Creole Studios

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Blak Branding & Design is a full-service branding and design agency transforming the digital and marketing ecosystem of visionary companies. With a complete range of creative capabilities, we use research, Lean and Agile UX principles and design thinking to help clients problem-find and problem-solve based on empathy. My name is Gino Morrow and I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creole Studios, and what were your goals?

The project is Blakbad.com and we hired Creole to do the front-end development in addition to animation design and html.

• Expected to follow the brand guideline (as demonstrated through existing designs)
• Current designs are constructed in Adobe Illustrator. All supporting files e.g. fonts, images are also made accessible for the designer selected to do this work
• Relevant experience e.g. mid to senior level of expertise, knowledge of UX/UI, software design is necessary to be considered

SOLUTION

How did you select Creole Studios and what were the deciding factors?

I selected Creole through a selection process on the Upwork platform. I decided to go with Creole because of their portfolio.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

• Provide development for 14 unique web pages
• Provide development for animations, micro-interactions and entire website
• Follow the brand guideline (as demonstrated through existing designs)
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, XD or anything comparable is a must.
• Relevant experience e.g. mid to senior level of expertise, knowledge of UX/UI, software design is necessary also.

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

3 people;

• Account Manager
• Project Manager
• UX Designer/Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Creole went above and beyond to satisfy us. As a branding and design agency, I am extremely critical about how our designs look and function. We have a very high standard for design and development.

Over the course of working on the Blakbad.com website with Creole, we developed an efficient and effective rapport, that's reflected in the final product. I enjoyed working with the Creole and I really have fun working through solutions. I look forward to a long, prosperous relationship with the Creole team.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Over the course of four months, I met with the Creole Team on average 3-4 times a week. In the final 2 months, we met once or twice a week. We used Zoom to conduct our meetings.

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

Their customer service is impeccable. Their talent is undeniable but even in instances when the project initially appeared to challenge the team, they would work until they provided a solution that met my expectations.

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

There are always areas of improvement for any company however, Creole delivered all they promised and more.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead designer for a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creole Studios?

We wanted to create a marketing mobile app for our financial advisors and hired Creole Studios for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Creole Studios developed an app for browsing document libraries. It allows our financial advisors to access them on the go.

What is the team composition?

I’m not sure how many people were on the team. My main contact is in Hong Kong and he communicated with the team in India.

How did you come to work with Creole Studios?

I found them while searching for app developers. They have a presence in Hong Kong, which is where I’m located, so I got in touch with them. I went through the portfolios and websites of several app developers but felt that Creole Studios matched what we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Creole Studios in April or May 2019, and the collaboration is ongoing for fixing issues on the system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve tracked the usage of the app and we haven’t encountered any user issues so far.

How did Creole Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

My Hong Kong contact is really good and has helped me a lot. He’s available 24 hours a day and is always on top of things. This is why I’m working with Creole Studios—they do what they promise and that’s why I like them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I like the most about them is their customer service. The contact person in Hong Kong has helped me go through issues and always addresses what I want.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They deliver on their promises, but they don’t work with short timeframes. They require 4–5 months to complete a project. Other than that, I think Creole Studios is good.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The only advice I’d give is to set aside time to go through all the details and work with them. I wouldn’t recommend them for urgent tasks, though.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a digital marketer for a private equity firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creole Studios?

We needed help migrating our website to WordPress.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a specific aesthetic effect.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We heard about them through word-of-mouth. They came highly recommended.

Describe the project in detail.

Our company chose WordPress as the solution when we decided to migrate our existing website over to a CMS. We initially worked with other developers. However, they left the website in terrible condition (wrong formatting, strange layouts, and funny errors). Creole Studios started the entire project over from scratch. They migrated the site to WordPress and formatted the new site to enable certain functions and effects.

What was the team composition?

I mainly corresponded with Anant (COO, Creole Studios) and Ankita (developer, Creole Studios).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Creole Studios was able to successfully migrate the site without any errors. They were able to further enhance the site by adding features and effects that we requested. They had no problem meeting our demands. They did an excellent job.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Anant facilitated the conversation between the teams to ensure the project went smoothly. Both Anant and Ankita were responsive and responsible. Communication was quick and effective via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Creole Studios produced high-quality work through comprehensive testing of all implemented changes.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They’re pricier than other developers, but definitely worth the cost. We learned the hard way that using less expensive developers can result in problems. Creole Studios gets the job done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Business intelligence specialist TOGY covers more than 30 oil and gas markets.  VIP interviews, analysis, and maps are available in books and online at TOGYiN.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creole Studios?

