High Contrast

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

French Revolution is a pastry/confectionary business located in Bucharest, having one production facility and 4 retail shops and a total number of employees of 85 people. The concept is created around one single product - eclair - in a large variety of flavours. Currently pur collection has 33 eclairs.

The pilars of the concept is: fresh products (we produce today just for today, we are not selling the products the next dayș the next day we are starting everything from the scratch), most of the processes are done manually, eclair by eclair (from dough, creams for filling, creams for decoration, filling stage and decoration stage) and we are using the best, fresh, natural ingredients available in the industry.

The freshness of the products is the key differentiator as there is no other similar business in this domain to have this approach. During time we put along eclairs specialty coffee as an integrand part of our concept. I am one of the founders and managing director in French Revolution. More about us on frenchrevolution.com

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As we are in the moment of developing our business outside Romania through franchising, we needed to have a brand manual. In the process we realize we need to crystalize our brand concept and brand strategy. So High Contrast helped us with both Brand Strategy and Brandbook.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew them from previous discussions and now we organize few discusson session in order to be sure we are aligned. They proved to be very knowledgeable in branding and they understand fast our concept particularities. They come up with great ideas.

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

They discussed with the management team and we had several discussions before they come with some proposals regarding the best approach. We went through all-day brainstorming sessions in order to be sure they have all the relevand infornation on existing brand positioning and communication strategy.

They wanted to be sure we are consistent in what we are stating and what we are doing. The scope was a full brand manual and a complex brand strategy document. And this is what deliverables consited in.

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

They where 4 people involved in the project (CEO, Creative Director, Graphic Designer and Project Manager).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project (with its two elements, Brand Strategy and Brand Manual) was clearly a success and we are very happy with the outcome. High Contrast managed to do a good radiography of our concept and, by trusting in what we are doing in French Revolution.

They moved our communication in a bolder area (which is exactly what we needed) by crystalizing the message, the mission, the vision and, most important, the values, what we are standing for. This is something that we had previously but the message was a little bit dusty. Now is cristalyzed for any potential stakeholder.

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

Project management was done accurate, with regular status calls and information exchanged via email or Slack. They stayed in the estimated timeline.

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

High Contrast positively surprised us with their freshness in the approach, the avalanche of good ideas in communication, knowledge about the market (customers and competition) and unique suggestions on potential actions, suggestions that come as a consequence of their expertise and good listening to our story.

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

Nothing to mention here.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CoreAI Your home for AI Projects Utilizing our infrastructure, a broad core knowledge and experience, we develop AI pipelines for various challenges. We specialize in developing mature AI models in less time and lately developed a full service of MLOps infrastructure.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a simple UI for managing and monitoring AI and Machine Learning pipelines, on the research phase and production. This is a wholistic management tool, having dashboard views, complicated charts, navigation tool bar and more. We needed a graphical language that will describe different functionalities, without the use of much text.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for a design company that will be able to take our vision, simplify it and make a graphical design that will look awesome. We saw other work done by High Contrast and were impressed by the variety and with the way they can adapt different styles based on the client needs.

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

We passed through an evaluation of effort per a power point we provided, then got a price proposal which later found accurate as they estimated. First outcome was navigation diagram and analysis of the entire UI flow, we got also the graphical pallets. After that we got Figma outputs of required designs, per our priority. The team was very responsive and listening to our feedback and provided a better content that we expected.

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

4 people appx, a UI expert, creative, graphics and a project manager who was with us in all the meetings and in between.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Above expectation. The design and the look of the platform UI and graphics was amazing, telling it also by the response we got from potential clients, not only by our own eyes...

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

Very clear and listening. The communication and the set expectation was clear, also they took care to place the right people in the meeting. the schedule sometimes took longer, as they were busy.

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

We were impressed with their graphic design style and the results of the project. Very efficient team, every design was estimated before and took as estimated, good value for money.

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

Timeline and evaluation of calendar project time and being available to take more urgent design jobs, as for campaigns, etc...

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the product marketing director, working on product positioning globally with my team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

One of the projects we worked with High Contrast on was for product videos. Our platforms are quite complex, and the ecosystem is as well, so we needed a way to visually explain what our products do and simplify messaging.

SOLUTION

How did you select High Contrast and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for video production companies but many did not offer end-to-end services. Plus, we already had a great working relationship with High Contrast from other visual products.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We started with a discovery meeting, then we handed over the brief. There were a few revision rounds until we were perfectly satisfied with the outcome. The turnaround was fast.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

We worked with a project manager that facilitates the video production with designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We promoted our videos through email marketing campaigns and on our knowledge base. Engagement metrics were high and we got a lot of positive feedback from both customers and internal audiences.

