Glow Design Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Riptide; we’re a three-way text messaging platform for instant issue resolution and delivery companies. We work with some of the largest service enterprises in North America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Glow Design Agency?

We’d contracted individual UI designers who’d delivered work successfully, but we had a problem with longevity. It was hard for us to keep the UI designers focused on our project for extended periods of time. 

We faced significant UX/UI challenges with regard to use cases and personas that had evolved over many years. Our product is used by large enterprises and small service and delivery businesses. Sometimes, a person delivers goods to another person’s house on behalf of a larger company. We needed to engage a team who understood the range of UX/UI challenges we faced and help us upgrade our existing UI components. We also needed them to help us design an entirely new UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Glow Design Agency initially provided us with UX/UI design services. They helped with initial persona research by contacting our users and reviewing feedback from prior interviews we’d conducted. Then, they designed initial user personas for a number of different use cases. Use cases included call center dispatchers from large enterprises and employees of individual small businesses. We needed UI options for each scenario, so they worked alongside our engineering team to develop the personas. They used Figma for all their designs.

Over time, we also developed a need to depict how our product could work for users. Glow Design Agency suggested we simplify what we were presenting on the screen, so users could first understand the concept and we could avoid confusing them with the details. We wanted to conceptually demonstrate how three-way conversations between a dispatcher, delivery driver, and a customer could work. Then, the team created an animated video demonstrating our product. 

After the team helped us create a concept for the video, I drafted the initial script, and Glow Design Agency iterated it. Then, they crafted a visual framework in the form of a storyboard for what the video would look like. Once we iterated the storyboard together, we landed on the final design, and the team produced the video. They overlaid my narration and helped us select music to accompany it. Ultimately, they decided the music was distracting and removed it for the final cut.

Once the Glow Design Agency team delivered the final video, we showcased it at a trade show and uploaded it to our website. We’ve since utilized it for all of our outreach efforts, including a significant LinkedIn campaign. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with about five people, including a project manager, two main designers, and their executive and video production teams.

How did you come to work with Glow Design Agency?

I found Glow Design Agency while looking for design agencies for my previous startup. When our need became urgent at Riptide, and we had sufficient funds, we decided to engage them. 

We started communicating with them at the beginning of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. We had reservations about their ability to provide services amid a challenging situation. However, we spoke with the principals on their team, who were confident they could reliably produce deliverables, even under the circumstances. 

We respected their commitment to working with us and their dedication to helping their country’s economy. They were devoted to going above and beyond, and we felt taking a chance on them was worth it. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $25,000–$50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–November 2022; we paused the project due to funding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We gave Glow Design Agency a chance, and they blew us away with the level of energy that they dedicated to our project and the level of intelligence they brought to it. Their insights, designs, and UX improvements immediately benefitted our users.

They quickly developed a solid understanding of the many layers of our complex product. We got to the point where customers were asking for new features, and rather than build them, we had Glow Design Agency storyboard and design them. This allowed me to showcase how the features would look well before making them, enabling us to close more deals. 

They also did a remarkable job with the demonstrator video. We included the video in a LinkedIn campaign, which gained us almost 500 qualified followers. The metrics are foundational, but the functionality and adoption of our core three-way messaging product are primarily related to the work Glow Design Agency performed.

Their efforts have enabled our business to succeed. I’ve worked in the SaaS business for over 30 years, and Glow Design Agency is the most impressive UX/UI team I’ve worked with. I commend them for not only being an outstanding design agency but being an outstanding design agency amid horrific conditions.

How did Glow Design Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very collaborative, and I felt confident connecting them with our engineering team directly. After giving Glow Design Agency rough descriptions of our needs, they worked efficiently with our internal team without my intervention. They delivered work very quickly and within our weekly budget.

We communicated via Slack and met via Google Meet and Zoom. We created an agile design board in Jira to communicate about tickets. They delivered design outputs via Figma, which we shared with our engineering team. Due to the time difference, we established an around-the-clock rhythm, where they’d turn around items overnight, and we’d review them the following morning. Our entire process was efficient and effective. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by their exceptional delivery speed. As a startup, we didn’t have months' worth of time to work on tasks, and Glow Design Agency understood that. For example, they completed the entire video production process in a week and a half because we had a trade show coming up. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing they could improve on; I just wish I had more money to spend with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Glow Design Agency was an outstanding partner; I’d recommend them to any SaaS company needing web application design services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm business development manager at MetaProject LLC

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency, and what were your goals?

