original drafted by the Imperial Navy (page 36), as was recent revision of YC114 (page 37) |
| Punisher | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Imperial Navy Slicer | Imperial Navy | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Destroyers | ||
| Dragoon | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Coercer | Viziam | |
| Coercer Navy Issue | Viziam and Imperial Navy | |
| Confessor | Viziam | |
| Cruisers | ||
| Augoror | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Augoror Navy Issue | Carthum Conglomerate and Imperial Navy | |
| Omen | Viziam | Interestingly a derelict Omen is used as an illustration in the Chronicle, Fait Accompli; seemingly to portray a Viziam yacht. Then again, the yacht was said to be half a centaury old, which would predate Viziam’s creation. |
| Omen Navy Issue | Viziam and Imperial Navy | |
| Maller | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Arbitrator | Viziam | |
| Legion | Viziam, Carthum Conglomerate, and Khanid Innovation | |
| Battlecruisers | ||
| Prophesy | Imperial Navy and Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Prophesy Navy Issue | Imperial Navy and Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Harbinger | Viziam | |
| Harbinger Navy Issue | Viziam and Imperial Navy | |
| Oracle | Viziam | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Battleships | ||
| Abaddon | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Apocalypse | Viziam | |
| Apocalypse Navy Issue | Imperial Navy, Emperor Family, and Viziam | |
| Armageddon | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Armageddon Navy Issue | Carthum Conglomerate and Imperial Navy | |
| Capital Ships | ||
| Revelation | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Revelation Navy Issue | Carthum Conglomerate and Imperial Navy | |
| Apostle | Imperial Navy and Emperor Family | |
| Aeon | Viziam | |
| Archon | Viziam | |
| Avatar | Emperor Family and Imperial Navy | |
| Industrial Ships | ||
| Bestower | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Sigil | Viziam | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Providence | Carthum Conglomerate |
Caldari Ships
| Caldari | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Designer | Prior sources and notes |
| Frigates, etc | ||
| Shuttle | Caldari Shuttle | Caldari Navy |
| Ibis | Kaalakiota | |
| Kestrel | Kaalakiota | |
| Merlin | Ishukone | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Heron | Ishukone | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Heron Navy Issue | Ishukone | |
| Bantam | Lai Dai and Caldari Navy | The Frigates of EVE Online states it was a Minedrill designed frigate that has recently redesigned by the Navy for transport and logistics. Lai Dai isn’t mentioned as a designer but most the components in this ship come from them. |
| Condor | Kaalakiota | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Griffin | Lai Dai | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Griffin Navy Issue | Lai Dai | |
| Caldari Navy Hookbill | Lai Dai | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Destroyers | ||
| Corax | Kaalakiota | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Cormorant | Caldari Navy | Well, we still don’t know who designed it, so perhaps Caldari Navy acts as a good placeholder. |
| Cormorant Navy Issue | Caldari Navy, Ishukone, Wiyrkomi and Hyasyoda | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Jackdaw | Lai Dai | |
| Cruisers | ||
| Caracal | Kaalakiota | |
| Caracal Navy Issue | Kaalakiota | |
| Moa | Ishukone | |
| Osprey | Lai Dai | |
| Osprey Navy Issue | Lai Dai | In-game profile mentions Caldari Navy engineers rather than Lai Dai ones. |
| Blackbird | Lai Dai | |
| Tengu | Lai Dai, Ishukone and Kaalakiota | |
| Battlecruisers | ||
| Ferox | Ishukone | |
| Ferox Navy Issue | Ishukone and Caldari Navy | |
| Drake | Kaalakiota | |
| Drake Navy Issue | Kaalakiota | Matches ship’s in-game profile, in that the Navy ordered a specific version of the Drake, rather than designed the variant themselves |
| Naga | Hyasyoda | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Battleships | ||
| Rokh | Ishukone | |
| Raven | Ishukone | Aligns with the Novella, Ruthless |
| Raven Navy Issue | Caldari Navy and Ishukone | |