Our company hired Creole Studio for WordPress maintenance and development.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our project to be a bug-free operation with bespoke evolutions including new and custom widgets.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Creole Studios through an RFP process we conducted via Upwork.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We provided Creole Studios with a temperamental Virtual Machine, a Bitnami testing environment which contains a minimal Linux operating system with WordPress installed and configured.  

They managed to get it fit for use for months of development work. During this time, they added new features controlled and deployed with Jira, Jenkins, and Bitbucket. They continue to work for us to this day. We look forward to continuing our work with Creole Studios in the long term.

What was the team composition?

Creole Studios supplied one WordPress programmer backed up by an infrastructure specialist and consultant. They work for us when needed on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The value for money Creole Studios represents has had a significant impact on our bottom line, especially compared to our previous supplier.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Management-level discussions went smoothly. Once we had the team in place, we managed their work directly through Jira and Skype. The unpredictable nature of our demands caused some scheduling issues from time to time, but Creole Studios’ management always handled it neatly. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Creole Studios is excellent. Working together has been a real pleasure. Their work is quick, accurate, and efficient. All the staff approach communication with patience and consideration. They’ve enacted everything we’ve requested smoothly. 

Creole Studios’ in-house WordPress and infrastructure skills are top-notch. Our project included awkward requirements stemming from legacy issues our previous developers caused, but they took on the challenge and excelled. I strongly recommend them. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. Creole Studios is both a team of really good people and a great company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of Sportyvity, a tech startup that addresses the pain points regarding participation in sports at a recreational and social level.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creole Studios?

We hired Creole Studios to turn our idea into a mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted Creole Studios to develop our idea into a visual design, then create our MVP for the market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We evaluated a few freelancers and companies through online platforms. Creole Studios stood out because of their commitment and eagerness. Their CTO was excited about our idea and gave inputs at that stage.

Describe the project in detail.

Their UI developers kicked off the project. We handed them what we were looking for in the UX/UI design. Work was done based on a refreshing sample their team showcased to ours.

What was the team composition?

We initially worked with two frontend mobile developers and their CTO. Later, we engaged with one of their UX/UI designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, our app is in the beta stage. We received excellent feedback from primary users based on the easiness of the UI. Creole Studios delivers quality work on time and communicates effectively.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The CTO oversees the project and the quality of their deliverables. Communicating with their team is effortless. We collaborate through Slack and Jira for task and project management activities. Since we’re spread across three locations with different time zones, we communicate weekly through Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their commitment and care to delivering the best work are impressive. Their key ideas help our team tremendously. Mostly, I’m impressed with Creole Studios’ work ethic and timesheet management. We are only charged for work on the project; any outside research was taken care of by them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are satisfied with where we are and what we have. Our ideas are shaped up more and more each day. I would suggest adding team members in the UX/UI department to speed up those areas of development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the business manager for a public media influence company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creole Studios?

We needed to upgrade our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a functioning but minimal website, so Creole Studios redid the entire design. They provided links to numerous videos and added several new pages. The site now has rotating banner ads on the top and bottom. Creole Studios also added a forum and newsletter section to increase visitor interaction.

The original website was just a simple GoDaddy platform, but Creole Studios transferred it to WordPress. We now have affiliate links on the site, which also connect to new video updates of the products. The site launched in May, and we plan to use Creole Studios again on a consulting basis.

What is the team composition?

The project manager is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Creole Studios?

We found them on Upwork. They were more affordable than other options and had positive reviews, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $7,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from September 2017–May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new site is much faster than the old version. Our viewers love it and have consistently given positive feedback.

How did Creole Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They were super responsive and on top of their project management. We mainly communicated via email, text, or Upwork’s messaging function.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did high-quality work and were incredibly patient with us. We aren’t very tech savvy and have a small staff, so it was probably frustrating to teach us how things worked, but they were always respectful and helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Members Service Coordinator for AIAM Hong Kong. As a non-profit organization, we unite a team of practitioners who work as independent asset managers in Hong Kong.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creole Studios?

We hired Creole Studio to fully revamp our website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary objective was to better serve our members via a dynamic, innovative, and user-friendly new site.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of our committee's board members nominated Creole Studios as a partner agency.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Our engagement focused on the creation of a dynamic new website. The new page is based on a redesign of our current platform. In addition, we wanted the option to restrict access to specific content offerings. The team created and installed a function that instates limitations for non-members who visit our page.

What was the team composition?

