Fortnight

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital project manager at a free-to-enter gaming app. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortnight?

I hired Fortnight to redesign our mobiile application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortnight redesigned and developed our cross-platform native app using Kotlin. They utilized our previous design in their design process, which included designing the UX/UI. Fortnight integrated gamification and monetization features and automations. Fortnight finished the app design and is now running the QA process. 

In addition to the app design, Fortnight provides us with graphic design services. They’re developing social media assets that we post on Facebook and Instagram. 

What is the team composition?

We work with the project manager, a member of the creative team, back- and frontend developers, and the UX designer. 

How did you come to work with Fortnight?

We found Fortnight on Google. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around £40,000 (approximately $53,000 USD) with Fortnight. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Fortnight began in December 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is scheduled to launch in April 2022. We haven’t identified any bugs outside of the existing ones Fortnight is rectifying through the new design. They’ve also improved our gamification features. In general, Fortnight has been amazing — they’re hardworking and solution-oriented. 

How did Fortnight perform from a project management standpoint?

Fortnight has excellent project management. We generally communicate via Slack and have regular Zoom meetings to discuss the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been really impressed with how well Fortnight sticks to our timelines and budget, which I think is rare for vendors in the industry. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think Fortnight should scale up their services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend customers hire Fortnight — their team is creative and technically talented. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder of a dating app called Thursday and we connect singles in person every Thursday through online matchmaking and offline events. The app is LIVE for 24 hours only every week.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Fortnight re-skinned and re-designed our app from the ground up. We had an MVP however this agency took it to the next level. They help us conceptualise our brand by building a new website, new brand and enhanced the UX and UI of the app to real bring it to life.

SOLUTION

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

Fortnight had already worked with a dating app before, Bumble, which gave us confidence they were familiar with the space. We found them on Google and due to their high ratings and SEO it was a no brainer for us to instruct them.

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

Built a killer website and transferred us from WIX to Webflow. Redesigned the app in Figma and applied new branding to it.

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

We had 3/4 people working on the project from Fortnight and about 5/6 people involved from Thursday.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Downloads have increased by 50%

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

Communication was 10/10 and they really went all out to deliver an incredible piece of work.

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

I'm normally skeptical about agencies but I've been mind blown by the level of service from Fortnight.

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

Honestly. No. 5 stars from me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of a gin startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a refresh of our Shopify site. We had set aside a budget for it and got some funding through the government to complete a digital boost.

SOLUTION

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

We selected this vendor on previous work that looks of very high quality. The team were responsive and helpful in the introduction stages particularly Sam who helped us throughout.

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

We needed to choose, implement and customise a Shopify theme that fit with the new direction of our start-up brand. We settled on a theme and after some issues getting photography together on our end, we got it pretty much together and were very happy with the result.

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

4 or 5. It was not immediately clear who was working on the website. We had a few points of contact who were responsive enough to smoothly work through the website. We were not in a crazy rush though as we had a functional website, we were most concerned with getting it right.

If you are looking to do things with speed and on a budget, I am not sure fortnight would be for you. They do it right but they take their time which I personally preferred.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I think the outcome of the project was absolutely in line with what we expected and no more. I wasn't blown away but we did not really spend enough money to consider this a large scale project. We redesigned the website, they took their fee and we parted ways.

The website looked great and I was glad that Fortnight completed the project without major issues.

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

The predominant communication tool was Slack, I personally don't like slack but it was fine for the limited amount of time we actually needed to use it.

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

They worked through a particularly difficult time scale for us in relation to government funding deadlines. This was above and beyond and I am very grateful to them for pulling through on it.

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

I think giving us really clear instruction as to what they would need from us right at the start might have helped get things moving quicker. I can't say I am super well versed in web development but I do spend a decent amount of time inside of liquid coding and the code etiquette was poor. Struggled to find things as some files are not named correctly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Graphic Designer at Digital Voices, Global Influencer Marketing Agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Fortnight brought our new rebranded website wireframes to life, consulting on the UX and UI in the design stages to ensure a smooth development.

SOLUTION

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

We were searching specifically for Webflow developers due to our previous site being developed on the platform. After shortlisting 10 and interviewing 3 candidates, we went with Fortnight for their knowledge, enthusiasm and service. We're a young, creative team and so we were happy to find a studio who embodied this.

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

We had designed the desktop wireframes in line with our new branding. Fortnight consulted during the design stages to lend advice on UI & UX optimisation but their main responsibility was bringing these wireframes to life, which required complex animations and custom code. In addition, Forntight also handled the launch of the site, involving adding an additional domain and switching host.