| Scorpion | Lai Dai | The story ‘Ruthless’ states Lai Dai designed it, but The Art of New Eden mentions that the Navy states it was conceived in the state with the assistance of the Ishukone. |
| Scorpion Navy Issue | Caldari Navy and Lai Dai | |
| Capital Ships | ||
| Phoenix | Kaalakiota | |
| Phoenix Navy Issue | Caldari Navy and Kaalakiota | |
| Minokawa | Ishukone | |
| Wyvern | Ishukone | Never read Templar One, but was this were Ishukone were confirmed as the creators of the Wyvern? |
| Chimera | Caldari Navy and Lai Dai | |
| Leviathan | Caldari Navy | |
| Industrial Ships | ||
| Badger | Lai Dai | |
| Tayra | Kaalakiota | Out of Universe source, but was the Tayra redesign not from Lai Dai |
| Charon | Caldari Navy and Kaalakiota | Well actually… EVE Universe: The Art of New Eden states it was designed by Ishukone |
Gallente Ships
| Gallente | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Designer | Prior sources and notes |
| Frigates, etc | ||
| Gallente Shuttle | Roden Shipyards | |
| Velator | Federation Navy | |
| Imicus | CreoDron | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Imicus Navy Issue | CreoDron and Roden Shipyards | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Atron | Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Maulus | Duvolle Laboratories | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Maulus Navy Issue | Federation Navy and CreoDron | Frigates of EVE only mention the Navy engineers |
| Navitas | Roden Shipyards and ORE | Partly aligns with Frigates of EVE. Here it states ORE designed the original mining vessel, then FEDCAF engineers were in change of the logic frigate redevelopment. That said much of the equipment in it seems to be from Roden Shipyards. |
| Tristan | CreoDron | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Incursus | Duvolle Laboratories | Some contradictions to Frigates of Eve. Here it is described as first being drafted by Federation Navy engineers (though it has undergone many revisions since then). |
| Federation Navy Comet | Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Destroyers | ||
| Algos | CreoDron | |
| Catalyst | Roden Shipyards | |
| Catalyst Navy Issue | Roden Shipyards and Federation Navy | |
| Hecate | Roden Shipyards | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Cruisers | ||
| Thorax | Federation Navy | |
| Vexor | CreoDron | |
| Vexor Navy Issue | CreoDron | Ships in-game profile points to Federation Navy engineers retooling the design. |
| Celestis | Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Exequror | Roden Shipyards and Federation Navy | |
| Exequror Navy Issue | Federation Navy | |
| Proteus | Roden Shipyards, Duvolle Laboratories and CreoDron | |
| Battlecruisers | ||
| Brutix | Federation Navy and Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Brutix Navy Issue | Federation Navy and Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Myrmidon | Federation Navy and CreoDron | Aligns with EVE Universe: The Art of New Eden |
| Myrmidon Navy Issue | Duvolle Laboratories | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Talos | Federal Intelligence Office and Duvolle Laboratories | Matches ship’s in-game profile. Interesting that FIO get a mention but not ORE, who they stole the design from… |
| Battleships | ||
| Hyperion | Federation Navy and Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Megathron | Federation Navy and Roden Shipyards | Aligns with EVE Universe: The Art of New Eden |
| Megathron Navy Issue | Federation Navy and Roden Shipyards | |
| Dominix | Federation Navy | |
| Dominix Navy Issue | Federation Navy | |
| Capital Ships | ||
| Moros | Roden Shipyards | |
| Moros Navy Issue | Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Ninazu | Roden Shipyards and Federal Intelligence Office | |
| Nyx | CreoDron | |
| Thanatos | Federation Navy and CreoDron | |
| Erebus | Duvolle Laboratories, Roden Shipyards and Federation Navy | |
| Industrial Ships | ||
| Nereus | Duvolle Laboratories and Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Kryos | Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Epithal | Duvolle Laboratories | Aligns with Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Miasmos | Duvolle Laboratories and Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Iteron Mark V | Duvolle Laboratories and Roden Shipyards | Aligns with Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Obelisk | Duvolle Laboratories and Roden Shipyards |
