17Seven

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CTO of Built.io, a cloud-based, API-first enterprise suite. We offer a Software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that our customers use to integrate various cloud apps together.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 17Seven?

We were building a fairly new product and needed help with UX/UI and visual design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

17Seven developed two main products: Flow and Contentstack. Flow is a Platform-as-a-Service that connects any microservice, device, or platform with an API. Contentstack is a CMS that delivers omnichannel content via JSON and separates code from content. 17Seven did visual design and UX for both products.

After the launch, we hired a few of the team members to update and maintain the products, as needed.

What is the team composition?

They had two teams, one for each product. Each team had 3–4 people.

How did you come to work with 17Seven?

We looked at a few different vendors and liked 17Seven’s portfolio. They had a good workflow and design style, and they understood the technical components of our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2015–March 2016. They currently do maintenance and support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had several people tell us that our usability and visual design are great, especially compared to competitor products. We’ve continually returned to 17Seven for other projects.

How did 17Seven perform from a project management standpoint?

They know their process and get things done quickly. They held us accountable to make sure we got them all the information they needed to do their job well and deliver on time. They used Basecamp to track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always ahead of the curve and know what’s going on in the market. They only implement the most current designs and styles. We love working with them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Spend sufficient time in the initial phases to transfer knowledge and educate 17Seven about your product. It’ll be much easier for them to do their creative work and come back with excellent results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a fintech company that provides financial products to customers through a digital platform. I conceptualize and lead experimental product development and oversee marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 17Seven?

We wanted to create a new app and looked for a designer that could build a completely unique experience for our users. We had an abstract concept and needed a tangible, workable product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t have anything documented in the beginning and started with just the idea. We brainstormed to come up with a scope, expand features, and start the wireframing stage. We wanted to emphasize the engagement element of a financial journey. Personal finance can be intimidating for the average user. We wanted a fun, aspirational approach that excited and encouraged users.

The app is currently for Android and we’re discussing a possible extension into iOS. We’ve completed the initial MVP and are adding more features now. Most of the future development will be tech- and backend-based.

What is the team composition?

There’s a project manager who supervises the entire process and other specialists who joined us at different stages.

How did you come to work with 17Seven?

I searched online for design agencies and app development companies. We spoke to several, but the conversation with 17Seven was the strongest. They were enthusiastic and understood what we were trying to do. They were eager to meet with us and started contributing right away. That initial excitement and enthusiasm was extremely important to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent 15 lakhs ($22,334.79 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve released the MVP to the app store and our users like how fancy it looks.  We are still fixing bugs in the backend and need to finish updating the functionality.

How did 17Seven perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely flexible and professional. We’re a startup, so our requests are evolving. They absorbed those changes and had a strong structure. We used InVision and a prototyping tool. They responded immediately to our requests and were very adaptable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a really empathetic team. They’re openminded and know what they’re doing. They were willing really listen and to work with our design needs. They are competent, flexible, and know when to stand their ground if they have a better solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They do well but should be better prepared for success. We have larger projects in mind for them and we want them to be ready for that growth.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Finish your concepts before you go to them. If you have everything clear in your mind, it helps to see them as more than just a design studio. They will help add value to your ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a financing lender in the local retail space. I’m the deputy vice president of the digital team, responsible for product management, site management, and the management of our company’s retail assets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 17Seven?

We were looking for a partner to redesign our website. Its quality and the number of leads it was producing were very low. We wanted to improve the UI/UX of the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked with them on multiple projects. This project was the main reason for reaching out to them, but we’ve worked together on a monthly retainer basis. They completely reworked the UI/UX on our website.

We have built a completely paper-free online loan application process, along with an account statement for customers in the form of a fresh-looking PDF. The loan application component was made for existing customers. We wanted to make sure that if they were eligible for a pre-approved personal loan from our firm, then the customer would be able to apply for that loan online directly and get the money into their account within 72 hours. This required a lot of understanding of the constraints relative to our processes and of the constraints relating to the savviness of the customers.

What is the team composition?

We have one UX designer, one UI designer, and a part-time project manager on retainer from their end.

How did you come to work with 17Seven?

