Fortnight

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Creator + Owner of the Make Up Bible which is a game-changing platform designed to help individuals learn how to apply Make Up on themselves no matter how much Make Up experience they have. The project is based on helping individuals gain confidence, self-love and determination through the power of make up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortnight?

App Creation and Development. An app to be made for my budget. Which they agreed. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To design it from scratch.

What is the team dynamic?

Made up of around 5 members.

How did you come to work with Fortnight?

Looked online

How much have you invested with them?

£6000

What is the status of this engagement?

Standstill. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

They have not worked within my budget at all. They have created 10% of the app and now asking for more money to complete it. 

How did Fortnight address the challenges that arose?

They’ve been avoiding my messages. They have said that they will not be refunding me for my losses. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

I’ve lost £6,500 worth of investment for my business. It has been detrimental to my business to the point where I may have to close down the business due to not having the product I paid for and invested in.

How was project management handled?

Through the team members.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?
 
Provided a good design.

In what specific areas can they improve?

They need to be clear with their customers instead of leading them on and taking their money.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Be super clear on what you want and ensure a contract is in place with specific requirements. Do not invest your money into this company. I’m so upset by this.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on April 15, 2021.

Poppy Johnson

Creator, The Make Up Bible

Beauty & Cosmetics

1-10 Employees

United Kingdom

$10,000 to $49,999

Mar 2021 - Ongoing

Project summary

With the aim of gaining confidence through the power of makeup, Fortnight is creating a web app. The team is tasked with building the app's wireframes and developing UI designs. 

Feedback summary

Although the project is ongoing, the client is delighted with the new app design. Fortnight has gone above and beyond to exceed the business's goals. Their team's project management has been beneficial to complete the platform. They have been flexible with the ideas and suggestions for the concepts.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Creator + Owner of the Make Up Bible which is a game-changing platform designed to help individuals learn how to apply Make Up on themselves no matter how much Make Up experience they have. The project is based on helping individuals gain confidence, self-love and determination through the power of make up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fortnight?

App Creation and Development

What were your goals for this project?

To create an app that is new of its kind to the Beauty Industry. I was also looking to be able to easily update the app as much as possible from my end so it keeps the app current.

SOLUTION

How did you select Fortnight?

I was searching online via google and then once found the websites, I also checked out their social media too.

Describe the project in detail.

We initially had a welcome meeting so that I could meet the team which was really beneficial. I also was working alongside them to create the wireframes for the app, one of the team then took my designs and developed them into UI designs giving me full access to view the project as we go which was great.

What was the team composition?

I was made aware of all the team members, great to communicate with them all via Slack. I worked closely with the designer to ensure my designs were properly met. I also had numerous meetings with the project manager to see what had been done and the next phase of development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I'm really happy with the design, they went above and beyond what I was expecting and the next stage is the functionality which I'm looking forward to seeing.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They use project management software which kept us all up to date which was really beneficial. They were also really easy to get hold of. If I had a question, they would answer via slack pretty much straight away.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They really invited my ideas and thoughts around the concept. They work really well as a team and their knowledge and design are mind-blowing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Literally, none, Keep doing what you're doing!

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 5

Willing to refer: 5

Company Responses

The vendor responded on July 22, 2021.

We are very sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with the outcome of the project. We worked very hard on successfully producing a fully functioning v1 of the app for you and are proud of what we have achieved within an extremely tight budget. Not only have we designed and built a fully functioning app for you with all the "must have" requirements included as outlined in the original brief, we have also built a custom backend and custom CMS to power the app, all within your specified budget.

It is of utmost importance to us that each project is delivered to the highest possible standard and that our clients have a great experience when working with us, so we have tried to reach out to you on a few occasions to find the best possible solution for the additional features you would like to have implemented on the app. We'd love to find a good way forward and are always happy to help with any questions you might have.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO at Hubb Kitchens. We create take-away brands and operate them in cloud kitchens, solely focusing on delivery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Fortnight to help us with a new brand design, more specifically our logo, fonts, colour packages, and packaging designs / illustrations. Our goal was to have a great product delivered that we would be very happy to implement on all our channels.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found a number of companies online. We conducted interviews, looked at their prior work, and evaluated their price points and delivery time. Fortnight ranked best after this process.

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

Fortnight initially gave us a template for a workshop to help us encapsulate our brand identity - forcing us to determine which outcome we wanted from the beginning. After finishing the workshop (our entire team participated) we asked Fortnight to create our new logo and brand packaging. Initially, they delivered the wrong product, because we gave them the wrong guidelines.

