Essential Designs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and creative director of a design agency. We provide comprehensive creative services for branding projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Essential Designs?

My company designs all creative and visual elements for my clients’ websites, but we sometimes need outside help to provide web development for those projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Once our creative design is presented to our clients and approved, we send the design files to Essential Design to create a working website. We coordinate to create a design solution that will fit the user experience, interface design, and functionalities implemented in the development stage. They write the appropriate code and build modules and page templates. Once the beta version is ready, we’ll review with the client and address any concerns. Our most recent websites have used WordPress and have employed parallax scrolling.

What is the team composition?

I interfaced with the owner and two project managers, who were my main contact points.

How did you come to work with Essential Designs?

They came as a referral from my IT consultant. We met and discussed our goals, and I found them to be a strong contender to join our team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2017 through November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All feedback from our clients has been positive. The websites are well-received, and the clients are impressed by the product we delivered.

How did Essential Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were prompt in answering questions and addressing issues. We used mostly Basecamp to communicate, and they were very efficient and responsive. I was happy with the entire process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Clear communications and prompt follow through. They stayed on top of the game and it was critical for our business. They are capable of much more than simple websites. They have produced several very complex applications. They are truly experts in their field.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was hesitant at first because of our budgetary limitation. However, we were able to come to an agreement for both scope of work and prices.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT and security manager for Amazing Discoveries. We’re a nonprofit, Christian ministry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Essential Designs?

We don’t have a big IT department and need to outsource some of our work. We previously worked with 3–5 people, but it was before they were capable of being efficient and jumping into the project, we had lost time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a meeting a with their president and project manager. We provided them with a list of our expectations and a list of things that weren’t working. We asked them to make the pages user-friendly and bug-free as much as possible, as well as do some graphic design and layout for the UI pages.

We decided to go with WordPress for the main webpage because we want to be able to update it ourselves. For the webstore, they will be taking care of the design from scratch and it will be done through OpenCart.

We are looking forward to having functionality that isn’t currently part of the OpenCart site, such an inventory counting. We make and produce our own DVDs, and we need certain features for accounting and other departments, such as tracking transfers between warehouses or checking the stock. Essential Designs is going to develop those from scratch.

For the first three months, they took care of the issues and bugs in the system that the previous developer left. In the meantime, they prepared quotes for us for the new systems, and we are currently reviewing their offer.

What is the team composition?

I am in direct contact with their president and project manager.

How did you come to work with Essential Designs?

We contacted a few local companies and Essential Designs was one of them. We met with them and they convinced us that they could eliminate the problems we were struggling with, and they could provide enough resources.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent between $30,000–$40,000 CAD ($23,099–$30,799 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re doing a great job. Communication is great. Everything is documented and clear. Even with problems that weren’t directly related to them, they helped me as much as they could, checking information with third-party companies. I receive great support from them.

How did Essential Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is really fast. As long as they have enough information from me, I receive a breakdown within 2–3 days about the current situation and what needs to be done. I’m able to reject or refuse if there is something I’m not happy with or if I don’t want to spend money on a feature. Once I give them the green light, they start working.

We communicate through email, Skype or phone. They use Basecamp which allows me to follow up on my requests and have updates on what is currently going on. I am very happy with the way they communicate. I report any problems and things are fixed within 24 hours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are no problems or doubts. We have two big projects that need to be built from scratch, and we haven’t reached the stage to see if they are capable of working on them at the same time. I believe they can, but it is new ground for both parties.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Cloud Launch One provides software-related services, ranging from design to requirements to data analysis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Essential Designs?

All of my teams are subcontractors. A customer needed mobile application design and development. I selected Essential Designs to help me with that part of the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided them a line map, and walked them through all of the information required in terms of the environment. Then we had several conversations about user personas and required functionalities. They’re designing native apps for iOS and Android, as well as a version for a web portal. The goal is to add functionality that our competitors don't have to give ourselves a competitive advantage.

What is the team composition?

