Alien Design Studio

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CFO/CPO at a Healthcare startup based in Chennai, India. We're focused on making relevant and affordable medical devices, that address the requirements of patients and Healthcare providers in developing nations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alien?

We've designed an innovative medication device, and wanted to build an app that worked with the device to help patients (& their caregivers) adhere to their medication regimens. .

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the app to be designed in a manner that was easy to use and convenient for all customers. We wanted it to be intuitive, user friendly, and simple for the customers while capturing all the relevant information.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Alien?

We reached out to contacts and got a number of referrals, whom we spoke with discussing the project, timelines, proposals, etc. We decided to go with The Alien based on their portfolio, ideas shared, flexibility, and of course the pricing and timelines.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a series of discovery meetings initially to share expectations, details on the product that would be linked with the app, etc. They came back with some initial design ideas, created a wire frame, and then worked on the look&feel and we had multiple iterations through each stage. They were very receptive to feedback, but not afraid to push back when they didn't agree with something. They worked with us to develop options/alternatives when we only had an inkling of what we wanted, and to shape our vision into a tangible product.

What was the team composition?

We had one Business Manager who helped coordinate, and a Graphic Designer who designed the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have yet to implement the design, however the team is very happy with the look and feel of the design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was great -- we had frequent meetings and working sessions. They were very responsive and accessible.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

To put it simply- they know their stuff. They were easy to work with, to the point that it didn't feel like we were working with an external agency but rather members of our own team. At the same time their subject level expertise was undeniable, and invaluable as we worked towards the app design.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied. It would've been great to meet in person, but I do not think that in any way took away from the outcome.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of the hyperlocal eCommerce platform - Botiga. We are based out of Bengaluru, India. Botiga provides a platform for merchant partners to sell their products in gated communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alien?

We had an excellent team of developers with an average experience of 8+ years. When we started, the biggest challenge we faced with effectively communicating the vision to the team in the right words. Also, the initial app we created was functional but looked clunky & lacked synergy.

At this stage, we hired the Alien to streamline our UI and help us with UX. And today, we see it as one of the best decisions. Our customers & partners just love our product & its simplicity. It also saved us a ton of money and time usually wasted in re-work which is very important for a boot strapped startup.

What were your goals for this project?

We had 3 very simple goals: 1. Design a well-defined UI strategy 2. Iron-out UX issues before product development 3. Provide well-designed screen references for our developers We would give all the credit for our simple yet effective UI/UX experience to the Alien team.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Alien?

I had worked with their founding member, Mr. Yash in one of my previous projects. I was impressed by his keen design sense & articulative mind-set. I also liked his solution-oriented attitude. So, when I thought of UX design, he was my first choice. And I am so glad that we invested early in our UX, unlike most startups. It has given us an unprecedented edge in a very competitive market.

Describe the project in detail.

The project started with a series of discovery meetings. The alien team wanted to understand every aspect of the company right from vision, target audience to our business strategy. Based on that they came with 3 designs to proceed with. In fact, they only made our color palette. Post that it was a journey for each screen of the app. They clearly captured the essence of each screen. They worked on our elegant app logos and this iterative process took some time but was very fruitful. All the effort invested early in UX reduced our time to market dramatically.

What was the team composition?

We worked with 2 people team from Alien. Yash had lead the project himself. Then, there was a junior designer who created designs with his guidance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within 4 months, we created 2 Mobile apps - Botiga & Botiga Business for our customers & merchant partners respectively, alongside the backend. Both these apps work on iOS and Android. So, we ended up making 4 apps in 4 months with a small 4 people team. This feat would have impossible without the visual assistance we received from our UX layouts done by the Alien team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Yash is an in-demand UX designer. To get his personal attention, we had to work out a late-night schedule. Apart from that coordination was seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Yash's clarity of mind surprises me. More importantly, he used to question the ideas to figure out the underlying objective & would usually come up with a better solution, many a time. And this helped me to look at the problem from a different perspective. Extremely useful at our level.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an Edtech company which is based out of Chennai and we develop educational products for the Indian colleges and universities .

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alien?

We hired them to do the UX UI design and development of web and mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

As our business is novel with unique set of challenges, We wanted to create an intuitive platform to fill the gap between institutions and students.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Alien?

We stumbled upon them when searching for a design agency who can fit our requirement. Their diversified team and culture peaked our interest. Later, we have shortlisted few and finalized them based on their thought process and solutions provided during initial discussions.

Describe the project in detail.

We had an idea and approached them with a document of few key points and rough sketches. They followed up with a workshop and came up with a clear scope of work and roadmap for the product.

Their research insights were very helpful during ideation sessions to come up with features. Later on we collaborated on design look and feel with different iteration to achieve at the final design which were then developed in to respective applications.

What was the team composition?

Initially, during workshop we worked with a lead designer, solution architect and project manager and later they reserved a team of senior designers and developers which would comprise of around 8 people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team did user testing with a small group of students and we received a positive feedback which boosted our confidence in the product. They always had open ear to feedbacks and iterating them. Post launch the product was well received with institutions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were assigned with a project manager and a lead designer for one-to-one communication. Every week we had meeting with the team about the work in progress and updates. They worked effectively to deliver with timeliness and certainly they went an extra mile beyond our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We are very impressed by their thought process and critical thinking to provide solutions. They pay a lot of to attention to details and user voice. No matter what they put users first without compromising our expectation where they achieved a fine balance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, nothing comes to my mind. They are very driven and It's been a great experience to work with a such a young and passionate team

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Aqsit, it is an online tool for interior designers and architects. The company was started by me around 2 years back, and presently I have around 10 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Alien?

We are coming up with an application version of our product, with a lot of new features, and so, we hired The Alien to design it's UI and UX for us.

What were your goals for this project?

The application is essentially a project management tool for the designers. And so the basics of project management like managing and scheduling the tasks, expense tracking, as well as advance tools like estimate creator, moodboard creator had to be designed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through a reputed reference. We went through their work and found them a perfect fir for our goals.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with the goal definition, and structured all the points required for UX. All the flows and logic were clearly written and executed. The Alien and us were working hand to hand on this. After the UX, they were exactly knowing what had to be done in design, and were providing standard solutions to the kind of product we were creating, and used their ideas at certain areas to make the product more innovative.

What was the team composition?

There were three of them assisting us on this project. One of them was a senior designer, who guided us strategically with all the segments.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are yet to market this product. We have been user testing, and getting great responses on the UI/ UX part of the app. A few ideas that we tried in design, has already made the users excited.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The timeline was really taken care of from the day. The goals were defined, and broken down into tasks along with due dates. Tools like Miro, and Trello had been used throughout the project. They were available on the phone almost all the time to solve micro level queries.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It is a young company, but still the experience that is coming from the members is quite impressive. They have more than the required skill-set to quickly solve all the problems. And they also really prioritize all the tasks from the beginning so that the work is completed on time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not Really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of Venetto Technologies

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Peer to peer discovery for fashion

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Alien to accomplish?

• UI/UX for the mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find The Alien?

Referral

Why did you select The Alien over others?

Referred to me

What was the size of The Alien’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

UI/UX design for the Grape mobile app - user journeys - wireframes - UI

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• User transition to the app

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

Alien was quick & agile with their work. They were open to feedback and responsive to any mid-project change in the deliverables.

What was your primary form of communication with The Alien?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Alien balances coming to the table with their expertise with staying open minded to the founders pov. In my experience, this is a rare combination.

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

NA