After letting them re-start, this time without any guidelines, they delivered a lot of different, very exciting proposals. We kept selecting 1-4 design ideas in every step of the process, from about 5-15 options that they sent us, and kept re-iterating through a group channel in Slack. It was very meticulous, and after the end of the project, we were very satisfied with our new logo and brand packaging. They were always quick to respond and good listeners.

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

About 2-3. Senior Graphic Designers, I believe, not sure.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of the project, we now have a cohesive and very impressive brand design & logo throughout our products and digital presences. We've got a lot of compliments!

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

Super great - At least 2-3 updates a week (we had daily briefings at one point also), via our collaborative Slack channel where our teams were members and their designers sent us ideas, iterations, and proposals as soon as they were ready with a next step.

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

We were impressed with their communication and responsiveness.

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

Timelines went a bit off, but in all fairness, I believe this was due to one of their designers getting sick mid-project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Clarify, we're a candidate-first hiring platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Fortnight's goal was to help clean up and set the foundation for Clarify's brand, with an official palette and design to build on.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Carefully researched multiple agencies and design professionals. Curated dribbble profiles and past design work, narrowed down selection based on background in field and budget. Contacted 3 vendors with competing proposals and pricing.

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

To start we had an interview with Sam to set scope and deliverables of the project, we later reviewed the proposal and upon approval setup a Slack channel to collaborate and worked on Figma with Tom and the team. Deliverables included, logo/wordmark, color palette, font assets.

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

Worked directly with Sam, Marketing Manager and Tom, Product Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a direction in the brand that most aligns with our mission and goals, unlike our initial design which was created on the fly with the very little thought process.

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

We primarily communicated over Slack and completed the project within ~2 weeks

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

We were impressed with their willingness to find and dig into solutions that worked for their clients. Their ability to move quickly was key, without sacrificing on the quality of work.

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

Because my project was very light on deliverables I can't comment on the overall experience and process to recommend improvements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of an event organizer company. We deliver escape game events to bring colleagues closer together.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our customer had shifted from B2C to B2B and we needed a new brand and website to reflect this.

SOLUTION

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

We gathered quotes from a series of suppliers who were either recommended to us or found online. The deciding factors were: clear understanding of our business and the project objectives, a technology solution which enable website changes to be made without code, price for the services.

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

We had a kick off meeting to run through the project, we were added to the project management software so we could track progress and we were given regular updates via Slack. The brand piece came first from moodboards to final brand guiidelines, followed by wireframes of the web designs and then web development using Webflow.

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

We had two main points of contact - a Project Manager and a Designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is too early to say however anecdotal feedback from clients and partners has been very positive around the look and functionality of the website.

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

We were given regular updates via Slack. Limited face to face calls but if we wanted one we could request.

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

They're a great fit for a small business with limited budgets. They're creative both in design and in tech solution, delivered to the brief.

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

Overall a positive experience however expectation management on timelines could be improved. There were a few times when we were given timeframes (including for completion of the project) and they weren't quite met. As a client you just want your expectations managed even if timelines are longer than you had hoped rather than a timeline being stated and not kept to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for Tracworx. I manage activities around design and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortnight?

We were launching a new product and needed help making the website for it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortnight helps us with web design. We built the site on Webflow, but they’ve implemented all the designs and branding elements to it, which has been very helpful. The site is just a landing page with a brochure style. It describes the products that we’re selling.

We did some wireframes and basic concepts of how we wanted the site to look like, including the structure and the copy. Fortnight gave us some tips and tricks on how we could make it better. They did the designs using a platform called Figma and sent them to us. We gave them feedback and went back and forth with the designs. At the end of that process, we were very happy with what they gave us.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people: a project manager and a web designer.

How did you come to work with Fortnight?

We were looking for experts and design agencies that used Webflow. We needed something that we could edit and change after it was done but that also had the functionality of a website built with code — we wanted a middle ground between those two aspects.

We found Fortnight on the Webflow providers' list. We called numerous different companies that gave us different prices and quotations. Fortnight gave us the best price, and we also liked their previous work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. Fortnight has delivered the product, but it's not yet published.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We showed the design to the stakeholders within the company to know their opinions, and they're very happy with the result. The design turned out very well, and it communicates the key messages that we were going for.

Working with Fortnight’s team, I've found out that they’re very responsive. If I want a quick change, they’re able to work pretty fast, and the team is very friendly.