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

Our main point of contact was Sam, their Marketing Manager who displayed nothing short of excellence in terms of service. I also worked with a few of Fortnight's developers, namely Nic and Tom who were really co-operative and took into account all of our requirements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site hasn't been live enough to gain accurate metrics, plus our company has had exponential growth independently to our website so unfortunately we don't have any conclusive data. We have had numerous compliments from new clients and old on the usability and user-friendliness of the site.

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

We had numerous calls to discuss goals, expectations and budget prior to starting any work. Once confirmed, there were frequent calls with Sam & the development team to both consult on our designs and to bring those designs to life. Fortnight utilise Slack in their workflow, a great communication tool which we also use at Digital Voices; this meant communication outside of calls was simple, quick and effective.

As a result, we never had an issue with punctuality or deadlines that we had agreed on but it's worth noting that we had to wait around 4 weeks until Fortnight had the capacity to start (although this was mainly due to us taking too long with our rebrand)

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

Fortnight was a knowledgeable, and friendly group that was really easy to work with. Working with these guys felt like an extension of our own team. I can't say they offer anything particularly unique but the combination of experience, efficiency and service made the experience of launching a new website a lot less stressful.

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

As we only presented Fortnight with desktop wireframes and not fully responsible mockups, we were hoping that they would adjust them to work well responsively to cater to all devices. Whilst they did achieve this, the mobile version of the site was still far from the standard of the desktop site and involved additional developement from our end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Programming Manager at an ISP based in Las Vegas. We serve homes and businesses in Nevada, Arizona and California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fortnight?

Our website had become very outdated. We have minimal in-house design expertise so we hired Fortnight to redesign the website.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with Fortnight on a previous project and liked the responsiveness, work quality and multidisciplinary approach.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We exchanged information via email and Zoom. They then produced wireframes and shared them with us via Figma where we added our comments. Then we moved on to high fidelity designs, of which there were a few iterations, all shared and commented on via Figma.

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

We mostly worked directly with one of their designers and had occasional contact with a product manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website looks a lot better and captures all of our requirements and preferences. It's too early to comment on conversions etc.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had updates almost every day via Slack and Figma. They were extremely responsive and communication was excellent.

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

Communication and work quality. They communicated almost every day and shared updates in real-time. They worked at a good pace and met the timeframes we discussed. The quality of their work was really excellent - few designers are able to produce work as detailed, aesthetically pleasing and distinctive.

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

No areas for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Propositions at a company that provides SaaS based open-architecture software to help lenders and brokers in the Mortgage, Lending and Savings sectors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Fortnight to help build our webflow CMS website with very tight deadlines.

SOLUTION

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

We searched the approved list of Webflow CMS developer list

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

To complete the build of the Webflow CMS website

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

One main point of contact and two developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website was completed and launched on time to great delight from the company exec team and clients alike.

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

Communication was via Slack and video calls

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

The team was able to respond to our needs at very short notice and turn around the build of the website under extremely tight timescales and shifting requirements. They went above and beyond, working late evenings and weekends to meet our deadline.

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

Better communication. Although in fairness it was pretty chaotic on both sides as the project scope changed a few times.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing & Communication Manager for Hearth and Green Consult Global ltd, We offer a range of energy efficiency management services for the UK domestic market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Fortnight to help us establish our branding for our new company Hearth. Our aim was to have our branding be clear, modern and communicate effectively what it is we do.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had a look at a number of branding & design agencies before we made the decision to go ahead with Fortnight. We loved their website as well as their immediate warm professional approach.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We started out with an initial video call to get all our ideas out there and so we could meet the team and communicate what it is we were looking for. they prefer to communicate Via Slack & Figma. After our video call they went away and created a bunch of initial design ideas, in which we got to really narrow down our desired direction for the logo.

We found this stage incredibly helpful, going forward was a process of elimination and re-design until we managed to whittle it down to our final options. Our final deliverables included, logo's in color & black/white, Brand Guidelines, Typography, Banners & Buttons for our social profiles.

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

We worked directly with two members of the team for the majority of the design experience, Nic & Sarah. Main initial communications had been managed by Sam, Marketing Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are soon to launch our sister company - however the branding has been loved by everyone thus far and we have yet to receive a negative comment.

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

Most of the communication during the design faze was managed trough, Slack, Figma and Video Call.

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

We felt like they genuinely wanted us to love the final design. They were very committed to the project.