Creole Studio's project lead worked with our committee board members. I liaised between the two parties and functioned as a middleman to relay messages and give feedback while the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project took a while due to few hiccups and adjustments, but we have Creole Studio to thank for its successful launch. The team is efficient and worked hard to go above and beyond what we'd planned. They made the website launch go as perfectly and smoothly as it possibly could have.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The process was bit slow due to the three-team composition. The language barrier and time difference proved challenging since our client is based in Hong Kong, our team is in the Philippines, and Creole Studio is located in India. Communication proved difficult since it involved lots of approval requests and discussion before we could settle on one solution. If they found something to be less effective than it should be, Creole Studio invested time and resources into revising it over and over. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What we liked most about Creole was their flexibility. Having direct access to the owner and his team made the project feel comfortable and flow naturally. Instruction and suggestions might have been lost in translation if there'd always been a middleman.

Creole Studio went far beyond the original plans to ensure client satisfaction. Despite the language barrier and time zone difference between us, they worked hard to make sure we were happy.  They willingly completed several requests we made that hadn't been included in the initial plan.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Response time and quick resolution on issues are two areas. Delays resulted in us not meeting the given timelines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an accountant for Homex Housing, a real estate company that builds and sells houses for profit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creole Studios?

We needed to come up with a CRM that would address our particular problems. One of our main challenges is managing construction site inventories—what materials do we need to order, at what times? We also have to deal with labor, such as the number of workers on a particular project at a particular time, as well as their payment method and structure. Finally, we needed help with our internal finances, in terms of how much a project costs, and what cash flow we’re expecting at a particular date.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Creole visited us at our office in Kenya, where we provided them with a simple framework, and discussed the challenges we were facing in regards to what we wanted to build. We provided spreadsheets with the names of our clients, along with floor plans of the houses we were building, in order for them to get an idea of what we really wanted.

They developed a CRM system that can tell us what we need, in terms of construction site materials, with the click of a button. We are also able to use it in order to determine the amount of labor we’re supposed to bring for particular projects. We can see the number of empty or vacant houses for sale, along with the amount of money we can expect to receive. The system has different areas for assignments, construction, and sales.

What is the team composition?

I’ve interacted with the CEO, the COO, and their head PHP coder.

How did you come to work with Creole Studios?

We were looking for a company that would give us a custom solution, not an already ready-developed system. Through a discussion with them, we saw they had fair prices, and that they could deliver within promised timeframe. If we had any issues, like bugs in the system, we felt that they would address those in time.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000-$50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Creole Studios since May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client response time is much faster and our communication is simpler. Their work also increased our cashflow and decreased our budget, given that we can determine how much a particular project will cost, and how much material it will require. It’s made our management process much more efficient.

How did Creole Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through email and conference calls, but they also visited us, on-site, in Kenya. We haven’t experienced any language barriers so far either.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very talented in terms of web development, and knowledgeable about IT. We can tell them what we need and what we want, and they will convert that into a solution. They have very good communication skills, they respond fast, and they’ve been able to address our challenges. No matter what we requested or what challenge we faced, they were able to address our needs in a timely manner.

I would recommend them to anyone looking to build a good, tailor-made system from scratch. Creole Studios can help clients combine everything that they’re doing, in terms of sales, stocks, and finance, and build the right tool.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could perhaps work quicker, but I can’t really think of anything at this time. We’re continuing to work with them, so something may come along, but we haven’t had any big issues so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

FastFocus produces a mobile application that help businesses collect customer feedback. I’m the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creole Studios?

We wanted a development partner to reduce our costs and improve our product quality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing iOS app that we built internally. Creole Studios duplicated all the features and functionality of that app for Android, using the iOS app as a guide. The app allows companies to create sets of competing ideas that might go to market. They can enter an image and description of each product or stock and invite customers to weigh in. Customers can swipe right on items they would invest in and left on ones they wouldn’t. After they’ve submitted their input, they can talk or type in what they liked about the ideas they would invest in.

What is the team composition?

Anant (COO & Co-founder, Creole Studios) was our main point of contact. He acted as our project manager, but our calls usually included a few other team members.

How did you come to work with Creole Studios?

We posted the project on Upwork. We picked three or four companies to interview and selected Creole Studios.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $5,000 on the first project. The next project we have planned is over $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started on the project around October 2017. The project is now finished, but we liked them so well have two new projects with them. I couldn’t be happier.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The relationship is excellent. They delivered on time and tested everything to make sure the quality of their code was good. They allowed us to start billing clients sooner and helped create great efficiency. We saved a lot of time on QA and have confidence in the code. Our clients are happy and we have very few issues. Our best metric is client satisfaction, which leads to more revenue.