I'm primarily working with one UI/UX designer. A couple of people have been on some of our phone calls in order to manage the project on their end. I'll work directly with a developer once the design is finalized.

How did you come to work with Essential Designs?

The subcontractor that I typically work with was booked, so I looked online for a new firm. I decided to give Essential Designs a call because they have a Toronto office. I was very impressed by our phone conversation, and thought they would be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent $15,000 CAD ($11,703 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work began at the beginning of April 2018 and is ongoing. I have a contract until the end of September 2018, and we’ll most likely extend beyond that date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve been very happy with the quality of work. Some minor tweaks were needed to make the design consistent with the corporate look and feel, but the clients’ marketing team is impressed with the overall design.

How did Essential Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is very good at keeping the project moving. A lot of times we’re waiting for the client to evaluate and respond to a design. Essential Designs will continue to follow up. They keep on top of things and make sure that everyone is on the same page. They use a conference call tool that allows us to share our screens, record our meetings, and send documents back and forth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very good at what they do. The designer is very talented and very efficient. In fact, the designer finishes everything so quickly that we’re usually waiting on the client for the next batch of work. That's a good problem to have. I’m very happy with their service and responsiveness.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared. Lay out everything from a from a project perspective so they know where they're going. If they know what effort is required, they can provide the best service. I wanted to make sure that I fully utilized the design team's time, so I shared all of my documents with them in advance. This way, everybody is working towards the same goal with the same expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a data consulting company that works in the oil and gas sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Essential Designs?

Each oil company has an inventory of wells or locations where there are going to be wells in the future. They have a whole bunch of land and plans for where they’re going to drill the next wells. They wanted to keep an inventory of all these wells and all the hundreds of attributes associated with them in a centralized place. They were using Excel worksheets and it was a disaster. The business problem was storing all of this in a centralized place, capturing the attribute changes that occurred over time, and allowing us to report on those changes. We needed to create a web app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked as a partnership on the design and database design. They did all the coding. I worked with a project manager through the testing phase to test it and provide feedback, and then they make the change. They used ASP.NET and it’s a SQL Server database.

We’re still engaged with them for changes or bug fixes. It’s an ongoing relationship.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 1–2 project managers. The development team was 2–3 people. There may have been a person in quality assurance as well.

How did you come to work with Essential Designs?

I visited three companies. I had worked with Essential Designs a few years back. I really liked Scott (President, Essential Designs), the owner. I found him reasonable and down to earth. The price was also really good; it was half of what others quoted.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $45,000 CAD ($35,194 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app performs exactly how we wanted it to. Pop-up boxes come up and data writes to the database exactly the way we wanted. The users are really pleased.

It’s been a new journey for our client to have a problem, dream up a solution, and then, have it come together, and work exactly how we wanted it. We typically buy software off the shelf and go through a big implementation. It’s been neat to tackle this problem on our own and make something to fit.

How did Essential Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

I deal with the project manager and he deals with the developers. We met in-person a couple of times. We tried to keep all communication inside of Basecamp. If I saw a bug, I’d screen capture it and post that to Basecamp. They communicated very well, and their responses were really timely. When we had a new feature that we wanted to add, they’d go to the developers, get a quote, and keep it in the queue until it was approved. I was pleased with that. The project manager was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was a good, solid experience. The coders know what they’re doing, and they do things quickly and efficiently. I’ve been quite pleased.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. It was a positive experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide clear, concise instruction on exactly what you want. If you’re vague on how you want something to work, they’re going to come up with the way that they think it’s going to work. It might not be the correct way and you end up doing rework.

They have a shop overseas and there’s always a time lag of one day. You put in a request and you get a response the next morning. It was never an issue but it’s something to be aware of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of LifeguardOD, an iOS and Android mobile application designed to expedite emergency response time to drug overdoses and address the opioid crisis in Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Essential Designs?

I had a vision for an emergency response application specifically for drug overdoses but did not have the technical expertise for app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to Essential Designs with an idea of what we were looking for and provided initial sketches, and they provided storyboards based on our ideas. We worked together to start building the application screen by screen, and they went on to develop and design the LifeguardOD mobile app for iOS and Android. They programmed and implemented text-to-speech technology into the applications as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with a project manager, and the team consisted of about five onsite and 14-15 offshore developers.

