New Design Group Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an office manager at Loganova Shades, a retail company that sells curtains, cushions, and Roman shades.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

We needed a company that could build a website and develop our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired New Design Group Inc. to build a website and help develop our overall brand, which included creating our logo and brand identity. We’ve since expanded the scope of the project to include video and photo production.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

We found New Design Group Inc. through online research. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve worked with two people from New Design Group Inc..

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

New Design Group Inc.’s work has had a positive impact on our sales and business.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

New Design Group Inc. has performed well in terms of project management. They deliver on time and within budget. We typically communicate through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate how personable New Design Group Inc. is. They’re a real partner to us — we never feel embarrassed to come to them with only a vague idea or concept because we know that they will still be able to come up with something great. It’s also incredibly easy to work and communicate with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve never had a negative experience working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to respect their time and understand that they have other clients as well. It’s also a great idea to be clear and precise about what you need from them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of J&J Pet Club, a pet food and supply store. We sell online and through our brick-and-mortar store in Toronto, Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

We needed help with social media marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group Inc. has helped us extend our budget on Google Ads, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media. We don’t have Twitter; they’ve mainly managed our Facebook and Instagram accounts. We mostly work on Google Ads campaigns, some organic search campaigns, and some paid campaigns.

What is the team composition?

We’re in contact with Dmitri (Director) and the project manager.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

We found them online.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000 CAD (approximately $36,000–$145,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2021, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve focused on building our following on Facebook. We now have an average of 100 more likes every month, and it’s steadily growing. Facebook is a great form of social media; it has referred customers to our website to make a purchase. Overall, they’ve played a crucial part in growing our business.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on time and send us a monthly performance summary from Google Ads. They give us their professional advice and always keep us posted. We use email, phone, and video calls through Google Meet or Zoom for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve done an excellent job so far; we’re fully satisfied. The team is outstandingly honest and on time. Sometimes we have a project and target in mind; we let them know our goals, and they provide advice and suggestions. Sometimes they tell us that it needs to be done in another way. In the end, their methods are always better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they just need to keep doing what they’re doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve already recommended them to a friend for their company because I think they’re good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

We wanted to redo our website and adjust our company’s logo.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group Inc. updated our website and adjusted our logo. For the branding exercise, they started the process by sending a team to talk to our senior management and get a sense of our company’s culture and objectives — we provided them with content from our existing site and additional information, like charts and graphs. After that, they gave us their feedback, discussed with us how we could improve our logo, and gave us examples. Consequently, we reviewed and decided on one of their proposals, and their team applied it to our website.

For the web development part, they updated our product descriptions, added a new color scheme, and enhanced the organization of the pages to make them more user-friendly and predictable. In addition to that, they optimized the site for mobile devices and provided hosting for it.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Dmitri (Founder), a couple of their members for the focus group, and their development team.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

I found them online.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We spent $25,000–$50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2018–October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We considered this a successful partnership because we received good comments on the website they created, which improved what we previously had.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always on time, quickly took care of our adjustment requests, and met deadlines. Regarding communication, we used phone calls, emails, and Microsoft Teams — they were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We didn’t have any QA issues because they always delivered within our high-standard requirements on time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think there was anything they could improve on — we had a positive relationship, and I’d recommend them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your requirements; they’ll work hard to meet your needs and expectations through their deliverables.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing coordinator for an investment management firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

Initially, we hired them to create a website for the company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website it on WordPress. The menus have different layouts and new pages. We launched a blog and a podcast recently, and they helped create that for us. They also supported SEO by adjusting content and doing on-page optimization. We also have videos on the website, so they worked on that as well. We alsohad a Google Ads campaign.

