Cieden

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder & CEO of a health tech startup for consumers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cieden?

I hired Cieden to provide UX/UI design for my MVP prototype.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Cieden was one of 10+ vendors I evaluated in this space. What was really exceptional about them was my conversation with Iryna. She really empathized with the problem that my company is looking to solve and had a personal interest in the space.

She proactively researched competitors and complementary products. She came prepared for an introductory conversation with examples of work they did, research, etc.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Cieden was hired to help build the prototype; however, Iryna took it 10 steps further by starting with a competitive teardown, reviewing customer interview feedback, building out Miro boards of different categories to explore, and captured screenshots of competitor products. She put together a very tight timeline to keep the project on track.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had 2 resources - one for UX and one for UI.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Project was a success. They delivered a great prototype. I cared about UI a lot and the designer on the UI was probably not a good fit for what I needed and I should have voiced that from the beginning. After I finally explained my concerns to Iryna, she brought in someone more seasoned who truly changed the trajectory of the project.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was pretty easy -- communication, timings, etc.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They are extremely knowledgeable about design - everyone is talented and understands the area of UX.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I wish I would have had a chance to review the UI of some of the designers before they were assigned. I do feel like we lost some time because we didn't have the right person initially.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of an online grocery, partnering with a local supermarket. We pick from store through our micro-fulfillment center and deliver the next day.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cieden?

We wanted to create the best customer experience through our apps and customer service (supported by good internal software). We tasked Cieden to completely redesign the UI/UX of our iOS & Android customer apps, responsive web and mobile site, and internal applications from picking to dispatch.

What were your goals for this project?

Finished Figma designs for all the apps outlined above.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cieden?

We wanted to choose a design company that had an excellent portfolio of similar e-commerce/grocery projects. I have interviewed 5 different agencies in-depth and even asked for mock-ups as part of their pitch. Cieden had the best reviews, portfolio and experience for the kind of project that we needed (+ the right price point). Also very quick response times, easy to talk to.

Describe the project in detail.

Cieden worked on the information architecture, flow and overall user experience for all of the apps we needed. They created wireframes and the final UI on Figma. They also helped us conduct customer interviews, design our customer survey and user testing once the wireframes were completed.

They went above and beyond just delivering the final piece (Figma designs), as they really took it upon themselves to understand our users' challenges, the actual use cases for the features we wanted. They challenged our thinking to create the best user experience.

They managed to break down our complex business processes into VERY clear, and actionable solutions that can easily be understood by all stakeholders in the operations team.

What was the team composition?

There were 3 people involved: a UX Researcher and 2 designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

This is still an ongoing project, but so far they have submitted an AMAZING UI design for our customer apps and the information architecture that goes with it. We have conducted 10 hours of user interviews and another 10 hours of usability tests together. Finally, they have submitted wireframes for our new picking app!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Super great! We had a video call every Friday to catch up on the week's work. Throughout the week, they are very great at communicating - easy to talk to and acts on feedback QUICKLY. Also I've been terrible with scheduling sometimes especially during peak times in our operations, and they've been very accommodating!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I am coming from a Business Development perspective and Cieden doesn't just create something beautiful but actually USEFUL too - I mean that in the nicest way!

No overdesigning, they always have the user first in mind - what they actually need + what challenges they are facing. From an operations perspective, they understand very well how technology can increase efficiency and cut out liabilities in our process. It seems like you can throw them any complex design issue across any industry and they will find a way to get it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Perhaps if our project was assigned more manpower? However, I'm not sure this would have sped up the process or added more complications. So far so good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a health tech company. We create a number of applications to improve communications between patients and care providers. We help with clinical load management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cieden?

We were tasked with creating a comprehensive patient interaction platform. These solutions are fairly common outside the UK but are a relatively new concept here. We needed someone to create a platform from scratch that would allow patients to access their medical records, book appointments, and more.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They do our UI/UX design and smaller branding tasks. We provided them with wireframes and general design ideas. They were responsible for creating the entire user interface for the platform.