Minmatar Ships
| Minmatar | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Designer | Prior sources and notes |
| Frigates, etc | ||
| Minmatar Shuttle | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Reaper | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Breacher | Boundless Creation | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Burst | Core Complexion Inc. | Frigates of eve states it was initially designed by Minmatar Mining Corporation (page 118) and made into a logistics frigate by the Republic Fleet in YC114 (page 119) |
| Vigil | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Vigil Fleet Issue | Boundless Creation and Republic Fleet | The in-game description simply mentions the Republic Fleet’s innovative R&D Labs, which also aligns with Frigates to Eve |
| Slasher | Thukker Mix and Republic Fleet | Frigates of Eve seems to imply it is just a Republic Fleet design. Other than the Firetail, it’s the only Minmatar frigate made only with Republic Fleet components |
| Probe | Thukker Mix | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Probe Fleet Issue | Thukker Mix and Republic Fleet | |
| Rifter | Brutor Tribe | |
| Republic Fleet Firetail | Republic Fleet | Aligns with Frigates of EVE |
| Destroyers | ||
| Talwar | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Thrasher | Boundless Creation | |
| Thrasher Fleet Issue | Boundless Creation and Republic Fleet | |
| Svipul | Brutor Tribe, Nefantar Council, Core Complexion Inc., Starkmanir Council, Vherokior Tribe, Krusual Tribe, Thukker Mix, Boundless Creation | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Cruisers | ||
| Rupture | Brutor Tribe | |
| Scythe | Core Complexion Inc. and Republic Fleet | There seem to be some indicators Minmatar Mining Corporation may have designed this one as well |
| Scythe Fleet Issue | Core Complexion Inc. and Republic Fleet | |
| Stabber | Thukker Mix | |
| Stabber Fleet Issue | Thukker Mix and Republic Fleet | |
| Bellicose | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Loki | Krusual Tribe | |
| Battlecruisers | ||
| Cyclone | Core Complexion Inc. | The Art of New Eden states it was initially designed by the Navy, but the blueprints were revisited by Core Complexion, on the request of RSS, to create the Cyclone we all know and love |
| Cyclone Fleet Issue | Core Complexion Inc. and Brutor Tribe | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Hurricane | Brutor Tribe | |
| Hurricane Fleet Issue | Brutor Tribe and Republic Parliament | Republic Parliament part aligns with in-game profile |
| Tornado | Republic Fleet and Boundless Creation | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Battleships | ||
| Maelstrom | Brutor Tribe | |
| Tempest | Thukker Mix | |
| Tempest Fleet Issue | Republic Fleet and Core Complexion Inc. | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Typhoon | Boundless Creation | |
| Typhoon Fleet Issue | Boundless Creation and Republic Fleet | |
| Capital Ships | ||
| Naglfar | Boundless Creation | |
| Naglfar Fleet Issue | Brutor Tribe, Krusual Tribe and Republic Fleet | |
| Lif | Core Complexion Inc. | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Hel | Boundless Creation | |
| Nidhoggur | Brutor Tribe | |
| Ragnarok | Brutor Tribe, Nefantar Council, Core Complexion Inc., Starkmanir Council, Vherokior Tribe, Krusual Tribe, Thukker Mix, Boundless Creation | |
| Industrial Ships | ||
| Hauler | Hoarder | Boundless Creation |
| Mammoth | Boundless Creation | Corresponds Iteron lore page from the Eve Universe website |
| Wreathe | Vherokior Tribe | |
| Fenrir | Vherokior Tribe | The Art of New Eden states it was developed by Boundless Creations under contract from Freedom Extension |
Non-Empire Ships
In short, most of them, including Special or Prize ships, are designed by who you’d e.g. Guristas Productions design all the Guristas ships, etc. There are a few more interesting ones however:
ORE: ORE Technologies are behind all ships, except the T2’s which come under the other ORE subsidiaries such as Frostline, etc. Only issue I spotted was that Deep Core Mining could have been mentioned as a co-developer of the Orca.
