Designli

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer of a transportation company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is a publicly owned, privately operated infrastructure joint venture that spans 3.8 million square feet in downtown Chicago. Under an exclusive, long-term operating concession, we use technology and business partnerships to expand our role as a transportation gateway to downtown Chicago. 

With more than 9,000 parking spaces in four adjacent facilities, out company offers daily, monthly, and long-term parking for Chicago commuters, residents, visitors, and fleet customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Designli to accomplish?

• SolutionLab Consulting: Develop a practical, actionable mobile app strategy and approach
• Agile Software Design: Design a customer-facing mobile app based on specific business objectives and functionality goals

SOLUTION

How did you find Designli?

Referral

Why did you select Designli over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Designli were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Create mobile app Roadmap, including: 
  • screenflow to illustrate the usability of the solution in visual form
  • user personas in a visual format to illustrate various sample user types
  • proposal for the next step in the process
  • high-level estimate for the full build-out of the solution. 
• Develop a working prototype of mobile app design to deliver features and functionality identified in the mobile app Roadmap.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Designli developed and presented all deliverables outlined in the scope of work, effectively incorporated client input / feedback, and packaged deliverables in practical / usable formats.

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

With regular working sessions, work product, progress reports, invoices and other communications, Designli delivered on project deliverables in a professional, responsive, timely manner.

What was your primary form of communication with Designli?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Designli’s approach was smart and well-grounded, with a personable and fiercely competent team to match. Stage-gated processes with clear deliverables have helped us build momentum quickly and make informed decisions as we allocate time and resources to mobile app design.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Bottle Titan. We put traceability on the alcoholic beverages supply chain, so we trace wine, liquor, and beer shipments globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

We needed help with UI/UX design for a customer platform, so we hired Designli.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Designli helped us map out and design the UI/UX and functionality of a platform for our customers. The project also included blueprint design, flowchart development, and two sprint cycles of graphic design. As for the technology stack, they used Figma for the designs.

As for the app’s core features, it has maps and charts for tracking a shipment delivery. Moreover, Designli created algorithms with variables such as temperature, humidity, vibration, and light.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 4–5 teammates from Designli.

How did you come to work with Designli?

They were recommended by a mentor of mine. When I met the Designli team, I thought that they had something special and that the value they offered seemed incredible for what they would deliver.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $17,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around July 2022, and it took Designli three months to complete the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When I started this project, I didn’t have anything — I didn’t know where to go and what to do. We didn’t have any documentation, and as a non-technical founder, I didn’t have a clear idea of what the project entailed.

Still, Designli rolled up their sleeves and understood the intricacies of what needed to be delivered to the customer. The fact that I now have a fully designed UI and a functionality chart is a very successful result. Having those designs took a lot of weight off my shoulders.

On top of that, Designli did an extremely good job of narrowing down the most important features of the app’s MVP. Of course, I wanted to implement everything I had in mind, but I had a limited budget. Designli did a very good job of working with me and helping me understand which features were necessary and which ones could be added to version two and version three of the app.

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

Designli’s work was fantastic. They had incredible communication, and I constantly received updates on what they were working on and what they had completed. Additionally, they were always very quick to respond to my questions. We communicated via email, phone, Zoom, and Microsoft (MS) Teams, and we also used a project management tool for this project, but I don’t remember the name.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Designli was very easy to talk to and willing to help.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything Designli could have improved on — they did a very good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Tell them exactly what your needs are, and trust that they’ll sort through those needs and help you as if they were part of your team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are developing a solution based app for locating medical supplies. I am a co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to develop a simplified but professional app for locating medical supplies.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

After researching app development companies we narrowed it down to three companies. After the first meeting we decided that Designli answered all of our questions and we were confident that they could bring our vision to life.

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

We had a meeting to discuss the goals and features of the app. Katie sent a recap then we scheduled the SolutionLab. The SolutionLab was exhausting but incredibly insightful and helped us narrow down our key features, i.e., smartwatch, voice to text search, etc.. Katie then sent the roadmap and user profiles and after a few tweaks we moved on to the graphic design phase. We are finishing the design and prototype phase to now move on to the development of the app.

