The Gradient

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Treeum. Treeum develops fintech products for the Ukrainian market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Gradient?

In 2021 we started working on a mobile app Multi Invest for investing in stocks, crypto and other assets, focused at first time investors. The challenge was to create an app that would make investments clear and accessible for beginners, as well as comply with regulatory requirements. We came to The Gradient for Product Design, with a strong focus on creating a good user experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We held a tender in which 4 leading agencies in Ukraine participated. We chose The Gradient because of their impressive expertise in UX design, as well as their approach to cooperation with the development team. They created detailed documentation for developers, which significantly saved us time and effort on development.

Also, The Gradient has significant expertise and experience in the design of investment applications and products, and they were able to apply this experience as well as the best practices in working on our application.

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

The first stage of the project was creating wireframes of the future app and align them with regulatory requirements. The next important stage was creating design system and UI for the approved wireframes. The next step was product iterations based on the new input data from developers and making appropriate changes to the design and structure of the product.

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

The team from The Gradient consisted of the Founding Partner who oversaw the project, 2 product designers and a business analyst.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the detailed documentation by The Gradient team, our developers were able to implement their designs easily. As a result, Multi Invest app was successfully launched in the App Store and Google Play in February 2022 and has thousands of users.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

From the beginning of our cooperation, The Gradient team gave us a well structured plan for the project stages and always met the set deadlines. We had a very transparent project timeline and we could rely on the terms that were indicated by The Gradient. We were satisfied with the quality of communication with The Gradient team and we want to note that their team was very responsive and was sincerely involved in the project.

Our developers were especially pleased with the communication because they received not just a design, but a detailed description of all interactions in the interface and also quickly received answers to their questions that arose during the development of the product.

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

Firstly I want to note The Gradient's deep understanding of user experience and their love for users, their sincere interest in how to make user experience better.

The second thing I would like to note about the company is the involvement of The Gradient team in the overall process of working on the product and joint work with our product team, which also includes lawyers, marketers, copywriters, etc. That is, they were not only responsible for the design of the product, but were also a full-fledged part of the work on the product as a whole.

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

In retrospect, we would have started working with The Gradient earlier and with their expertise and assistance, we would have been able to bring the product to market faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a product owner for Ukrsibbank, which is one of the biggest banks in Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We hired The Gradient to help us with the UI/UX design of our mobile banking application, which was launched about 5–6 years ago. We wanted our app to have a new and modern look.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Gradient assigned some people to the project, then proceeded with improving the UI/UX design of our mobile application.

What is the team composition?

We worked with their UI/UX designer and managing partner.

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

We did an RFP and contacted about 10 companies. Afer that, one of our internal designers told us about The Gradient, saying we should include them in the process. Selecting the right company was very crucial, but we chose them because of their pricing and the quality of their work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $50,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from August 2021–June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered the expected results and were very accurate with their deliverables. Their creativity was good, too. Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of their work.

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

They mostly hit all the deadlines; there were only very few delays. They also worked in a systematic manner and always informed us if there were any problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with the accuracy of the materials they prepared and how well they respected our deadlines.

Are there any areas they could improve?

None — they were among the best agencies that I had ever worked with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to make sure you establish a good agreement before starting the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product architect for a research services company. I lead a development team that builds an interactive video application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We were rebuilding our flagship web application. We’d just gone through an extensive revamp in our branding with a separate company, so we wanted a unique look that matched our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially engaged with The Gradient to help us with the redesign and some UX workflow reimagining. We asked them to tailor the design to our new brand look and feel. Also, they’ve done some user research from the ground up and helped us think through the application workflows.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with a lead designer and Kate (Business Analyst), who’s sort of a project manager. Additionally, we’ve worked with one of the founders. He’s served as a project manager and a creative role for the project. 

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

We searched online. We had 5–6 companies worldwide to choose from for our redesign. In the end, we came to the unanimous decision that we wanted to work with The Gradient. Their work was excellent, their attitude was great, and the price was right.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any metrics to share right now because the project is still ongoing. However, they’ve saved us countless hours in internal design and redevelopment that we would’ve had to do if we hadn’t had their guidance.

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been excellent the whole time. Communication is fantastic, and they’re able to meet our priorities. We’ve been very happy with the way they’ve managed the project.