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

The project manager was very responsive and easy to work with, as she understands customer needs and knows how to also communicate internally with her team.

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

They've learned our industry - even though it is quite intricate, and They were always responsive to our feedback and worked hard until we were 100% happy with the results.

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

I wish we could meet in person more often to brainstorm and collaborate, but we still have very good communication even though we're all based in different locations around the world.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Head of Product & Business Operations at Aurus Technologies. We offer blockchain based products and services to the traditional precious metals industry to accelerate their digital transformation and access new revenue streams in crypto and DeFi.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire High Contrast?

High Contrast helped us with our entire rebranding strategy and on designing both our website and mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you select High Contrast and what were the deciding factors?

In just our first introductory meeting, High Contrast understood right away what our company needed regarding branding and design, giving us a complete proposal to move forward.

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

Our company went through an entire rebranding process, building a new website and launching a mobile app with the new brand style. High Contrast carried us through this process efficiently and with high quality, having their team fully committed on helping us to get the new branding right.

We had constant meetings and workshops to work on each of these projects (branding, app and website) and we achieved the launch of these in less than 5 months, and the feedback from our clients and stakeholders was extremely positive. High Contrast built a super professional Brand Book and Branding Kit for us to adequate our marketing to the new brand image, with new assets, colors and guidelines to ensure a proper consistency across our marketing channels and marketing material.

This was a challenging project to work on, and High Contrast delivered with top quality and commitment.

How many resources from the High Contrast team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked and continue working with four team members of High Contrast, Delia, Andrea, Bogdan and Emilia. It has been a real pleasure working with them and we have built a long-term partnership to keep growing our brand along with High Contrast as our official Design and Brand provider.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcome was positive a 100%. Feedback from our clients and stakeholders was incredible, as everyone has found our new brand and design very professional, minimalistic, innovative and attractive. Their brand book, guidelines, assets and designs have been very helpful and essential to display the new branding of the company properly in the market. Our collaboration has been a true success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between our teams has been very effective, both via email and meetings. We are always in touch and the High Contrast team is always available to assist us.

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

We were surprised about their commitment, talent and efficiency. We knew we had less than 4 months to launch our new branding, new website and new mobile app, and with High Contrast we were able to achieve these tight deadlines efficiently and without sacrificing quality. They're proactive, always proposing positive changes or ideas that could help our brand and design be stronger.

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

I can only mention positive comments about High Contrast, so there is nothing we need to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a microinsurance organization. We bring insurance to people who don’t currently have access to insurance services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with High Contrast?

When I started at the company 18 months ago, I didn’t feel that our branding and website spoke to any of the audiences we needed to reach, so I wanted to revisit them. I brought on High Contrast for branding 101 — to go right back to the very beginning and start again with no preconceptions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

High Contrast took us through an iterative process to define our branding. They did a very comprehensive branding exercise that involved taking a step back and thinking about what we do, why, and who we do it for. 

After we’d written down the results of this analysis, the High Contrast team came up with 2–3 creative designs fitting that brief, including the logo. We discussed the ideas internally and chose one option, which High Contrast further developed with some refinements and fine-tuning.

Once the branding was defined, the High Contrast team designed our new website from scratch using our new brand identity, including logo, colors, and fonts. 

They used Figma to mock up the site, and an external team implemented it. High Contrast supported the developer during this WordPress implementation process.

Moving forward, we’ll be keeping High Contrast on a retainer as our creative design partner to help us develop materials such as presentations and other additions for our website.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with four people from High Contrast, including Rares (Founder & Creative Director), Emilia (CEO & Partner), a project manager, and a creative designer. 

How did you come to work with High Contrast?

We’d worked for the same client as High Contrast on a different project, so I had some knowledge of how they worked. 

We decided to go with them due to a combination of factors; they had a good portfolio, an attractive pricing model, and an easy, efficient, and well-organized way to work. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about €10,000 (approximately $11,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

High Contrast’s work has received an overwhelmingly positive response from all the people we’ve consulted. Since we’re a small organization, we can’t survey many people to measure the success of our new branding. However, we’ve had great feedback, and our website has a modern and fresh look that better communicates our message. 

Many things are happening with our business, and the website High Contrast designed helps with our customers’ awareness. Our revenue increased significantly last year, and the site is one factor that supports our business’s growth and development. 

We’re so happy with the work they’ve done that we’ll continue working with them to improve our website and for creative input on marketing materials. 