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

Katie is our project manager and has been so great to keep us updated on every step of the process. We have also worked with the design team but that phase has wrapped up so we will move on to the development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We do not have any measurables yet but every step so far has been very thorough and we are confident in the next steps and final product.

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

Our project manager has been so great to work with. She is one step ahead of us and has been so thorough and helpful with all of the smaller details that we did not think about.

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

Their development expertise. As we were working through the functions of the app, Keith could quickly answer our questions and give an estimate of how much the feature would add to the price of development. That allowed us to quickly decide on if it was needed and allowed us to move to the next step.

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

No need for improvement. We have really enjoyed working with Designli.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an educational app that provides social and emotional development tools for neurodivergent children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

We had a therapeutic method with in-person tools that we were trying to translate into a mobile app that provided content asynchronously.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Designli is our partner for mobile app design and development. We’ve been through different project stages, and they’ve broken up each phase into clear deliverables. Each deliverable has to be approved before moving on to the next step.

The app has interactive video content that kids can watch with their parents; their choices determine which educational content they’ll be served. Designli has used Flutter and React to make the app cross-platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked consistently with 3–5 people. We were initially in touch with the co-founder and a project manager. Then, they handed us to a project manager, software engineers, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Designli?

I found them through Clutch. I listed 15 firms that I liked and called all of them. I tried to get a vast network of people, but we ultimately chose Designli.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $45,000–$50,000 so far. In total, the entire project will be around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We look at the development process instead of KPIs. Designli has been great at helping us solve problems. Moreover, they’ve delivered and communicated well throughout each project step.

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Basecamp, emails, and texts to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their strengths are communication, product quality, and price. They deliver high-quality products and are great to work with. Moreover, the team is transparent, and we get value from their developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly don’t know if they could improve something; I have nothing but good things to say about them. If anything, we could be better clients.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront, transparent, and clear to save time. Trust is always a component when you work with firms. You might want to avoid giving them too much information because you’re afraid they’ll take advantage of you. However, we actually felt that disclosing our budget and what we wanted to do helped us get the most out of the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an administrator at Behind The Knife, a surgical education platform company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

We wanted to create a log-in feature for our website and also build Android and iOS apps where our users could consume our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Designli is building custom e-learning web and mobile platforms for us, which are focused on advanced education. We're currently finishing the project's discovery, design, and prototype stages, and we're about to start the development phase. In terms of functionalities, we've asked them for individualized log-in features for the website and the app, along with the integration of our premium products, like video, audio, text, and image files. It's important for us that our users can see our products on a user-friendly platform that looks cool and doesn't feel like they're just taking a class.

So far, they've created a clickable prototype for us, which is nice because we can play with it and see what we like and can change.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with around six members of their team, including a project manager, a developer, a designer, Keith (CEO), and Joshua (COO).

How did you come to work with Designli?

I found them through Clutch. We did have other potential partners, but Designli were quick to respond in our initial meetings, and they also had good reviews on Clutch, so they seemed legit.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we've spent $650,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. We're about to enter into a year-long commitment with them with three full-time developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Designli has exceeded our expectations; our project is complex, and we came to them with a lot of ideas, but they’ve been able to understand our needs and are building a fantastic design with an organized and user-friendly interface.

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

We do project management through Basecamp, and it’s fantastic in terms of meeting deadlines, staying within budget, and communicating. Their team sends frequent updates on the process and lets us know how many hours they’ve been working on us, so we’re always aware of every step. Moreover, their ability to schedule meetings is impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is knowledgeable, friendly, easy to communicate with, responsive, and dedicated to every step of the process. Moreover, they commit to learning and understanding our business to provide professional suggestions, showing that they care about us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an individual with an idea for a mobile application and the owner of this soon-to-be product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

I hired Designli to vet, design, and develop my mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Designli is developing a mobile application for me. Initially, I had a complicated idea that wasn't doable with iOS. Designli broke down the idea into what I was trying to accomplish and its benefits. Together, we've developed a simplified approach that works across Android and iOS. The team has designed a logo and prototype using Figma and done some work on the app's first page. Although I have an estimate on when they're taking the prototype to full development, I haven't taken that step yet.