How did Creole Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re a 10 out of 10. Sometimes, offshore companies have issues with communication, but their English is excellent. We met regularly and they were prepared. We used GitHub for bugs and issues and they always fixed things quickly. Sometimes, we’d see an issue and they’d fix it before our meeting the next morning. They took the time to understand the application and did more than just take the requirements and specifications literally. We got a lot more quality because of that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by their overall quality and professionalism, as well as their ability to partner with us and take responsibility for action items.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are very busy, so we’ve asked them about expanding their resources so they can take on more work. They’re doing a good job growing and accommodating our needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Talk to Anant. I’m sure they have other good project managers, but he provides good advice. I would point anyone who wants to work with them in his direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Varomatic. We are a Hong Kong-based web development company. We do web applications and we want to extend into mobile apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creole?

I’ve outsourced to freelancers in India in the past. I needed to find a long-term partner in India to support me with additional resources for mobile app and web development. Most of the time, my projects are WordPress-based and the coding is PHP-based, but if clients have other needs, we try to work that out for them. We also do e-commerce sites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of the projects is a combination competition website for a music company. We work with Creole on their requirements.

There are multiple templates and themes. They can do something promotional for the artists, singers, or their songs. Or they can create a mini competition for users to participate in by logging in with Facebook and submitting images. They can also submit a YouTube or Muse video so users can vote for them. There’s a search feature and filters for popular items or most votes.

On the backend, they can also fill out an artist profile, display the artist’s album or chat through the pages. People can set the competition start and end date in the backend and decide who is actually the winner. They can also locally export a CSV file to analyze or make a record for the music company.

Creole does the whole flow. They create wireframing for the whole project, finalize the design, and do the coding. We are having further discussions for add on-features, for instance, integrating posts with Facebook or Instagram.

The second project involves Stripe payment integration. It’s a custom solution for an e-commerce site. I’ve also asked them for quotes on a few other jobs that are pending our clients’ decisions.

What is the team dynamic?

They assigned at least 5–6 people for this project. There was 1 project manager leading the whole project, 1 frontend programmer, and 1 backend programmer. There are different people for wireframing and design as well.

I talk with 1 of the directors and the CEO on handling the project, because they care about this brand. They put more effort on this project.

How did you come to work with Creole?

They reached out to me 1 ½ years ago through email or LinkedIn. We had a discussion and I asked them for their portfolio to view the details. At that time, I was looking for different companies for outsourcing and I did some comparison. I thought they were suitable to work with.

Before our first project with them, I had a friend who needed mobile app development, which our company doesn’t do. I talked for a while with one of Creole’s directors and thought their advice was good, so I passed them on to my friend. They created the app, and my friend said the whole flow was very smooth. That’s why I decided to try them for the project for the music company as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $5,000–$6,000 for the music project, and the total cost for payment integration with Stripe was about $6,000.

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?

They provide an amazing advisory service. They explain what options are possible for the project. I don’t want to work with a company that simply says what they can and and can’t do or that just completes what you assign to them. I want someone who can truly advise.

It feels great working with their team. We have open communication and deal with issues together. Sometimes the team leader calls me to explain what’s going on and what our options are and to clarify things. Sometimes our client has changes that I need to pass along. They explain their approach and take action. The whole experience is pretty good.

How did Creole perform from a project management standpoint?

They collaborate pretty well. Most of the time, we can reach them with issues and they respond and can mend things pretty quickly. They don’t take a long time to understand what I need, which is why I will continue working with them.

We communicate through a Skype group that involves all 5 of their team members. We discuss everything. Sometimes I raise an issue with a new request from the client, we discuss it, and I let the client know what stage we’re in. They have comments on the work, which I pass on to the team. Then they make modifications and follow up. I most often hear from the project manager and one of the directors, who is actually the CEO.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very supportive. Whenever I have a question, they are responsive and advise me on what to do. I feel comfortable knowing they are backing me up. If I have project inquiries, they can do a feasibility study for me based on the requirements.

Another thing that is impressive is how honest they are about what they can do. I’ve dealt with other Indian companies who say they know what to do, but in the end, they are unable to deliver. I stopped working with them. Creole is honest with me. Some project scopes are not in their skill set, and they tell me  they can’t take them on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They don’t seem to have personnel for fully testing a system. Sometimes I find bugs during testing. That’s one area I think they can improve.