How did Fortnight perform from a project management standpoint?

While Fortnight’s designs are the best, their project management is pretty good, too. We use Slack to communicate back and forth. We had a very short deadline of just a few days, and they were able to deliver pretty fast work — it was perfect.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fortnight's quality is impressive. The personal one-on-one work that they’ve offered us is very good, and communicating with them is very, very easy. They’re open to feedback, and they’re easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Fortnight is fairly decent in all areas — I haven’t caught a flaw that they could have.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go into the partnership with a clear plan of what you want to display and go through the key messages that you want to convey. Allow some creative discussions about the design and how they can make it better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an Owner - Founder of Memletz LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Fortnight to help with the UX/UI for our Memletz digital book creation process and with Wireframes & Site Layout and Hi-Fi Designs - as well as Homepage improvements. They have done a great job so far and we cannot wait for our developers to implement their advice and designs. We have no doubt that Memletz will be a better product for Users due to Fortnight's involvement.

SOLUTION

How did you select Fortnight and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Fortnight due to their great reviews and very reasonable and targeted proposal on how they could best assist us at this stage with our website and digital book product.

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

The key deliverables to date have been: Wireframes & Site Layout and Hi-Fi Designs - Homepage improvements. We may soon also proceed with Branding and related work.

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

We have worked with 4 people at Fortnight, a couple designers and managers. All have been fantastic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is too early in the process to share any measurable outcomes but once the designs of the project are implemented, we will provide an update re measurable outcomes.

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

Very easy to communicate with the Fortnight team and they are very prompt in responding to any query and very timely when it comes to attending any scheduled meetings.

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

The impressive thing is the great design and understanding of our wishes, expand them, and offer value and insight.

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

So far, not sure what else could be improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a music marketing company for artists and record labels. We use data to create smart strategies across the digital landscape. We work on TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortnight?

We needed help with app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortnight is helping us build an iOS app where artists can log in and connect their social profiles and see their data. The data creates a to-do list for artists, which informs their marketing campaigns.

Fortnight helped with the UI/UX, initially. We wanted to build an app that was functional and easy to use for artists. From there, we developed a prototype of the product.

Next, we worked on the functionality. We wanted to grasp the process that a user would take to submit a PR pitch and submit social media campaigns. Now, we’re discussing the backend workflow.

What is the team composition?

We work with Rico (Director), Sam (Marketing Manager), and one developer.

How did you come to work with Fortnight?

I’ve worked with Rico before and was impressed with the work they’ve done in the past. I didn’t want to work with anyone else.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £10,000–£15,000 (approximately $14,000–$21,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Friends and family who have used the product so far have given us great, positive feedback. They all say it’s user-friendly and functions well. The design is sleek, too.

How did Fortnight perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been the standout factor. I’d give them an 8–9 out of 10. They offer great communication and they’re always open to answering questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When you’re developing a product and it’s your own brand, it’s hard to have conversations with designers who have their own take on the product. Fortnight has been really receptive to feedback and open to discussing what they didn’t want to do initially.

They’ve been really open to making changes. Their ability to listen and develop something that’s in line with what you want to achieve and in line with what their experience is telling you is going to work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be proactive. The more proactive you are, the more proactive they are. Be forthcoming with your feedback and what you want to achieve and they’ll take it from there.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Peachstock, a e-commerce business selling mystery boxes which include hair accessories and jewellery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fortnight?

We needed to develop our brand as well as creating a better experience for our customers on our website. The increased traffic wasn't converting as we hoped. The branding was just designed by me so I wanted an expert to enhance it.

What were your goals for this project?

To create an eye catching brand identity and improve the website functionality and design. This should result in lower bounce rates and increase lead generation.

SOLUTION

How did you select Fortnight?

I used Clutch to compare agencies in the UK and chose Fortnight after seeing other reviews, their work on Dribbble and Instagram. After reaching out and having an intro call I found the team super helpful and friendly.

Describe the project in detail.

I explained the brand in a workshop online and their team developed the colours, logo, fonts etc providing daily communication so I could feedback. For the website, they reviewed the UX/UI and suggested recommendations before acting on them when I agreed. When ready, the work was presented to me and they team ran through everything with me so I was ready to pick it up.

What was the team composition?