We were looking for a partner to strength out UX/UI Design expertise.

SOLUTION

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

Friends of us recommend them as nice and professional guys who can work on complex products and create easy and comfy product interfaces.

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

We work on the app for a full service renovation company for houses. The idea was to set a fast and efficient communication between clients and renovation managers. Build a one-stop-shop platform to engage with customers, send invoices, sign documents and so on. Our process consisted of discovery, ideation and visual concept creation first, weekly or biweekly design sprints after and final hand-off with QA.

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

Initially on a discovery stage we worked with Client Experience manager. Once all terms were settled we started working on the project with their project manager and designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started working together on the app from scratch, so the main outcome is the final MVP delivery. It’s not launched yet, but both the company owner and first test users are satisfied and the product really solves the business challenge.

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

We held transparent communication and consistent management with them and the client. Their domain experts reduced our time on research and already brought business insights on the table. Their project manager was consistently involved to ensure all expectations were delivered clearly and timelines were met. We've used Slack and Zoom for our communication.

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

They have a solid experience designing apps with complex features from scratch, with a deep understanding of modern UX/UI requirements.

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

No, they are experts in their industry.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Product at LiquidSpace, the largest marketplace for on-demand office space. We help companies deploy hybrid workplace strategies by giving their team access to book workspace at coworking locations globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

UI/UX design for B2B marketplace. As background, LiquidSpace started as a marketplace for any individual to discover and transact office space for short-term durations. After the Covid pandemic, the opportunity became clear to help larger companies organize and deploy a company wide program. That needed a redesigned user experience for employees to onboard and experience a branded and curated version of our consumer marketplace.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed over a dozen individual designers and multiple agencies for this project. The Glow Design team stood out for being professional, responsive, and for their ability to listen to our situation and jump into a project that had already been started but needed more design muscle. Glow also brought an impressive team and capabilities for an affordable price that no other individual designer or agency could compete with.

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

Glow started on one project but we have retained them to be a full-time part of our Product Design team to help with ongoing projects. The initial project was designing an end-to-end UI for end-users of our B2B clients. This includes creating a branded landing-page, sign-in, first-time user onboarding, and a brand-new discovery UI that was built on top of our existing marketplace. This work includes the UX, UI for each page, null-states, illustrations where needed, testable prototypes in Figma for user-interviews, and ultimately a Design System so that we could build more quickly and consistently. The initial project has led into further design updates to both the demand and supply side user-interfaces for our marketplace product. Additionally our marketing team has also leaned in to create social media visuals and animations for product launch videos. The Glow team has a broad skillset and talent on their team to accomplish everything we have asked them to do.

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

We have worked with over 5 members of the Glow team, but our core team always includes a Lead Designer, a Project Manager, and a UI/UX Designer. But we have often pulled in their graphic design and animation resources as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This was a brand new project so we didn't have baseline adoption/engagement metrics before the launch of Glow's work for B2B clients, but we have already been through two full iterations of the new B2B Marketplace interface and our expected metrics have been blown away after client launches with 50+% engagement across invited user bases. After dozens of user interviews the feedback has been extremely positive about the user experience and discovery.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. We have established a bi-weekly agile design process that leverages an Asana board for project management, twice weekly standup meetings for iterative design and feedback loops, and leveraged tools like Figma, Slack, Asana, Zoom to facilitate easy and effective communication even on very different timezones.

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

Glow brings a very modern and thoughtful design aesthetic. I'm truly impressed by the organized and disciplined design process that they brought to our projects. They also bring a team of designers and skillsets to complete the entire project, including UX, UI, graphic design, and the project manager to keep it all organized and moving forward. They have been able to scale up or down as needed based on our project demands.

