Lollypop Design Studio - A Terralogic Company

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CRO at a home purchasing platform. We offer an alternative way for individuals to sell their houses without the use of traditional listing agents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We hired them to assist with design and website improvements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They looked at our site and gave us a breakdown of what metrics we could improve and how they could help us. Their work included design and development updates for our existing website. 

What is the team composition?

O’Neill, project manager, a frontend developer, two backend developers, two designers, and a few additional team members. 

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

We’d worked with them previously. Their expertise in design and user interface is impressive. They have a great track record. The team has excellent attention to detail. They’re also very collaborative and receptive to feedback. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in December 2019. While they’ve finished the initial design project, we’re keeping them on as full-time partners. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our site traffic and conversion rates have grown by about 300%. We’ve also ramped up our marketing efforts during this time. 

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their availability is outstanding. They have an excellent response rate and turnaround time. We typically use Google tools to communicate with them, as well as Trello, EnVision, and Marble. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re far quicker to get back to us than other providers we’ve worked with. They’ll have a solution for us in days rather than weeks. They’re an inspiring company to work with and the passion of the employees shows through in their work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?  

At this time, there isn’t anything that I think they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

In general, you should have a clear understanding of what you want as a client and what your end goal is. That will help the process move along more efficiently. Additionally, it’s important to be clear in your feedback. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of a travel startup based out of Bangalore. The product helps enables and eases the whole process involved in travel for the users

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Lollypop Design Studio?

From the onset, we were set to outsource the design of our product to reduce costs. We hired Lollypop design to give us an innovative edge while developing our product.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals for the project was to come up with the MVP for our product. This was to be done in a short time frame with maximum impact.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wrote many design studios and while shortlisting lollypop stood out because of their process,detail and the way they intended to take the project ahead.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we started the project we had a few discovery meetings to finalise what kind of features were viable for the MVP. Over the coming weeks, we received the information architecture and mood board for the product. Then we went ahead with the wireframes of the website. Once that was finalised the final UI was delivered. Through the course of the project, there was a lot of back and forth to bounce off our ideas and come up with a great MVP.

What was the team composition?

From the onset of the project, we were assigned a Project manager, a UX designer and a UI designer. The interaction was always with all of them which was very good as we could hear everyone's ideas. I was also made aware that the designs were being constantly review by the Design leads in the background.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final deliverable was really good. It was what I had expected and even more from the project as it morphed with new ideas from everyone.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was pretty effective. There was some back and forth but it was only to understand and finalise our thoughts.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The execution of the designs was really well done and also delivered invariably on time. Everyone was really helpful in many situations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always some area that can be improved but we were really satisfied with the final product. To keep this quality for every project itself is pretty difficult.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager at a wealth management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

Our market is crowded with a lot of mutual fund investment platforms, so people tend to assume that we’re a mutual fund platform. We’re an investment platform and want clients to invest with us. We wanted to reach out to people and have them know that we do financial planning. We wanted to develop an MVP that we could test in the market to convey our message clearly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lollypop Design Studio helped us develop an MVP of a mobile app. They created the UX but didn't manage frontend development. Their team understood our problem statement well, crafting an interesting game to convey our idea in the market. The idea behind our product was to share that decisions—for comfort or for sacrifice— must be made throughout one’s life. We didn’t have time to reach out to focus groups for testing because we needed to get the product out to see the reaction.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people closely. Their team included a UX designer, a UI designer, and a couple of other individuals.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

I reached out to 10­–15 other design agencies and found them through searches for UX/UI partners. One of the project's constraints was delivery time because we wanted to get the product into the market fast. Lollypop Design Studio was able to meet that need.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project between June—July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app has been live for six months, so we’ve shown it to clients who have given their feedback. Their team was helpful during the first iteration of the platform, providing good designs. While we iterate on the product constantly, we’re happy with the UX. I give them five stars for UX but for UI, I give them four stars. We misread our target audience, so the product has evolved from where it started. We’re more into financial content and advisory rather than directly advisory solutions, so that’s not Lollypop Design Studio’s fault. Their team was helpful during the first iteration.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was quite great. Towards the end of the project, they came to our office. We gave our feedback right there and sent their designs to our tech team, which started developing them. I would’ve preferred if senior resources had more of an eye on it because the lead designer’s eyes weren’t completely on the UI.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They put their hearts into our project. Despite our time constraints, they went beyond what was asked of them. Their team came up with suggestions and shot down ideas that weren’t going to work well for us. They were straightforward and had clear reasons behind their ideas, which we appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a lack of senior resources.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s imperative to find the best project manager for you, particularly with Lollypop Design Studio, which understands the why behind a project. We were lucky to work with the UX designer who was on our project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Udaan is a B2B e-commerce platform based in India. We work with retailers and manufacturers to solve trade-related issues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design?