We performed a complete analysis of multiple Indian vendors. One of the factors considered was cost. 17Seven was neither the least nor the most expensive option but they were in the middle. We looked at their portfolio and understood that they had worked quite a bit in banking and financial services, which gave us confidence. We asked them for a meeting where they presented their work. We were very impressed with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them around $8,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 17Seven one and a half years ago. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a big project and 17Seven was able to successfully execute. In fact, after going live with three rounds of iterations for the whole product, our conversions are threefold compared to what we started with. 17Seven’s work enabled us to increase the website’s traffic by five times.

How did 17Seven perform from a project management standpoint?

They are completely professional and keep me in the loop about everything. They let me know about any problems. We are aggressive in terms of timelines, and they’ve been able to help us with those timelines. We use InVision extensively for design uploads and asset management. The software allows us to handle project management tasks as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They went deep to understand our firm’s culture in order to come up with their designs. They’ve been very patient, even when senior management requested multiple designs for the same item. They were able to come up with those designs in short timeframes. The website homepage we have has gone through more than 100 iterations before reaching its final form. Our senior management ordered it that way, and 17Seven was very helpful in catering to that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management could be slightly better. This is also because we have a part-time project manager and not a full-time one. This isn’t a significative negative point.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should take the time to explain to them what they are looking for so that the team will have an understanding before providing any designs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a gaming company. We develop AI-based automated chessboards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 17Seven?

We ran a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for a new product. After receiving the necessary funding, we needed a development firm to help build our mobile app and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially engaged 17Seven to design our app’s UI/UX. We’re a tech company, so we handled the backend development ourselves. Once the design process was complete, we hired them to develop the frontend of our website as well. First, they submitted wireframes for our approval. Once the basic wireframes were locked in, they started on design explorations. This included testing colors, shapes, and other elements to create unique designs. They presented multiple variations for at least 4–5 pages. Finally, we chose a single design direction and they proceeded to develop the rest of the site’s frontend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 4–5 people from 17Seven. We had an account manager, a person who handled the wireframes and HTML coding, and a design resource. Additionally, Vimal (Founder and Design Strategist, 17Seven) acted as the lead designer.

How did you come to work with 17Seven?

We either saw their name on Quora, or someone referred them to us. Then, we went to their website and got in touch. Vimal shared his portfolio with us and we loved their work. They developed an app and website for another popular company, so we were confident in their ability to deliver. As a result, we decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their work was around $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took place from October 2017–March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

App development is still ongoing, so I cannot cite metrics of success regarding the number downloads or active users. However, 17Seven designed 100+ pages for the app before backend development began. It was quite a massive project.

We launched the website only last week and received excellent feedback. It has a minimalistic design with a lot of white space, which people have found to be beautiful. We have a premium product and they’ve given our website a corresponding design.

How did 17Seven perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very collaborative and open to in-person meetings whenever requested. They even adjusted their schedules to take our calls and worked late to attend meetings with us. Vimal is very approachable and the whole company operates by his direction. We’d call him any time we had a design suggestion or inquiry. He was always receptive to our comments and would take care of the rest. They’re constantly on their toes and help us whatever possible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve outsourced work to different agencies before and we never felt like they were a part of our team. This was not our experience with 17Seven. They put their hearts and souls into understanding our problems and brought forth solutions. They completely understood what our brand was trying to do, what our vision was, and where we wanted to go. They executed their design work efficiently, but also have a personal touch that’s lacking with other agencies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

17Seven could slightly improve their project management, but I’m satisfied overall. They took longer to deliver than we expected, but the output was definitely worth the wait.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They’re a good company and I’d definitely recommend them. They won’t cheat clients financially or in regards to scope changes. They understood our situation as a startup and changed various designs without charging extra.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at Sky2c

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Global logistics

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 17Seven to accomplish?

• Rebranding
• Logo design
• Website design

SOLUTION

How did you find 17Seven?

Referral

Why did you select 17Seven over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from 17Seven were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• New visual identity
• New logo design
• New brand colors
• Website designing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their designs.

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

They are quite professional and use tools like Trello for project management to view progress in real time.

What was your primary form of communication with 17Seven?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their skills and knowledge. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something 17Seven could have done differently?

None.