What is the team composition? 

We worked with two designers. One of the designers was also the project manager.

How did you come to work with Cieden?

We found them on Upwork. They’ve done design work like ours in the past. We had a screening interview to determine if they could handle our specific requirements. They knew what they were doing, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $17,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The system isn’t live yet, but we’ve had multiple tests with active doctors, nurses, and administrators. They’ve been extremely impressed with the product. The design has been widely accepted.

How did Cieden perform from a project management standpoint?

We were very satisfied with the communication. We had bi-weekly meetings when the project was at its busiest. Progress was never impeded as a result of lack of communication or poor management. We were always on top of things. 

The length of the project did extend a little bit because of changes in requirements. They did a very good job of getting on top of things. We have no complaints.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their scope of knowledge and ability to execute to our satisfaction is most impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only real problem that occurred while creating the UI. There was a significant issue with the language that was used while labeling UI forms. 

A number of times, members of my team had to go back to correct UI screens that they had passed to the final draft without our approval. They could improve their approval phase by waiting for us to give a thumbs-up before anything is released.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re brilliant at what they do. You need to provide them with clear instructions. They’ll figure out a way to solve it for you. Ask them for suggestions because they have a good idea of a wide variety of design processes and user experiences. They provided a number of suggestions that we were able to implement which helped us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Clarity Ventures is a B2B eCommerce, Custom Web Development, and Multi-Faceted Back-Office / Front-Office Integrations company. As our Director of Marketing, I help oversee all our marketing initiatives and the development of our internal website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cieden?

With a steady increase in website traffic and a slow decline in conversions, we knew we had to do something about it. Thankfully Cieden was there to help. They have redesigned almost every aspect of our website and are designing all of our new initiatives.

Not only that, but they design our whitepapers, videos, images, banners, and all other marketing collateral.

What were your goals for this project?

Conversion Rate Optimization. Regardless of the traffic on your website, if users aren't converting, what is the value in all that traffic? This is where Cieden comes into the picture. We needed to redesign our website, build out new whitepapers, fix the old ones, and create engaging videos.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cieden?

With months of research, reading reviews, and internal discussions, Cieden stood out above the rest. We hired a few different companies to help design a website for a client of ours. Both the client and our team all agreed that the designs Cieden produced were of much higher quality than the rest.

Describe the project in detail.

Our project is the on-going development of our website and marketing collateral. Cieden has not only redesigned almost every aspect of our website, but they have also built our whitepapers, videos, and an extensive library of custom images and banners for us to use throughout.

What was the team composition?

Currently, we are working with one designer from Cieden. A couple of others had helped with specific projects throughout our time working with Cieden when the workload increased significantly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Here are the statistics comparing the year before working with Cieden and the year working with them: Website Traffic increase 35%, Total Sessions increased 45%, Bounce Rate decreased a total of 12%, Average Session Duration increased by 24%, and most importantly, Contact Form Submission increased 119%!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been very efficient and direct between our teams. We hold a weekly meeting where we review the week's work and plan for the upcoming week. They are swift to make any changes and communication as needed in a Microsoft Teams group.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What we find most impressive is their flexibility and knowledge of our company. We are constantly building new sections on our website that vary greatly in design specs, whitepapers of varying lengths, topics, and architecture, as well as demonstrable videos that engage our viewers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every company can improve in any aspect of their deliverables or process. There are always endless possibilities and initiatives a company can take. With every project, Cieden has set the bar higher each time.

Their standards of excellence continue to rise, and we look forward to their on-going growth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of Immobel, a real estate technology provider. We have a few SaaS and custom-built products for a real estate tech platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cieden?