We primarily share a Notion workspace to track all the deliverables and open questions, and they use Miro for brainstorming. Also, they’ve slotted into our internal processes with Linear, which is similar to Jira. For communication, we do multiple Zoom calls per week and have shared channels on Slack. Our development team speaks directly with the designer to get questions answered, and we often brainstorm things before our Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They feel like they’re part of our team, which isn’t always the case with vendors. They’re totally invested in our project and excited to work on it. We've been really impressed with their ability to communicate with us and the quality of their work. Some of the other design vendors that we’ve worked with pale in comparison to what The Gradient has been able to deliver. They create refined, thoughtful design systems that make our development so much easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them as part of your team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is the leading non-banking financial group in Nigeria and with operations in Cote D'voire. We offer insurance (both Life and General), Asset Management, Pension Funds Administrations and Trust services with the group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Gradient?

Over time, we have had an increasing need for our clients to download multiple mobile applications to purchase products across our various businesses within the group and service these products, and thus, it was deemed necessary to consolidate all the businesses' applications into one mobile application. This birthed our company's Mobile Application design project. The aim is to give our clients the opportunity of interacting with a single application for all our products and services. The Gradient team were hired to design the UI/UX for this new consolidated app

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have an RFP involving two international vendors upon which "The Gradient" was selected.

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

The project commenced with an introductory session with the vendor and the team. They then proceed to conduct intensive research, gathering industry reviews and information on our competitors (across all our businesses). From there, we had several sessions to review and understand the as-is customer journeys with the various business owners.

After this, we had several additional sessions to review additional features and improvements that are needed to improve the customer experience. The Gradient then proceeded to prototyping User Experience (UX) and these were reviewed severally with various business owners from global level (group level) to the individual business level. We spent around 7 months to land this project.

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

We worked directly with a team of 4 from "The Gradient" comprising of the founding partner, 1 business analyst and 2 product designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverables from the vendor were satisfactory. The UI/UX they provided will serve as the foundation to the development of the Mobile App that we will develop subsequently. We have conducted several reviews of their prototypes with our business leaders across the group and they were satisfied with the level and the quality of their work. The work reflects the major objective if this design project which was to simplify and improve existing customer journeys and also reduce friction on the user interfaces

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The business analyst was very easy to work and interact with regardless of the cultural and time zone differences. We had our sessions over Microsoft team which made communication easy and we were able to address all issues on the fly. Their team was highly dedicated to the project, and they were also quite resourceful. Their team was interesting and engaging to work with

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

Great leadership starting from their founding partner, to the rest of the team, their willingness to understand an industry they had zero knowledge about was something to reckon with. There was no doubt about their UI/UX capabilities from start to finish which saw us to execution. They were also available for sessions with short notice which speaks to their dedication to the project.

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

Enhance their knowledge of the insurance industry to provide them with the broader perspective.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Sakeenah. We offer health & wellness solutions to people across the globe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We wanted to advance the beta version of our platform, so we hired The Gradient to design its UI/UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Gradient came up with an interactive design for our iOS and Android app. The Sakeenah app has AI and machine learning components for guided content and mood education, so the goal was to engage users and have them spend more time on the platform.

We didn’t provide any documentation, but we had a lot of discussions with The Gradient where we explained what our vision and expectations were. They came up with the documentation, wireframing, and mockups and we went back and forth during those discovery calls. I believe we had four calls in total, and we moved to the design part from there.  

The Gradient also revamped the design of our business website. We had just one discovery call for that project, after which The Gradient came up with an idea and wireframing. Later on, they provided us with research files for the website content.

What is the team composition?

I mostly worked with the project manager and a graphic designer. I don’t know how many people were working in the background.

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

One of our partners, who’d previously worked with The Gradient, referred them and vouched for their high-quality, creative, and cost-effective services. We decided to work with them based on that.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their services was $13,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The Gradient in March 2021, and the project ended in May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of The Gradient’s work was pretty good and up to the mark. They were very cooperative, and our end users were pretty impressed and happy with the new look and feel of our platform. Overall, it’s been a great success.  

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

They always met their deadlines. They utilized Figma for wireframing and showed us various design options through it. We communicated via Slack and held weekly or biweekly Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Gradient’s creativity, thought process, and work quality make them stand out from the crowd. The majority of graphic design agencies rely on the client to tell them everything they should do, whereas The Gradient was the one to come up with ideas for us based on our various discussions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their pricing could be more competitive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Continuously engage with the team and establish how much you’re going to spend rather than having the agency dictating how much it’ll cost.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the UX lead manager for a one-of-a-kind digital bank that is launching in Egypt. It will be the first digital bank in the country, and we are currently in the design phase and moving towards development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We hired The Gradient to help us with the product design of our digital banking app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Gradient created the product design for our application. We first went through a discovery phase where I provided their team with our market studies detailing the market gap we were trying to close, the needs of our users, and other insights. We also gave them a high-level scope of the journeys that we wanted to build, which they supplemented with their own discovery phase with other stakeholders. 