It was primarily user research. Our activity requires specific problem solving, and we needed to be closer to our users to understand how they would behave and respond to the workflows we were creating.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lollypop Design’s research team went out and met our users to collect data points around specific problem statements. Then, they synthesized that data and provided us with insights and strategies to solve them.

Most of the work is in an advisory capacity currently. We have started exploring some aspects of UX with Lollypop Design, but there’s nothing formalized as of now. They’re a very accommodating team, and they sometimes even help us formulate the problem statements.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 8–10 people from Lollypop Design so far, including some who’ve left the team. I work with a project manager.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design?

They’re known for UX/UI design in India. We evaluated a bunch of agencies, but Lollypop did a good job with the problem statement we gave them.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far has been around 60 lakh Indian rupees ($84,830 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them off and on, but the start of the collaboration was about a year ago. It’s an ongoing relationship based on a retainer model.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback’s been pretty good so far. The only challenge is that, as an external agency, it takes them a lot of time to get vendor feedback. We’re trying to work on the knowledge transfer process with them.

How did Lollypop Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always available for calls. Most of the deliverables are on time, and they’re quite transparent about the work they’re doing. The team is quite committed. It’s easy to reach out to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their people are quite committed, especially the researcher I’m working with. Overall, I got the sense that they want us to succeed and to contribute value to our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have some staff turnover, but that happens in an agency setup. Lollypop Design does make it a point to have the knowledge transfer happen before the person leaves. Therefore, there are no abrupt changes.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’d definitely tell them to give them a try. I don’t have any specific advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at an IT and data solutions company founded in 2016. We offer an enterprise decision-making platform that provides sales teams with valuable insights.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

My company was new and lacked UI/UX design experience. We’d hired another design agency prior to Lollypop Design Studio, but their work didn’t match our expectations. We wanted to offer a user experience that would give us a competitive edge in the market. We also wanted a demo to show customers that our product was world-class.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started the collaboration with Lollypop Design Studio, we were already in development. We omitted any discovery or early design stages because we had time constraints. Lollypop Design Studio helped us design the platform’s screens, including the ones that were already in existence. We worked iteratively over the next couple of months.

What is the team composition?

We work full-time with a UI designer and a UX designer. They also assigned a project manager, but they’re not involved in the entire process.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

A colleague referred Lollypop Design Studio to my company. We wanted to ensure the agency we hired was highly skilled in the design industry and could help us build a great platform.

How much have you invested with them?

My company is spending $8,000­–$10,000 per month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Lollypop in November 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve garnered good feedback on the UI/UX designs. Lollypop Design Studios has been able to take our requirements and deliver on time. They’ve helped us provide a more user-friendly platform to our clients.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform okay, but there’s room for improvement. We work remotely and have daily contact with the UI and UX designers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The design skills they’ve brought to our team are really good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Lollypop has improved in terms of communication in the last 3–4 months. For the first 1–2 years of our engagement, communication and project management weren’t great. I don’t have any outstanding feedback for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a software architect at a biotech startup called Mission Bio. We are a single-cell DNA analysis company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We hired Lollypop Design Studio to manage the frontend development and UI/UX design of two web applications, along with a redesign of our desktop application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was initially drawn to Lollypop Design Studio because of their well-defined process, which they described in our early meetings. They prefer to conduct a discovery session before defining the deliverable, creating designs, and then ultimately developing it.

For our products, they gathered requirements by speaking with us and some of our customers. That research drove the creation of basic wireframes that showed us the first elements of our web applications. We went through several iterations until we decided on a version that we liked. Lollypop Design Studio then delivered high-fidelity wireframes—clickable mock-ups that we could use to navigate from one screen to the next. Once we signed off, they began their development work.

The first web application serves as a portal for our users to access our other web applications. The second web app allows users to submit their information and view results from within the browser. We relied on Lollypop Design Studio for the frontend development and the UI/UX design of those products. We also asked them to redesign the user interface of our existing desktop application, as it had become quite cluttered as we added features over time.

What is the team composition?