We hired Cieden to help with a new build we were working on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They supported UI/UX development and helped us think through user flows. Our system is multilevel, so they have to think through how we would breakdown the project. They helped us kick off the new build by creating clear documentation and wireframes. They used ClickUp, Notion, Figma.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact was Anastasiya (Associate Product Director), but we occasionally interacted with some of the other designers.

How did you come to work with Cieden?

We’ve worked with a few different outsourcing companies, but we liked Cieden because they were both focused on the project. They brought a new perspective but they worked really well with our internal team as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $62,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from June­–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The project was very successful. We now plan to work with them again on another project.

How did Cieden perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication was great. We had weekly calls, but we also used Slack and Miro.

Our business analysts and design team really loved working with them. They took a lot of work off our plate but kept us informed throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They thought through our business needs. They asked very specific questions that helped us identify what features we needed to accommodate all of our users. If we hadn’t thought that through, we would have had a difficult time mapping user flows.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There wasn’t really anything they needed to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with all of the members of the business team to align on what you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and general manager of an IT company, which has a number of e-commerce apps.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cieden?

We needed a partner to help redesign an existing app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cieden completely redesigned an existing e-commerce app for Android and iOS. Their team didn’t work on any technical specifications regarding functionalities. Rather, that was provided to them based on the existing application. They focused on redesigning the platform and working with our team to launch new features. Cieden gave us feedback on how it should look and how the customers might react to it.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a designer and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Cieden?

After finding them on Upwork, we reviewed their portfolios on Clutch and other websites. That’s how we made our decision.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $3,500 in this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project between April–August 2020. However, we plan to work with them again on other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Unlike many other design and development companies, Cieden was strict about timelines and deliveries. We were happy with the outcome and the amount of time it took to be delivered.

We’re implementing the design, which has gone smoothly. We haven’t faced any issues with the design.

How did Cieden perform from a project management standpoint?

They showed us deliverables on Zeplin and always came prepared for our meetings. Their team was always on time too. Cieden gave us ownership of the project and went above and beyond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cieden was punctual. Their organization and timeliness provided us with a satisfying working experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they went above and beyond.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with Cieden. There are only a few companies that come close to them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a SaaS based data management solution for a specialized function within HR. I'm the CEO and Co-Founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cieden?

We needed to make our initial design clean and powerful while also making it "pop" for end-users. We had a rough design that I had put together, but it wasn't very intuitive or clean.

What were your goals for this project?

Fully build out a design prototype for our SaaS app. We then re-engaged later on for more work around design of our more advanced functionality as well as our consumer facing website. All of the work was really well done.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cieden?

Through an Upwork job posting

Describe the project in detail.

We are a SaaS app that helps customers manage and manipulate large data sets. Users need to interact with lists of hundreds of items, and map them to multiple data sources. They also need to do this in multiple currencies with various data elements included for decision support.

What was the team composition?

We had a lead (Halyna) and a designer (Val). On our end it was myself and another Co-Founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The initial design was meant to be just our MVP, but the overall navigation framework for our app was needed. Cieden worked with us to come up with a really nice interface, not just for normal navigation but for a table with a lot of complex functionality.

The design really pops, everyone finds it visually appealing and very clean. The feedback has been universal and we really love the way the final design came out.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was good. We'd do a design sync once a week where they would show us what they've been working on and we'd give comments. We also would sometimes explore the design between meetings and provide comments. Even with 8 hours of time difference between us between eastern Europe and US west coast.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They took an incredible complex (and abstract) process and truly understood it. This allowed the team to actually think like a user and understand their objectives. It was almost like they became mini-experts on the job function of users, which really allowed them to design some interactions for, again, a VERY complicated subject.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The user testing sessions were a little awkward. It was painful to listen to recordings of a user trying to do a function with no guidance...i.e. can they figure it out on their own. Partly, that's just how user testing goes, but it felt like it could have been done a little less coldly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Verve Commerce is an agency focused on web applications and ecommerce websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cieden?

Cieden helped us especially with phone app improvements for an exercise and food tracking application.