The app is a photo organization platform for professional work and special interest photos. Users will be able to keep images separate from their phone gallery when trying to take or share them within a professional context. This solution will keep work-related photos from clogging up users' galleries and getting lost or untagged. 

What is the team composition?

For the initial meetings and brainstorming, I worked with three teammates from Designli. Once we decided to move forward, I started working with a fourth contact. I've also worked with an individual overseas that I believe Designli contracted to do some of the grunt work in the prototype design. 

How did you come to work with Designli?

When looking for providers, I didn't really know where to go with what I was trying to do, and I had a couple of appointments with people who couldn't do this for me. Although it took me a little time to hunt around and find someone, eventually, a friend recommended Designli — that's how I got in touch with them.

How much have you invested in them?

I've spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in January 2022, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Designli has helped me figure out the right direction for my app. Since the product isn’t live yet, I don’t have any quantitative metrics.  

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed very well in terms of project management. The team is very good at following up and being thorough when answering my questions, and they reply to them within the same day. Moreover, each and every member of their team is pleasant to engage with.

We use Google Meet for our video conferences and Basecamp for project management. Additionally, the app’s prototype is available through Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Designli is an excellent team that’s young, professional, and knowledgeable. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re doing very well. If I had any complaint, it would be that they’re a little expensive. However, there isn’t an easy way to shop for this type of service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If anyone is looking for this type of service, Designli is on point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Earth Technology Integration, LLC. We’re a software and tech services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

We were working with a development company but weren’t satisfied with their work, so we wanted to bring in a different team to help us develop and design our existing sites and add additional features.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Deisgnli has been doing software and web development and design for us. We started by having an introductory call with them about our previous work and what we were looking for specifically. The product is a software site that would help manage firefighting mobilization personnel.

They created the platform from scratch using React and TypeScript, including the mock-ups, review implementation, design, and development according to our requirements.

In terms of functionalities, the site helps us reach and manage other firefighting personnel in neighboring counties for extra resources and equipment. It also sends email notifications to fire chiefs across the state that contains a link with a response form to tender their offers if they can. On the firefighter coordinator side, it has an interface to review those offers, partially or fully accept them, or decline the offer.

Currently, we now have two engineers from their team working full-time on our projects.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with Josh (COO), Katie (Business Analyst), a UI designer, and a couple of software developers.

How did you come to work with Designli?

We were doing research and found multiple companies. We chose Designli because they were local and thought it’d be an interesting option. Also, we like what we saw on their site.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around $70,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re pleased with their work and want to expand the work with them because they’ve done such a great job. Overall, everything’s top-notch because their team quickly reacts to our concerns in a collaborative approach.

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a great job with project management — they come in with conservative deadlines and budgets. Communication is great; we have webinars two times a week, and they call me periodically to ensure everything’s going well. This is very refreshing and distinguishes them from other providers. 

Regarding tools, we use Basecamp to post messages and questions to each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our team is impressed with the coding organization and readability. Also, their technology is spot-on, and they’ve ramped up our existing projects — it’s been nice to work with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure to communicate your needs upfront; they’re meticulous in their details, so the more information you give them, the easier it will be for them to deliver a quality product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a startup medical company providing a device that helps with nasal congestion.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Designli?

We were considering adding a mobile app for our device.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Designli has helped us design the software architecture needed for our app, as well as its components and functionality. After engaging with them, We had an online meeting to gather information, during which they walked us through the early steps of the project. Then, we had an in-person brainstorming session to discuss the functionality, cost, and next steps.

Initially, we didn’t know what we wanted, but they helped us identify education materials, gaming dynamics, and other functionalities that we could incorporate into the app.

We already have the design, but we haven’t developed the app. This design work includes images, color schemes, and the UI.

How did you come to work with Designli?