Lollypop Design Studio dedicated one project manager, one UI designer, and one UX designer to our project. They also incorporated two frontend developers, but I didn’t work with them directly.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

Their company name came up in several discussions I had with colleagues while searching for a quality UI/UX firm. I reviewed their website and portfolio, and I was encouraged by what I found.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received a lot of positive feedback from our internal users and our customers regarding the designs of the web applications. We anticipate launching the redesigned desktop application in April 2019, but we’ve already received promising feedback on that design as well from our internal team.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Our primary constraint was that we couldn’t meet in person because we’re in different countries, but we worked well together despite that challenge. We held twice-weekly meetings to provide status updates and gather feedback. Lollypop Design Studio used Trello, and the project manager was thoroughly communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their UI/UX design turned out much better than we expected. They guided us through the design process and delivered an outstanding product. Lollypop Design Studio took the time to understand our requests, and it shows in their final deliverables.

Further, I appreciated the dedication they showed toward our project. One of their UX designers traveled from India to California to work in our office full-time, and she spoke to our customers and some internal team members to gather all of the project requirements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t care for Trello as a project management tool as I find it difficult to use. Also, we could have benefitted from earlier reviews of the code that Lollypop Design Studio produced. We discovered a few issues in the code that could have been fixed if we had access to it as the code was being developed, as opposed to seeing it at the very end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d highly recommend Lollypop Design Studio. They provide excellent UI/UX designs. I’d advise future customers to take the time to understand the process and how their team works. And I’d also urge them to consider what kind of contract or payment structure makes the most sense for their company because Lollypop Design Studio offers several options.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as the executive assistant to the director at a real estate company. We develop residential complexes and homes in eastern India.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We wanted to provide better customer service and satisfaction with more transparency through a mobile app.

Customers will be able to view the progress of properties through the app and then connect to us directly. If they have any questions or queries, they’ll be solved more quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Previously, they redesigned the website and are currently working on the designs. The wireframes are finalized, and they are using those to work on the individual pages. We’ve finalized a number of them, but a few are still pending because we’re trying to create the best UX. Once they are all finalized, we’ll move onto the development.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with the founder who understood our requirements well. There’s also a project coordinator and the designer. The developer isn’t from Lollypop Design Studio, but they outsource the work to him.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

When I joined the project, they were already on board as they’d done our website, but I don’t know that project began.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re spending 40 lakhs (approximately $55,000) for the design and development of the app.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re really good with designs and we like their aesthetic sense. We’ve been happy with them, which is why we decided to go ahead with the app after the website. Their design, aesthetics, and UI skills are really good.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They could do improve their project management and timelines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The UI and the color schemes in the designs impressed me. It’s simplistic and attractive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As mentioned, their project management needs work—they could communicate better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want a good UX with good look and feel, they do their job very well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the former senior product manager at Volk Optical. We developed a SaaS platform geared toward screening people for diabetic retinopathy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We engaged Lollypop Design Studio to design the SaaS platform. In particular, we wanted their UX and UI teams to help layout the software’s user experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lollypop Design Studio first launched a discovery phase. They learned the different audiences we’re serving and what features and functions those users needed. I provided low-fidelity wireframes to start the conversation. Following that was the UX stage. The senior UX designer impressed me by figuring out the best layout for our platform as efficiently as possible. We needed only one more iteration before we agreed on the final draft.

The design stage that followed the UX ran less smoothly. We decided to use a junior UI designer instead of a senior UI designer to save money, but the junior designer did not match in quality and took a long time to make small fixes. However, he received guidance from the senior UX designer, so his work ultimately met our standards.

Once they finished the designs, Lollypop Design Studio assisted in handing off materials to our development team. The team made sure that they had met all our requirements. They also completed additional iterations at the request of our developers.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three project managers in total. The second project manager was assigned our project while she was on vacation, so a third came in to fill in for her temporarily. We also worked with a senior UX designer, a junior designer who assisted him, and a junior UI designer.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

Our parent company, Halma, has an office in India. A team member there researched design and development firms in the area and found Lollypop Design Studio. The team demonstrated a systematic design process that met my standards of an optimal process. In follow-up conversations, they showed a dedication to the process and understood its necessity. Their strict adherence to their internal procedures was the deciding factor in choosing Lollypop Design Studio.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $18,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2017–April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform has yet to launch, but Lollypop Design Studio delivered high-quality products throughout the project. They handed off the designs to the development team smoothly.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager had a very firm grasp on everything going on. She kept up on timelines and made sure that the team delivered on every promised product. While she was on vacation, some slippage occurred, but it was very understandable. We had biweekly calls; sometimes we had more or fewer calls depending on the deliverable and the amount of time needed to complete it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their UX designers understood our needs quickly and thoroughly from start to finish.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was disappointed with how long it took for the junior UI designer to fix items brought to their attention. In one instance, I asked that they use a specific date format across all screens, but I only marked it on one screen. The junior designer made changes only on the marked screen. However, the senior UX designer who oversaw his work made sure that the junior designer met our standards by the project’s end.