Initially I spoke to the business development manager, before meeting the team consisting of the product manager and designers. During the period of work I also got to speak to the founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Fortnight the website traffic has continued to grow, and bounce rate is far lower. The conversion rate for purchase has also increased with the better UX. The results exceeded my expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was very helpful and we had daily communication with the team on Slack, as well as Zoom calls when I needed to discuss things. They were super flexible. I was able to see tasks on Notion/Teamwork and live design changes in Figma.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with their experience and knowledge on branding and UI/UX design, but also their ability to support our strategy for the brand and content. The team were very organised and friendly. I was also impressed by their attention to detail and passion for my industry and project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project estimated a number of days and it overran by a couple, but I wasn't charged extra for this. It would have been great to meet the whole team sooner too.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Operations Office for a domiciliary care agency. We deliver home care within the community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website needed a re-vamp and so we hired the Fortnight team to do a full redesign which helped us build client traffic and increase staff recruitment.

SOLUTION

How did you select Fortnight and what were the deciding factors?

We chose these guys based on who'd they worked for before, the interview process and their professional/creative approach to the project we had.

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

We had a kick off meeting to discuss goals and objectives. The team went away and delivered some website wire frames and new ideas to us shortly after. It was all using Wordpress and Indesign.

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

A project manager, 2 developers and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a 60% traffic increase to our site and a 40% increase to our staff recruitments numbers.

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

We had a range of creative idea meetings, communicated via video call and in person meetings. We worked really well with them!

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

They gave us some really great feedback on what we could improve and clarity on how that would improve our traffic and recruitment. They delivered their content very clearly and answered any questions we had very quickly.

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

There was some minor bugs on the site but they were fixed right away.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a car leasing platform which offers CMS and backend services for car dealers and leasing brokers, as well as website and marketing services for them. I’m the founder. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortnight?

We're trying to get the full brand developed, as well as the designs from a UI/UX perspective done for the website and the mobile application.

The website is a backend system that has been set up for leasing brokers that sign up with us, which is only accessible on registration. There are a few parts to it as a marketing landing page, which is built on Webflow, and then there's a custom developed website which is based on React.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by trying to understand the industry and the environment — the automotive industry is a fairly old-school one. They're trying to find a balance between reaching those old school contacts, but with a modern design and a defined approach that is coming from outside of the automotive industry.

What is the team composition?

In total, 5–6 people work with us. We had the initial contact with a project manager and then I believe there are two designers and two developers involved. 

How did you come to work with Fortnight?

We had a few common contacts and then we found them on Dribbble. We chose them based on a mixture of looking at the work online and seeing social media posts, and we also have a few strong contacts in the industry who we heard of them from.

How much have you invested with them?

The amount comes to about £65,000 (approximately $85,400 USD) at the moment.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019 and we are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Delivering on time and budget is always a big KPI for those projects and communication along the way worked really well, so that is great. We're really pleased with the design.

There aren’t any hard metrics at the moment that we have in terms of total conversion rates, because it's too early to have enough quantitative data.

The feedback was done with user testing people in this industry and it was a standout point that the branding and design were so spot on.  Their team is fairly informal and focused on getting things done, which is great.

How did Fortnight perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Notion to break the work down into milestones. For branding, for example, they worked through it in a couple of weeks. They used a sprint approach to really set specific milestones and expectations and plot the design work. That was great.

That's just allowed us to have a constant view of what's going on and to be flexible in moving things around, which is essential for a big project where things are always changing. 

They read into the material in terms of understanding the industry and what's needed and competitive as well as what we are trying to bring across and to make sure that the branding aligns with that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would point out the communication and their focus on getting things done rather than being too bogged down. Project management and the iterative, flexible approach have been really great. That approach to design where it's fairly practical or focused with a specific goal in mind is great. 

Parts of the design have been particularly good for the branding and design element, which was really spot on from a UI/UX perspective. The development was great as well, but that's what really stood out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have spent more time on user testing, although that wasn't really a requirement from our side. Maybe if they already had a test setup for a big group that they can use for that.

That might be a different field altogether, though. Other than that, I can’t really say we would have done anything differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I definitely recommend their services and I would recommend getting them involved quite early on. They're quite good with the initial design concepts and understanding user flows in the industry.

Even if you’ve only got an idea or haven't got the product fully fleshed out, it was really helpful to talk to them about it and then steer in that direction. I wouldn't wait too long and then just use people like them for delivery. 

Get them involved in the discovery process early on, which helped us a lot with efficiency afterward, because they were involved from the beginning and have done a lot of research in the industry as well, so that was quite good.