We then went into developing the UX, with the team putting together wireframes and, eventually, high-fidelity designs. The team approached it one user flow at a time.

What is the team composition?

There are only three who are people directly assigned to this project. There is also a head of strategy, but they don’t count him as a resource since he was in charge of advisory.

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

I have worked with The Gradient on an MVP in the past. They did such an amazing job, and we could see that they really wanted us to succeed.

We were already working with another agency when this project started, but they weren’t very good. I reached out to The Gradient once more since I knew that they had a lot of experience in the fintech space. I also felt that this would be a good opportunity for them to build their portfolio. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them on this specific project in June 2021, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done an amazing job of putting all of the user journeys and functionalities together. Everything has lit up and has started to make sense, which I believe is because of The Gradient’s ownership of the project. They understand where things might go wrong and bring in new ideas and strategies to improve the product. It is beyond their scope to do so, but they still strive to build on our vision with their own. 

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

When they promise something, they deliver it. They have a strong connection with the development team, which has been huge in ensuring that the designs are implemented properly from end to end.

We use Notion for project management, and we communicate through Slack, Teams, and Outlook.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from the quality of their designs, The Gradient’s ownership and quick understanding of the project has truly been impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be good for them to focus on expanding their team. My project is very big-scale, and they’re currently unable to provide more resources for me. I don’t think this is a bad thing, however, because The Gradient values quality over quantity and won’t let just anyone in.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t treat The Gradienbt like a vendor; treat them as a partner to get the most out of their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing and communications for one of the leading corporate investment banks in Saudi Arabia. We take care of security brokerage, stock trading, asset management, and we also have an investment banking division where we help companies with mergers and acquisition transactions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We have an archaic stock trading system that was designed and developed in 2012. We needed someone to revamp this platform and use the latest design tools and development methods to help our clients better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first looked at the existing platform, products, and services we were offering digitally. We then looked at our future vision, what our requirements were, and did a bit of a gap analysis and research to understand our clients more. After that, we did a bit of competitive analysis and from there, we decided on a design concept. The Gradient then started designing the various components of that concept.

For the gap analysis, we used an Excel sheet of what we had and what we would like to have. There was nothing visual at that point so we just wrote the login process, including accessing trade securities, investing in funds, reading articles, searching for stocks, and chatting with agents.

As of now, we’re still in the testing phase, but we’re getting more clients on board to test the product.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with a business analyst and two designers. As we progressed, we started working with only a business analyst and just one designer. There’s also a relationship manager who we go to whenever we’re trying to settle invoices and ask for out-of-scope work.

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

We kept digging deep into the UI/UX community through online research, and we found an article that talked about Clutch. When we visited Clutch, we saw there were filters to the search feature by a specific service, which got us hooked. We then sent out RFPs to almost 30 agencies and we chose The Gradient because they gave the best story and they had the best profile.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and our partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design concept that we created with them was so good, that the CEO asked us to present it to our parent company. They ended becoming really inspired by it, so they went and requested The Gradient’s services. The team simplified the interface, so the design of the app itself has reduced the number of clicks that our clients have to go through. Additionally, the quality of the design is definitely felt by the clients and the testers.

We did multiple iterations with The Gradient and they were very responsive and accepting so we were able to enhance the design. The best metric would be the low number of changes required to the original design — we didn’t have to spend too much reworking the design that we originally had.

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly use Slack to communicate, and their team uses Notion to manage the project. Their project reporting and management are great and the deadlines are always met. If there were going to be any delays, we’re made aware of the risks and why they wouldn’t be met ahead of time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We care about the costs but we definitely don’t want to compromise value, so we like the value their service brings. prior to hiring them, they gave us the confidence that they'll be able to deliver the quality we’re looking for at a great price. The Gradient is extremely patient, systematic, and professional. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some mistakes along the way but we all learned from them, and we’re still happy with their services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have a vision. If you have a vision of where you want to be, The Gradient will be the best partner for you. They had never done work in the investment segment before, so all the expertise came from our side. If we didn’t have the vision, they probably wouldn’t have produced the design we were looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a recruitment SaaS company. We are building a business services platform for staffing and headhunting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We needed someone to do UI/UX design on the Salesforce platform that we had been developing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Gradient has customized completely the UI on our Salesforce platform to improve its efficiency and make it able to support all the workflow and processes we need. The team has designed every single UI/UX component of the platform, which is essentially a very complex desktop application with several aspects to it.

What is the team composition?

We work with a UX business analyst, a UI designer, and an account manager. We have two of their employees working full-time, and they have a lot of internal workshops with other team members that solve issues that might arise. 

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

The team was recommended by our development partner.