Any advice for potential customers?

Pay the higher rate for a senior developer. The team still delivers top-notch products at lower prices than any services in the US. Lollypop Design Studio is worth every penny.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and president of Pixm, Inc. We’re building computer vision technology to detect phishing attacks in real time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We’re building an entirely new category of product in the market, so we wanted a website that communicates that next-generation look and feel. At the same time, we wanted people to connect and relate with our company and vision. We engaged Lollypop Design Studio to bring our goals to life with a WordPress site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lollypop Design Studio used a formal and systematic process to complete the project. They first gave us access to a project portal that displayed each stage of development. They then provided us with a questionnaire to fill out about our business and our concept. After that, they undertook market research to fully understand the product and its competition.

Once they completed their research, the design team completed wireframes that underwent several approval processes. They then provided regular updates of newly built structures for the site. Once that team completed implementation, a CMS team converted the site into a WordPress template. Lollypop Design Studio also offered us four options for branding to choose from; once we decided, they incorporated those designs, fonts, and color schemes into the final product.

Lollypop Design Studio also went above and beyond the statement of work. They designed a banner, flyer, tablecloth, slide-deck template, and sales template for us at no additional cost.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Uday (Business Development Manager, Lollypop Design Studio), Shreyas (Project Coordinator, Lollypop Design Studio), and a project manager who oversaw the CMS team. Each point-of-contact managed several designers and developers behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

I had connected to their co-founder on LinkedIn because I was impressed with how Lollypop Design Studio was building their company. When we started searching for web design teams to work with us, I reached out to him over email. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $14,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our investors loved the design—especially the branding, fonts, and color scheme—that their team implemented.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We kept in touch with weekly status calls, and the team updated their progress via a project management portal. The project proceeded in a structured, formal process; every stage was laid out in their plan and every step underwent approval by our team before proceeding. However, when we wanted to make changes after the site was implemented, the process had to be restarted. It lacked flexibility and agility. However, I otherwise found their methodical process extremely helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team produced consistently excellent designs and made themselves accessible for phone updates.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have been more flexible to accommodate time zone differences for remote calls. We would have preferred fewer early-morning calls on our end.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director for Metal & Steel.com. We’re a B2B platform that connects buyers, sellers, and traders of metal and steel products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lollypop Design Studio?

We hired Lollypop Design Studio to design the UX/UI for our website and mobile app, focusing on increasing interactivity on the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started our engagement with Lollypop Design Studio by having a series of discussions to communicate the details of our business. They conducted market research by analyzing the websites of our competitors and exchanging ideas with us. We shared our business plans, design documents, and technical requirements with them to inform their design process further.

Next, they began developing the platform’s wireframes. Once they delivered a version that got our approval, they moved on to drafting the comprehensive design documents. We worked closely with them to review, change, and enhance the interface until we agreed on a final design. Lollypop Design Studio recommended a copywriting partner to edit the site’s content. They provided the style sheets and HTML pages that our development team is using to implement the finished UX/UI.

What is the team composition?

We interact with an account leader, a project manager, and two design resources.

How did you come to work with Lollypop Design Studio?

We started our search by looking for companies here in Dubai, but they were expensive and lacked impressive credentials. As a result, we refined our metrics and searched for web design companies with experience working on B2B platforms. We interviewed and considered five different companies, but appreciated Lollypop Design Studio’s portfolio the most. It included projects that were similar to what we envisioned for our platform. They impressed us further by demonstrating a high level of commitment to our project and carrying themselves professionally during negations. Therefore, we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017, and the relationship is ongoing. We’re implementing the frontend design while they develop new functionalities for the platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t finished implementing their designs, so I don’t have relevant metrics available at this time. Soon after launching the platform, we’ll be conducting surveys to gather feedback and gauge customer satisfaction. However, I believe the mockups they’ve delivered will make the site more navigable and user-friendly.

How did Lollypop Design Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings via Skype and email each other frequently. We also use Trello, per their recommendation, to track the project’s progression and coordinate document deliveries.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate the simplicity of their designs. They allocated senior designers to our project and the results reflect that decision. They’re an agile team that offers competitive pricing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They delivered a simple design, but it’s not especially innovative. It’s important for small companies like them to push boundaries where they can.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend that future clients of Lollypop Design Studio request the CVs of the resources assigned to their project. We plan to do that in the future so we can handpick our team.