How did you come to work with Essential Designs?

I did some research on Google and contacted several application developers. Scott Jackson (Management Executive, Essential Designs) quickly and enthusiastically expressed interest in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started development in November 2017, and the application is set to launch in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re partnered with emergency responders and during our testing phase, they’ve found the application to be very user-friendly and reliable. The app will be ready to roll out this spring.

How did Essential Designs perform from a project management standpoint?

The Essential Designs team communicated with me constantly and kept me updated on project deadlines. Scott was very warm, open, honest, and professional. They made me extremely comfortable with technical knowledge.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and knowledge of their craft were exceptional. Scott took our financial situation into consideration and adapted to meet our needs and terms.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would tell them to be honest and open with their team.

BACKGROUND

I am the test of an advertising & marketing company

test

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• test

SOLUTION

• Online Search
• Referral
• Clutch Site
• Other

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

6-10 Employees

test

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

test

test

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

test

test

BACKGROUND

I am the test of an advertising & marketing company

test

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• test

SOLUTION

• Online Search
• Referral
• Clutch Site
• Other

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location

2-5 Employees

test

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

test

test

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

test

test

BACKGROUND

I am the test of test

test

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• test

SOLUTION

Online Search

High ratings

2-5 Employees

test

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

test

test

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

test

test

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Ascend Agency

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ascend is an innovative marketing public relations and communications services firm specializing in brand building and impactful storytelling through expertly crafted articles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Essential Designs to accomplish?

• Improve our workflow, reduce team conflict, and change the way we place orders.

SOLUTION

How did you find Essential Designs?

Referral

Why did you select Essential Designs over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Essential Designs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Create a completely customized software platform that blends a strong back-end workflow system with a smooth customer-facing storefront to give users and internal teams a seamless, integrated experience.
• Create a custom solution that simplifies daily operations and expedites transactions, enabling the business to operate more efficiently, increase productivity, and provide customers with a quicker, more fulfilling experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We had weekly sprint calls with our wonderful PM to review our progress and make sure we were on track for our deadline.  Google Meet with Scott, who remained involved throughout the process and kept all of our goals and objectives front and center during the build.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Consistently punctual, communicative, and trustworthy. We got what we needed.

What was your primary form of communication with Essential Designs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their commitment and understanding of our vision and company were impressive. The entire dev team is great. 

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

No, only positive experiences.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Westside Recreation Centre

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Westside offers quality recreation facilities, activities, programs and services for all ages and abilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Essential Designs to accomplish?

• Our website had become quite outdated and maintenance with our previous provider had become expensive and slow. Essential Designs was brought onboard to take over the maintenance of our website, redevelop existing modules to up-to- date formats and also allow us to develop new modules of our website to improve our offering to our members

SOLUTION

How did you find Essential Designs?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Essential Designs over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Essential Designs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Essential Designs have carried out a huge amount of scope across our website including but not limited to development of a new membership platform, development of a new finance module, building out our backend capabilities and moving our website host to a more suitable option for our traffic demands and also shifting platform to WordPress site to allow enhanced in-house control of content.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our website’s overall functionality has been improved both in frontend possibilities and user experience as well as backend aspects of website management and financial monitoring. These are not easily quantifiable but there has been a net gain in available staff hours for alternative projects as a result of improved website abilities reducing workload.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The primary communication platform I’ve used with Essential Designs is Slack for day-to-day communication, we also utilised Trello for providing and managing scope and development with invoicing being issued via email. All responses were very efficient and language was never a barrier.

What was your primary form of communication with Essential Designs?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Response time and customer service. Very quick response to all queries and whenever there was an issue caused by our older modules. Essential Designs are extremely rapid in offering support and deploying fixes even in out-of-office instances.

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

I have never been found wanting with Essential Designs, their team and service level is brilliant.