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

The Glow team is very receptive to feedback and process improvements so we have been able to work very effectively where there are opportunities for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Co-founder & CTO at an e-commerce platform for food businesses to sell on Instagram and WhatsApp.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

Glow has been a key partner in the last year helping us scale our design efforts. They worked with our Product Design teams and were responsible to redesign our marketing website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched many partners and carried out a thorough review of their portfolios before making our decision. Glow's experience with Product Design has really stood out and was a key factor in our decision to work with them.

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

The redesign of our marketing website started with an extensive phase of research and interviews to understand what problems they had to solve. Followed by a prototyping stage that helped us better understand the structure and how the overall experience would look before we get into the UI design. The UI stage was executed fast and with minimal changes, mainly because their team understood very well our style and the direction that we wanted to take our overall design.

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

We worked with their founders very closely, and they allocated a Product Designer who worked as part of our Design team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After we successfully launch our new website, we saw an increase in conversion mainly because of a cohesive experience that helped prospects understand the value proposition of our product, and answer their questions before signing up for a trial.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy because their designers were an extension of our in-house team. They embraced our remote-first culture and adapted to our workflows and practices.

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

We were impressed by their product design experience, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills.

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

A minor area of improvement could be on how to create better processes to scale the design and standardize assets that are handed over to the developers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at a learning management system (LMS) company for continuing medical education and other continuing education providers around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Glow Design Agency?

Our main product is a web-based LMS solution. We were looking for a group of designers to upgrade our frontend theme for the web application.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of work involved their team revamping the entire frontend theme. The major deliverables were a few options for sharable screens with UI components grouped together. They provided us with a style guide and UI kit that we could use to redeem our web application. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with two key designers and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Glow Design Agency?

I started the process by creating a Dribble ad and received hundreds of replies from potential designers. After vetting multiple agencies across the globe, I found their work, communication, and organizational skills to be impressive. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $7,000–$10,000 on their work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with their timely delivery and strong results. I’m keeping them as a close contact for any future design work.  

How did Glow Design Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We organized the project in weekly sprints, checking in each week with updated baselines of deliverables. Everything they delivered was on time or early. We communicated through Slack, Figma, and sprint meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re exceptional designers, easily articulating my vision through a workable, professional design that we can scale across our clients. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any suggestions right now. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They work efficiently and deliver on each of their sprints. Make sure you do your due diligence because they’ll be ready to get moving as soon as you start the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of an online platform helping students find and select affordable colleges in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

We hired Glow Design Agency to create the designs for a new website and the first version of our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Previously, we had an MVP that scrapped together a user experience through emails, surveys, and reports. Our goal for this project was to create a platform that users can log into and access all our services.

SOLUTION

How did you select Glow Design Agency?

We had a posting on AngelList, and they submitted an application. We then interviewed them and looked at their website and portfolio. We were very impressed.

Describe the project in detail.

We had them create the designs of our website from scratch. We then also used them to create an initial user experience for our platform. We had them design the login experience as well as a way for students to search colleges in the US and save them to their list.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with 2 team members from Glow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We hear a lot of positive feedback on our website. We still have to develop the user experience to login to our platform, so we don't have any user feedback just yet. However, from initial user testing, we have heard great things.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was great. They were very responsive to feedback, and we met roughly every week to ensure that everything was on track.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was really able to run with the idea and the designs were great.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was extremely busy with other things, so I was behind on giving them feedback and details. So, the project took a bit more time. However, this was mainly my fault since we were also trying to move quickly to meet an upcoming deadline.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO and I manage the decisions behind the tech including the user experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

We worked with Glow in order to rapid prototype some new layouts and tweak what we already had in place to be more user friendly.

What were your goals for this project?

We had three goals. To get the existing site freshened up. To create a new admin dashboard. And to create a custom built gallery feature.

SOLUTION

How did you select Glow Design Agency?

We found Glow through Angel list. They got back to me right away and we started the project right away.

Describe the project in detail.

The project entailed designing multiple views. They were able to incorporate the existing look and feel of our branding to give our customers a fresh new look and feel.

What was the team composition?