How did High Contrast perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good at project management. The High Contrast team is easy to work with, clear, and efficient. 

Although one or two things have taken a few extra days, they’re good at communicating what’s happening, so there are no surprises, and I can adjust our plans to suit.

Our communication is via email and virtual meetings through Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Overall, our partnership has worked really well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by High Contrast’s great creative ideas. I was looking for a fresh take on what we do, and that’s exactly what they’ve delivered. All our stakeholders and the people we’re talking to appreciate their branding work.

High Contrast came up with something completely new and unexpected that we would never have dreamed of. I give them a top rating — I really appreciate what they do and how they do it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there isn’t anything they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as you can be about what you need with any provider coming to support you. Also, be upfront in setting expectations and requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general director of a foundation in Romania that implements social projects to further our country's educational efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with High Contrast?

Our company name was similar to a big retail brand in Romania, so we needed a brand overhaul.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

High Contrast initially built our brand guidelines to finalize the fonts, color schemes, and our programs' logo designs. They then designed our logos based on the new brand guidelines and our preferences. Upon accomplishing their initial deliverables, High Contrast then used Webflow to build our website from the ground up, incorporating new features and brand elements.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two designers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with High Contrast?

One of my colleagues was acquainted with their programmers. Trusting his recommendation, we reached out to High Contrast and discussed the project with their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €3,000 (approximately $3,400 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The branding project ran from August–October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our marketing efforts and High Contrast's rebranding solutions significantly improved our site traffic. From our team and stakeholders' perspectives, they delivered a functional and user-friendly website that met our standards.

How did High Contrast perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via Zoom and emails and relied on Figma for project management. High Contrast was a dependable partner that respected our challenging timelines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

High Contrast had well-trained resources that understood and delivered our technical needs. They were more professional than the other design and development agencies we worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They seemed less motivated when we asked them to implement additional changes to our logos, but it all worked out well in the end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give clear instructions and deadlines. If you know what you want and can communicate it clearly, they'll deliver that accurately.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for Fundatia Noua ne pasa as a software developer and project manager. Fundatia Noua ne pasa is an educational NGO from Romania.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire High Contrast?

We hired High Contrast in order to create our new identity, logo and website.

SOLUTION

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

We received a recommendation from a partner and after that we checked the portfolio and scheduled a meeting with the CEO. After this steps we decided to work with High Contrast.

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

After 2 meetings when we discussed our needs, we decided to receive in 2 weeks one initial design for the main page and a new logo because we had a short deadline. Once we choose a theme we iterate through feedback meetings the design for the other pages and also for the logo. Because of the short deadline we skipped many design steps, like creating a moodboard, etc.

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

4 people: CEO, creative designer, project manager, grafic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our partners sent us several appreciation messages about the new design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They responded quickly to our request and feedback.

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

Their design solution was original and aesthetic.

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

Always you have something to improve but we can tell what can High Contrast improve after this project because the results are good and the steps were clear and simple.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dreamshare is a web-to-print company, specialized in cusom photo gift production. I am the sole shareholder and administrator of the Company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The overall objective of the project was to improve the market image and performance of our company by building a strong brand and a modern online presence, corresponding to our values.

The specific project objectives were:

- To define the Dreamshare brand hierarchy based on the existing and new portfolio of products and its specific target groups

- To consolidate the overall image of the company by creating a colorful, joyful visual and verbal identity, together with collateral materials

- To clearly delimitate the main brand differentiate the sub brands for photo and custom gifts segments

The project comprised two phases:

Phase 1: Brand identity development (Brand positioning, Collateral materials design, Website update, Identity manual)

Phase 2: Online marketing strategy (Awareness campaign concept, Campaign materials creation

SOLUTION

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

The beneficiary company selected the consultant after evaluating competitive proposals and interviewing candidate consultants. The final decision was taken based on the consultant’s qualifications as presented to the company. Other two qualified competitors also issued offers for the project.

The decision of choosing High Contrast was mainly based on our previous cooperation, the respective company already knows our concept and developed some of the existing development stages with us.

Other aspects taken into account regarding to the consultant selection:

- budget efficiency, as time spent for brand and company acknowledgement will be spared, based on our previous cooperation

- as High Contrast already knows the brand, they can easier foree ways of improvement and development directions

- the selected consultant is the most experienced out of the competitors. They have the most complete team, impressive portfolio, and highest turnover

- the selected consultant is highly creative, a necessity for our project. The emotional and visual components are key for success

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

The project included the following phases:

Phase 1: Brand identity development

✓ Brand positioning: insights gathering, market positioning, target market defining, visual and verbal communication, objectives and deliverables.