How much have you invested with them?

Our company has invested over €100,000 (approximately $122,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in April 2020, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Gradient's team is brilliant. They have excellent leadership skills and constantly commit to delivering high-quality work. 

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

We use tools like Aha! and Confluence for project management — they’re very good at it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Gradient’s work ethic and attitude are great — it's as if they were part of our company. Even though they’re based in Ukraine, they have solid English language skills and international experience. Everyone I’ve dealt with has been really good. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise them to trust the team and be clear about what they’re looking for. Be transparent in your communication and provide regular feedback.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a fintech company: ESTO. We issue loans to merchants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

We needed a better platform that made decision-making easier for our merchant partners.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the first week, The Gradient learned our business logic and system. We provided them with semi-technical specifications and explained our vision for the new portal. Their team then executed the design phases with at least one team member from ESTO who answered any questions about the business. Within a month, they had created the designs.

What is the team composition?

The Gradient assigned a business analyst, a designer, and other team members to the project.

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

We researched and assessed four different agencies. Compared to all of the other agencies, The Gradient was the best. Their work process had clear structures.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Gradient created the best designs that I’ve seen any design agency produce. We have yet to fully implement their designs. We’re still implementing the frontend from our side.

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team uses Notion to track tasks and Figma to show us the designs. However, we communicate through Slack. We can see their workflow and each step of the process.

The Gradient has a clear workflow, which led to our decision to work with them. Their team has managed the project well, so everything has been clear. They perfectly meet the clear timelines. If we have questions, their team answers them. They have never left a question unanswered.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They follow a structured process. The Gradient always tries to find a solution. They’re meticulous and care about every detail.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve exceeded our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them design and coordinate the design phase of the project. Let them do their work because they know what to do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital and innovation labs at BTECH, one of the largest retailers in Egypt. We're popular for consumer electronics and home appliances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Gradient?

Our digital channel experiences weren’t up to our standards and weren’t built using the latest UX trends. The customer usability needed to be improved as did our competitive market presence. 

We have other offerings, including consumer financing and loyalty programs that weren’t as integrated as they should’ve been.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a full plan for the revamp and redesign of our digital platforms, including native iOS and Android apps as well as the website. They offered a plan and followed it, providing business flows, analysis, recent assets, and product rebranding materials.

They redesigned and updated our e-commerce platform using Notion, Figma, MURAL, and Jira. They used ProtoPie for prototyping but didn’t do the development. To execute, they interviewed us, conducted user testing, held user interviews, and more. They even came onsite to interview store and call center agents. By the end of the project, they’d interviewed most of the stakeholders.

They consulted on SEO for the platform and offered an engagement plan for our native apps and communication framework, informing us on best practices. They also provided advice on UX writing. They helped with the product rebranding. One of the most critical items they worked on is the service design, which manages the notifications framework end-to-end for each piece of the customer journey.

What is the team composition? 

We work with six people. We converted our model from a project-based model to a retainer model, so they’re now an extension of our team. There are four product designers and two business analysts. The co-founder was also a part of the project kickoff and helped with project management for our MVP. 

How did you come to work with The Gradient?

We had a very structured selection process. We established a scoring system for anyone who wanted to partner with us. We based our scoring on factors such as the quality of their portfolio, any time zone difference, and most importantly, any previous design systems that they had created. We wanted to assure sustainability in the quality of the deliverables.

Using this system, we selected around 20 companies from Clutch. We narrowed them down to 10, then to five, then to the top two. Finally, we chose The Gradient.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $250,000–$500.000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They don’t narrow their scope to only delivering visual assets. They’ve taken on the design of the whole customer experience. In the first month after the shift in the UX, we actually saw a 150% increase in sales as well as an increase in queries.

How did The Gradient perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. They’re very disciplined and take ownership of the engagement in order to make our lives easy. They’re very accommodating of our changing requirements and directions. They are always very adaptable and push themselves. Most importantly, they always help us to make better decisions.

We hold regular meetings, sprint planning calls, and monthly sing-off calls via Zoom. However, most of our day-to-day communication is through Slack.

Before the beginning of this year, we used Notion for everything. As of this year, we’re investing in a project management tool that is more sophisticated like Aha!

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take ownership and are passionate about the products they build. They’re very creative and the quality of their work is amazing. What really makes them stand out, though, is their planning and processes. They have amazing business analysts that are able to understand all pertinent industry insights.

They really know what they’re designing. They aim for a holistic experience in their design process, which has added a lot of value for us. It’s also helped us to reduce a lot of friction and overhead that can arise due to future uncertainty.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I recommend them to everyone.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get someone who is an experienced visual designer.