Before hiring Designli, we looked around at multiple firms.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our introductory call in November 2021. We’re still in communication with Designli’s team, but our collaboration isn’t active. The next step for us would be starting the development work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our stakeholders have been very impressed with the work that Designli has done. Some of those stakeholders have had previous experiences with mobile app development projects, and they’re still impressed with what we now have. Overall, Designli has delivered more than we initially expected — they’ve overperformed.

How did Designli perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had really good communication with their team. From the start, they established an excellent flow in the process, guiding us to where we’re now; everything has been really well done. We’ve used Basecamp to manage the project and Google Meet to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My experience working with Designli has been fantastic. They excel at listening to our feedback and providing quality responses to that feedback. Whenever we’ve requested changes, they’ve come back with well-thought-out solutions and ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has gone better than expected.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to work with a very open and communicative team to review a mobile app project you have in mind, I would highly recommend Designli.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Senior Marketing Manager at an entertainment company. I am responsible for creating and developing new and innovative tools used by our employees and partners. I work closely with our graphic design team to create a variety of marketing material used across many platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Accel Entertainment hired Designli to create an mobile app that will be used by our dart players who participate and play in our remote dart leagues. The goal of this app is to provide a better platform for our players to connect with each other, view their stats, create teams, and overall increase the player experience. Also with this app, our goal is to increase the amount of players playing in our remote dart leagues by making the process of joining much easier for a player to use and understand.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Our team selected Designli after an extensive search for app developers. Designli's website was something that stood out to us as they have a lot of great information that helped us understand the process before getting started. The "Success Stories" section on their website also stood out to me as I was able to see real examples of work they had done in the past for other companies.

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

The scope of this work includes the following:

1. Kick-off Meeting | This is where we got to meet the Designli team virtually to determine if this was a good fit for us and to explain high-level what we were trying to accomplish
2. SoultionLab | This step included a lengthy video call with several members from our team as well as Designli's team. During this call we got into the specifics and details of everything that we were looking for. During this process Designli really took the time to understand our company and how things current run when it comes to dart leagues. Together during this phase we came up with solutions on how this app with increase the experience of our dart players
3. UX Document Review | After SolutionLab, Designli's team put together a detailed and thorough document that outlined exactly how this app will work. The document included all features available on the player/dart side, along with information and details on how the platform will work on the backend with our employees and dart coordinators. During this process, our team would review the document, add comments and feedback and Designli would make revisions to the document. After several revisions on our end, we finalized the document and moved onto the graphic design and prototype phase
4. Graphic Design & Prototype | In this phase, Designli sent the finalized UX Document to their team of very talented designers who brought the app to life using a prototyping platform. This platform allowed us to see exactly how the app was laid out and we were able to add comments and feedback directly to this platform that were sent to the design team. Once this phase was complete, we took this prototype and began testing it with our players and employees to get their feedback.
5. Development & Testing | Once the graphic design and testing phases are complete, we will move into the development phase of this process where the Designli team will begin creating the app.

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

As of right now, we've worked with 5 Designli team members. Keith and Josh worked us in the early stages of the process helping us outline the scope of this project. During the early stages, we also worked with Katie, who created the master UX document and handled all of the feedback and edits.

When we moved to the graphic design phase, I began to work with Taylor and Daniel. Taylor is our project coordinator and is great! She sends the team weekly updates and keeps everyone in the loop and up to speed. Daniel is Designli's designer and is VERY talented. He was able to capture the look and feel of the app by using only the UX Document.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we are still in the prototype/testing phase, we have received great feedback so far from our employees and dart players that have seen the prototype. Everyone is very excited to begin using this app.

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

During this process, Designli uses Basecamp to communicate updates to everyone involved in the process. Taylor does a great job keeping everyone updated and on the same page. The Basecamp platform makes communicating simple and easy.

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

Overall the Designli team as a whole stands out to us. The team meshes very well together and working with them has been very easy. Everyone on the team takes pride in their work and is great at what they do. I would also say that Desgnli's designer Daniel is definitely a great asset the the Designli team. During the graphic design phase, he was able to visualize everything that we were wanting in an app and has helped make the platform user friendly and easy to use.

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

Up to this point, I can honestly say that there is nothing that I would recommend be done differently. Our experience with Designli has been very positive so far.