Angel Cartel & Serpentis: All Salvation Angel’s! That’s right, the Serpentis don’t design their own ships. So in a way, the first Angel Titan… was actually the Vanquisher!
SOE: All made by the Sanctuary. If you thought the plethora of other corporate logos on their hulls might have pointed to a joint venture of equal parties… then you’d be wrong!
Triglavians: The T1s are all made by different Clades, and the T2s by different empire corps; all correspond to the in-game profile.
EDENCOM: All Voltron ships are designed by AEGIS, while all cargo ships come under ORE Technologies. From the various in-game profiles of the ships, it seems this isn’t the complete picture. EDENCOM commissioned the Voltron ships from Upwell; but since Upwell isn’t an actual in-game corp or alliance, having AEGIS as the designer seems to be a workaround. The cargo ships are all commissioned by Upwell, with the T1’s descriptions mentioning their ORE designers. However, Mordu’s Legion and others are also mentioned in these ship descriptions don’t seem to get credit as designers 
CONCORD: All (re-)designed by CONCORD Aerospace, except the Monitor, which is CDAI, and the diplomatic shuttle, which is CONCORD corp itself.
Special Edition Ships
| Special Ships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Designer | Prior sources and notes |
| Shuttles | ||
| Leopard | Justice Department | Corresponds with ship Skin |
| Interbus Shuttle | Duvolle Laboratories | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Boobook | Intara Direct Action, Krullefor Organisation, Onikanabo Brigade and Seykal Expeditionary Group | |
| Goru’s Shuttle | Nugoeihuvi (NOH) | |
| Echelon | Concord | |
| Frigates | ||
| Zepher | Intaki Syndicate | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Gold Magnate | Ministry of War | Frigates of Eve states the Navy designed this |
| Silver Magnate | Ministry of War | Frigates of Eve states the Navy designed this |
| Cambion | Caldari Navy and Ishukone | |
| Freki | Core Complexion Inc. | |
| Geri | Core Complexion Inc. | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Malice | Carthum Conglomerate | |
| Utu | CreoDron | |
| Shapash | Duvolle Laboratories, Ostrakon Agency and Crux Special Tasks Group | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Industrial Ships | ||
| Primae | ORE Technologies and Outer Ring Development | |
| Miasmos Amastris Edition | Duvolle Laboratories and Roden Shipyards | |
| Miasmos Quafe Ultra Edition | Quafe | |
| Miasmos Quafe Ultramarine Edition | Quafe | |
| Cruisers | ||
| Etana | Lai Dai | |
| Adrestia | Duvolle Laboratories | |
| Cybele | Duvolle Laboratories | Shouldn’t Ostrakon Agency and Crux Special Tasks Group be mentioned as well, per the Shapash description? |
| Bestla | Core Complexion Inc. | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Mimir | Republic Security Services | |
| Vangel | Ministry of War | |
| Victorieux-class Luxury Yachts | Intaki Syndicate | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Battleships | ||
| Apocalypse Imperial Issue | Emperor Family | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Armageddon Imperial Issue | Emperor Family | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Megathon Federated Issue | Federation Navy | |
| Raven State Issue | Ishukone, Kaalakiota, Lai Dai, Sukuuvestaa, Hyasyoda, Wiyrkomi, Nugoeihuvi (NOH), and CBD | Matches ship’s in-game profile |
| Tempest Tribal Issue | Justice Department | Corresponds with ship Skin |
What’s left?
A few ships special edition ships have an unfortunate combination of no industry windows and being too darn rare to get hold of. Six of these can be found on the market window, which are the five pirate corvettes, and the Opux Luxury Yacht. The makers of the pirate corvettes seem obvious, and as the Opux…. Isn’t that just made by Opux?