Deliverable: 1 analysis document, 20 pages pdf.

✓ Collateral materials design: creative concept for materials design, layouts and templates. Deliverables: voucher, products usage instructions, thank you cards/origami game card, photo envelope, stickers

✓ Website update: existing website analysis, design and text updates, developer modifications, testing and launch.

Deliverable: updated website according to the new objectives

✓ Identity manual: Brand identity, usage and context of use, visual and verbal directions, mockups, online identity, cross-branding manuals.

Deliverable: brand identity manual

Phase 2: Online marketing strategy

✓ Awareness campaign concept: Campaign creations based on customer brief, company headline and key visuals creation, implementation concepr defining.

Deliverable: Campaign creation concept

✓ Campaign materials creation (visuals and text): Selection of key producst for each campaign, headlines and body text, images editing, banners creation.

Deliverables: 18 x headlines & body text; 9 x campaign banners for the filtration systems brand Throughout the development phases, there was insured the account management (15% of the allocated project time), comprising customer and internal communication.

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

7 employees worked with us:

Emilia Jercan - Brand Specialist

Andrea Stan - Branding Designer

Ana Donos - UX/UI Designer

Rares Dragan - Creative Director

Delia Dinca - Account Manager

Bogdan Dobrescu - Developer

Alexandra Anghel - Copywriter

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The specific project objectives are:

✓ To define the Dreamshare brand hierarchy based on the existing and new portfolio of products and its specific target groups

✓ To consolidate the overall image of the company by creating a colorful, joyful visual and verbal identity, together with collateral materials

✓ To clearly delimitate the main brand differentiate the sub brands for photo and custom gifts segments

The company expects that one year after the completion and upon implementation of recommendations, the following key performance indicators could be achieved:

✓ 100% Increase in sales volume; in 2020, the number of orders was 986

✓ 100% Increase in turnover; in 2020, the turnover was of approx. €29,345

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was developed and implemented as planned, without interruptions or delays.

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

The thing that I like the most was their creativity. 

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

Not at the moment

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

North Star Support Group is a boutique risk management consultancy with over 20 years of experience providing a range of client-focused services globally. We provide advisory and support services across the enterprise to assist businesses and organisations navigate safely and securely through challenging risk environments. I am NSSG's Business Development Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We knew our image can be improved but launching such a quest was only possible if a strong partner could back us up on this journey. Once we met the High Contrast team, we immediately knew that we can count on them so when they proposed to us the rebranding option, we simply felt comfortable pursuing it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They've been recommended by another trusted partner of ours.

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

We started by mapping NSSG's core values and with this, we managed to present ourselves better as a team and its guiding vision. We knew what needs to be emphasized towards our public. These efforts culminated in the development of a new branding and brand manual, a new website and the subsequent collateral materials. But most importantly, culminated in a new team spirit as our colleagues felt inspired by our new look.

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

Uh, this is tough to count as I believe we worked with most of their team starting with their founder and their CEO who managed to give us the much-needed trust to start the journey with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I guess the new website is the best answer here so have a look https://nssg.global/.

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

Professionalism at its best. Flexible where needed, strong and argumentative where required and time-efficient working style.

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

We believe that outstanding results are meant to follow those who pursue their goals with passion and commitment. Our values were perfectly matched with the High Contrast team. And we felt confident to develop our new public identity with such dedicated professionals.

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

Meet them earlier. No, as things happen when they should. They just need to keep up the level of enthusiasm they place in their projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are the National Institute of mother and Child health. I am the spokesman and PR and Communication responsible.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire High Contrast?

We needed a new website for the Institute, in order to have a much clear structure of the information and a friendlier experience for the users.

SOLUTION

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

I met High Contrast during a meeting at a previous job and I linked their work, we also have common collaborators who validate that they are professionals.

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

We needed website architecture, design, and development. We had a kickoff meeting with the partners and our communication team, we discussed the issues then a project manager took over.

We defined together the new structure of the information, the new needs, then they created the design while our team took care of the content. We used WordPress for the development because it’s easy to use by our team as well.

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

We worked with the project manager, the designer, the creative director, and the CEO. We also got in touch with the team’s collaborators on the development side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone was satisfied with the work, including doctors and other personnel of the Institute. It is easier now for us to keep the content up to date and for patients to find it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were constantly in touch with the project manager and the CEO, but they also involved the designer when needed. We used Skype and Google Drive.

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

I appreciate their proactivity and involvement. You can tell that they liked the project.

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

There is always room for improvement but I can’t tell something in particular, nothing disturbing.