We worked with both Stas and Rus in each of the catch up calls. We spent an hour or so prior to each sprint coming up with a plan and they sent over a proposal. Once the project was under way they met the timelines according the proposal.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have launched a new version of our home page, but the only part that would be publicly visible would be the login page. https://hello.socialcurator.com/user/login

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They communicated effectively through Slack and the timezone difference was not much of a problem. We were able to find a recurring time slot in my morning and their evening where we would hold calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to work with limited information and provide the output that I expected.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have constructive feedback at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of sparrowmarketing.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

We hired Glow Design Agency to help us with a complex UX problem - how can we let our users customize our static report templates.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to design an end-to-end experience that would enhance our product offering.

SOLUTION

How did you select Glow Design Agency?

I interviewed over 20 designers/agencies through UpWork and AngelList, and ultimately decided to go with Glow Design Agency. I was really fond of their portfolio, and felt their work would fit in well with our existing design system. I was not disappointed.

Describe the project in detail.

Once they accepted the work offer, our work started with a discovery call to provide an estimate on how long the work would take to get done. They were very flexible with modifications and iterations, and worked really hard to get the project done before a major deadline.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with Rus and Stas.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Amazing design work, our team is currently building it out and should have it live in production soon. It was a major ask from our customers so it's really exciting to finally get it out to market.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was really flexible. We met every couple of days (1-2 times a week), and the work was done in Figma so it was SUPER easy to share feedback on specific things. They were really good at iterating quickly on my feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Loved the detail and thought they put into the design, and it really felt like the team was thinking through the problem end-to-end.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think we wen't over our estimated timeline by a couple days, but that's to be expected with multiple iterations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of Electric Beast Plc / Beast Rent, a self-service car rental app providing a fleet of cars that consist only of fully electric vehicles, more specifically Teslas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

The Glow Design Agency based in Ukraine, Odessa helped us with the app design from zero to finalization.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a mobile app that would work on iOS as well as Android while providing a seamless user experience through minimalistic and clean design.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The team at Beast searched for a design agency that would have experience in the automotive business. Glow Design Agency stood out with a remarkable portfolio. After speaking to 3 designers/agencies, Glow took the win by far with their kind and sincere energy, not to mention the vast amount of knowledge they had through working with multiple companies.

Describe the project in detail.

Through the two months we had meetings quite often just to sync on all features and new ideas that Glow or us might have got throughout the days and while creating the design. Glow provided us with a competitors analysis, wireframes, UI concept, UI for all screens, UI kit and UI components for the Design System. They very also extremely good with illustrations and icons. During the last stages they also presented us with a clickable prototype. They helped us create a better strategy and always backed up their changes with well-thought and on-point explanations. Revisions were never an issue.

What was the team composition?

The Glow Design Agency assigned us a project manager who also filled the position of a designer and in addition a lead designer. At the same time they brainstormed with other team members to create better solutions for the complex challenges that our app brought.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is hard to give ground-breaking feedback at the moment since the app hasn't been publicly launched yet. All we can say is that the design has exceeded all expectations during testing and is a great showcase of a well-thought-out UI.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between us and Glow was always moving, we used Slack services to schedule meetings and communicate on quick topics. For design overviews we used the Figma platform. Everything worked in harmony.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Glow Design Agency has a very strong portfolio and a lot of knowledge in broad areas, a wide horizon. They are happy and excited to bring new approaches to the table and often they are the ones that provide solutions to complex issues. They are fast and precise, always on time, and leave no room for mistakes. They do a clean job and are very focused on beautiful details. Never once did we see a sloppy moment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could bring in even more team members for big projects, but all in all we don't feel like we lacked anything. We are more than pleased with how they managed the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder & CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Glow Design Agency?

The creation of a UI and UX for a new Saas product

What were your goals for this project?

We had to rethink the UX of an old process used for decades that was mostly done offline, to a new process that is much quicker and was done online.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We worked with them on other projects which helped drive the decision to hire them again.

Describe the project in detail.

We were rethinking the way companies manage their RFP process. Our goal was to create something that will be a 10x Experience.

What was the team composition?

We had 1 UX and 1 UI team member.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in development and hoping to launch in 1-2 months.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had daily calls and even in somes cases 2 calls per day to make sure we are on track

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They took our rough ideas and turned them into something we can all get behind.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It would be great if they had other talent on their team like web designers.