There are various ships you can’t find on the market; most of which are supposed to have been turned into Skins. I found two of them; the Stratios Emergency Responder, designed by The Sanctuary, and the Orca ORE Development Edition, designed by…. None 
. There this is also some indicators that the converted ships or their Skins have a different quote, so perhaps there is something interesting to find there; but I couldn’t.
Think that covers it all!
Thoughts/patterns
So how did CCP decide on who designed what? I thought it might have been aesthetics and so spent a long time gazing at ship models to see if certain designers had similar features across their ships. While that may be a factor, I think the more likely answer is that they took existing T2 designers’ specialities and worked backwards. A Gallente ship with drone bonuses? CreoDron! A Caldari ship that uses hybrid turrets rather than missiles? Ishukone! That said, there are some interesting patterns to be seen.
Amarr
These ones appear to be the most unusual. Unlike the other factions, most ship designs are ascribed to just two cooperations; Carthum Conglomerate, and Viziam. This seems odd, but perhaps it’s a product of the way capitalism has only too recently dripped over into what was a largely feudal system? From there you could come up with all sorts of speculatory answers.
Sadly, when it comes to these two particularly companies, and timelines, things don’t quite align. Amarr ships are supposed to be among the oldest out there, and yet both entities are relatively new; particularly Viziam which was “only a few years old” as of YC105.
Perhaps there are simple explanations? While the Apocalypse, for instance, saw action as far back as the battle of Vak’Atioth; but who is to say Viziam wasn’t responsible for the most recent redesign?
Still, I feel Amarr designers could do with a little bit of broadening out. Could designs not have come from certain houses for instance. Given the centralised nature of the Empire, is the Navy not more involved in designs? They directly designed a few of the Frigates; so why does this not extend to ships like cruisers and battleships?
Now, what is the difference between a Cathum ship and a Viziam ship? Seemingly little, but from Frigates of Eve, Cathum seems to specialise in capacitors, repairs, and shield emitters; while Viziam seem to be more into their microprocessors/CPU. Otherwise this isn’t one I have really managed to get my head around.
Caldari
The Caldari are much more straightforward! Hybrid weapons = Ishukone. Logistics and EWAR = Lai Dai. Lots and lots of missiles = Kaalakiota! When exceptions arise, this is mostly down to existing lore.
The most interesting bit, I found, is that Lai Dai ships seem to have their own design theme. It’s almost as if their chief engineer really, really likes steel rulers… spurning all implements in their pencil case! Every shape they conceive is angular, thin, and occasionally boxy. In fact, one might mistake their Jackdaw and Chimera designs, (from a certain angle), for being yardsticks in space, made to measure the very cosmos itself! They also like sticky out sensory equipment/cameras, but that goes without saying. Ishukone and Kaalakiota can compromise their corruptive curves, but Lai Dai will always be straight edge! 
Only other I wanted to mention was Minokawa. Now the in-game description points towards Ishukone selling the idea of the building Force Auxiliaries, but… the design and function of that ship screams Lai Dai! It looks like a ginormous Griffin class frigate; and even the engine units are taken straight from the Chimera!
Gallente
The Gallente are reasonably straight forward as well. Drones for the CreoDron. Heavy armour and blasters, or EWAR for Duvolle. Logistics, and longer-range guns for Roden… I think. 
Minmatar
The most interesting one, I think! Unlike the other factions, designs aren’t just left to the corporations, as individual tribes are involved as well, particularly the Brutor.
As such, I think the tendency is that Brutor design the straightforward “lots of guns” combat ships, Thukker Mix make the faster ‘attack’ ships, Core Complexion deal with most logistics and EWAR, Boundless Creations tend to be the most versatile, and Vherokior create a lot of industrial ships. Even this though is probably a gross oversimplification.
Anywhooo
What do you all think? Anything I have got wrong or missed; or any other trends to be spotted?
P.s. Sorry about the edits, trying to cut this into a readable format has been most challenging!