What were your goals for this project?

We were redesigning aspects of the app which had grown beyond its initial design and UX limitations. Before we did that, we had to bring the design project into one set of softwares, since it was scattered across several design platforms.

Assets were not being kept in the right formats making it very difficult to share the project in a meaningful way.

SOLUTION

How did you select Cieden?

We selected Cieden after several conversations with them. They were knowledgeable, curious, capable, willing to think constructively about our needs and flexible enough to work within our constraints.

Describe the project in detail.

After the initial project kicked off and was successfully completed, we continued to use Cieden with additional updates to the design.

What was the team composition?

We had a very knowledgeable and communicative design lead who was our main point of contact throughout the project. She assigned the project within the team as she saw fit, but was the spokesperson for her team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Application has more than quadrupled its audience since we started working with Cieden and when from an unprofitable venture to a profitable venture. The app has continued to grow on the valuable UX / design foundation that Cieden helped create.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was very effective as Cieden was using tools that helped communicate what they were thinking and proposing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Clear, effective communication. Ability to quickly provide value. Nice to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of and software developer at a startup in the education industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cieden?

My biggest challenge was that I needed some UX/UI support for our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the first phase, business analysis, Cieden did market research. They compiled information about competitors.

For the second phase, they did user research, including a survey. Lastly, for the final phase, they did the UX/UI design for the app.

What is the team composition?

Iryna (Co-Founder/Lead UX/UI Designer) was my main point of contact, and she served as the project manager. There was also a business analyst and another UX/UI designer working on the project. 

How did you come to work with Cieden?

After searching Google to find design companies, I chose Cieden because their portfolio really caught my attention. The team was transparent, describing their steps and timeline on different projects they had done. They responded quickly and had affordable pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2019–March 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The product isn’t live yet. While I wish a few things were different, the end product is very close to what I had envisioned. The way they made the design was easy for me to implement as a software developer. In addition to consulting me about everything the designers came up with, they were open to feedback.

How did Cieden perform from a project management standpoint?

The team did very well. The project manager was incredibly responsive to my emails and kept me updated on the progress. They shared a tool that allowed me to see everything they were working on, as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were enthusiastic about the product and excited to give suggestions regarding features and subtleties of the app that I hadn’t considered. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a few times when they didn’t understand my requests. Perhaps I could’ve been clearer in my explanations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t think this is confined to just Cieden, but be prepared for the cost to exceed the initial estimate. This is to be expected when changes are made, or additional elements are asked for, especially when the rate is hourly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of  a startup that helps candidates find jobs and create profiles with references and verification. On the other hand, the recruiters can find qualified and verified candidates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cieden?

They helped us design the application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Primarily, their services were around UX and visual design. In addition to designing the platform, they helped with marketing. They did some market testing once we had an MVP.

What is the team composition?

I was meeting with one person at a time.

How did you come to work with Cieden?

I found them through word of mouth. The person who was initially involved with the project recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent about $50,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2018 and it’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The quality of work is definitely good. We don’t have very many problems. There were a few times when we thought they could have done a better job, especially when we get feedback from users. It’s definitely solid work, but there’s room for improvement. Some of our users have shown us other applications that are easier to use, and we realized we could have done things a little differently. So I went back to them to tell them what we wanted. They could have done a little more research before providing the design.

How did Cieden perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re pretty good on the project management side. They met timelines and are pretty informed. I was satisfied on that part. Their availability is good, and they were always accommodating when we needed them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked how detail-oriented they were and that they took the time to understand what we were looking for. They tried to provide solutions for or specific needs. They also don’t mind taking feedback and making changes when needed. I like that they’re patient, take their time, and the quality of work is very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One comment I have is on their language. They misspelled some things, so if they improved that, they would improve the quality a lot. They could also be a little more creative as well. They could be open to more unique solutions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them some constructive feedback. You also have to be clear about what your expectations are.