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

As we were new to using the two platforms of Slack and Figma as a mean for communication, we found it slightly inconvenient, but they were flexible with the video calls and that was very appreciated.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a director of Big Smoke Productions Ltd. Our company focuses on providing services to the performing arts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have developed an exciting and innovative social media platform aimed at the performing arts industry. This ground-breaking platform and App needed a strong visual identity that would resonate with performance artists and signify change and a new way of 'connecting the stage'

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We used clutch to pick our top 5 and arranged a video call with each. We were looking for a small agency that really understood our vision and particularly the social enterprise aspects of our product. From the very first call we formed the impression that they cared about what we were trying to do, and would be fully engaged in every aspect of the process.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

They were asked to produce a brand identity that we could use throughout our platform and across social media, and marketing. We needed a unique product name, and logo. We had no preconceived ideas and were keen to explore different ideas and approaches.

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

We worked with 2 designers. The product manager took care of of the customer experience throughout the process, and the company founder sat in on a couple of calls to ensure that things were progressing to our satisfaction.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project overran because of our original domain name registration falling through, despite depositing funds with a leading provider. (A common occurrence by all accounts). Fortnight were extremely understanding and, despite the considerable amount of work that had already being conducted, were keen to keep the show on the road and set about the whole process again in a totally professional manner, whilst at the same time stressing to us that they would bring the project in at a cost that was as near to the estimate as possible.

It was during this refocusing phase that their commitment to what we were trying to do shone through and it felt like a real partnership, and not just another external contractor relationship.

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

We had a face-to-face brainstorming session in London that was well organized and extremely useful in teasing out our brand identity in ways that we hadn't thought of. The main project communication tool was slack, and the ability to call was always there. Messages were answered promptly, and we were kept informed of the progress at all times.

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

Their empathy towards our product was evident from the start. They always felt like part of the team. I was impressed by their designs, and the confidence they to point out their own recommended variations, rather than just supplying range ideas with no steer on what worked from their professional experience.

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

Honestly, no. We will use Fortnight again as we expand into other areas and are very happy to have them on board as our branding partners going forward.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Founder and Director of Plain Jane Events, a creative events agency based in UK, supporting our network of clients with all their event needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fortnight?

Our website was ‘homemade’ over 10 years and was out of date in more ways than one! We hired Fortnight to redesign and build a new website that showcased our portfolio and allowed us to edit it ourselves after every event, keeping it current and up to date.

SOLUTION

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

We spoke to a number of agencies around the Uk and went with Fortnight as we felt they had a great understanding of our brand, what we were trying to achieve with the website and they provided an excellent level of service and clear communication from the start.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After an in-depth discovery meeting Fortnight came back to us with a few different initial website designs/layouts to choose from. We worked together to merge elements from each one and create a look that was true to our brand and vision. They then proposed a new clearer flow to our site, and put together designs for the other pages which we had full access to via Figma, which we’d never used before and loved!

Once the layout was signed off, they then moved all content over from our old site over. We were then given a great session on the back end of the site and how to update the pages we agreed to have control of. The Fortnight team stayed in constant contact and helped with tweaks once it was live.

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

We worked with 2 people throughout the process, a project manager and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial design stage was great to watch, seeing our branding develop into a website, and online portfolio. We now use our website as a portfolio to send to clients with links to different event sectors or individual events and clients have been really positive about how well that works.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their communication was great throughout, and using Figma allowed us to really see how things developed so we could feedback easily.

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

We really felt they understood our brand and created a site we feel proud to show off. Their knowledge of user experience really helped us to keep things simple while using some really cool design elements to keep it current. I felt this was a really collaborative experience but also very supportive and I knew they were in control at all times, but open to our feedback and ideas.

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

The project took around 6 months, having not done this type I thing before, I was expecting it to be quicker, but when you look at all the elements involved and the content to be created and decisions to be made I understand why.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm one of the co-founders of SYNKii. SYNKii is a virtual classroom for music education. While also being the first platform to allow for real-time playing and collaboration without the use of expensive single use hardware or hardwired internet connection.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Fortnight allowed us to realise the product from a beta stage MVP to a fully functional, marketable product.

SOLUTION

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

We had a shortlist of 8 designers. Fortnight were at the top with aesthetics, price and level of communication to understand the project from the get-go.

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

We had 3 phases. Branding, product design & market page design. Each started with in depth discussions about each element and what we intended to achieve. From there we used Slack & Figma to discuss daily updates and development.

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

2 Designers, 1 marketing manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have yet to release to SYNKii but after working with other very accomplished designers I feel in safe hands - speed, feedback & transparency.

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

Zoom, Slack & Figma were all we needed to communicate efficiently.

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

The whole team feels genuinely invested in the success of our project. Couldn't recommend them enough.

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

None.