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with the web developer and creative person. Then we have our primary contact, and she’s always there for us. Most of the time, we have three people, but if we have something extra, then they’ll bring in expert team members for the project.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

They came on board about ten years ago, before I was a part of the organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about ten years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is up and we’ve seen more visitors to the site. Our ranking on Google search results are much better, so we’ve seen the results from their work.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always there for us. If something needed to be done urgently, they usually replied within 10–15 minutes. When we were doing the blog and the podcast it was all on time, and we didn’t have any issues with that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

How quickly they react to all of our inquiries. Before, we worked with another provider and it took a couple days to get a response. New Design Group, Inc., on the other hand is more responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was happy with the progress they have made with our website.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have clear specifications of what you want done and be open to discussing better solutions. They suggested some improvements, and we’re happy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the coordinator of communication and training at Durham Mental Health Services, a community mental health service provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group?

We hired them for three separate projects. The first was designing our website, and the second and third involved developing a suicide prevention and intervention app with two editions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group designed and developed our website from scratch. They also developed the app for iOS and Android. The first app was minimalistic and had useful information on suicide intervention and prevention. 

The app leads users through questions about their situation and offers tools to help them manage suicidal thoughts. Some of the tools included meditation and mindfulness exercises, as well as a mood log. Additionally, the app had a direct link to Durham Mental health Services.

What is the team composition?

We met with their lead, Dmitri (Managing Director), and he handled everything from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for a couple of years. The work is ongoing in terms of web maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We weren’t blown away with the statistical feedback for the app but were able to advertise the app on our web page. We were decently satisfied with their work. We also received good feedback from people who were happy that the app was to do with suicide intervention and prevention. 

The website has served its purpose for us, including attracting people to our business and providing them useful information about our business. The products were completed efficiently and to standard.

How did New Design Group perform from a project management standpoint?

New Design Group was on time with their deliverables. If there was anything we wanted to talk to them about, they made themselves available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the great things about New Design Group is that when we hired them, we only worked with one person, which means that they were able to be very responsive. We were really pleased with their availability, responsiveness, and quality of work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. They did the project the way we envisioned it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work closely with Dmitri and let him know what you’re looking for. He’s going to do his best to be responsive. If you’ve got a problem or a concern, he’s there and available for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and president of STEM Fellowship, a student network of digital learners. The organization is focused on new knowledge acquisition forms. It is a community of students who are leaders of using data analytics and knowledge crowdsourcing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group?

We needed web development for our organization. We have very different educational goals in that we want education to be focused on learners first. We wanted to meet the digital learner’s expectations and then find a way to deliver the curriculum and not vice versa, which is why we approached New Design Group.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group designed a website that will allow online experiential learning, knowledge crowdsourcing, and new knowledge acquisition practices for current students. They also did the development for us. I wanted the integration of Google classrooms and a lot of other elements. 

What is the team composition?

There were probably three teammates, but I mostly worked with Dmitri (Managing Director) on this project. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group?

I was looking for a design and web development company with something more than simple graphic experience or simple HTML knowledge. New Design Group has a periodic table of perfect web design and I came across this hidden page on their website.

I was really impressed. There is a system that they have behind the graphics and they have a system behind the juxtaposition of the elements. It isn’t a mechanical or purely experimental way of putting things on the website.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $10,000–$15,000. It was very reasonable for what we received.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February–October 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been using the platform for nearly four years. The technology went above and beyond. Today, we would be interested in integrating more than Google Docs. I ran the look and interface by various student groups, and it was well-received. I wanted a collaboration tool to be integrated.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

For us, it was perfect. New Design Group delivered on time and translated and implemented our vague requirements into something which was satisfactory, and I think it was very well managed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was pleasantly surprised by our good interaction, as well as their understanding and ability. New Design Group had the ability to speak my language which was important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Instead of being artists, they have an idea behind the art. They shouldn’t be shy about having a concept and putting it forward, at least not with people like me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New Design Group has a unique combination of artistic vision and technological sense and feeling, whereas their competitors usually have artistic feelings with limited technical abilities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO and director of an IT staffing company. We’ve been in business for just over 20 years. We started a new company in 2015, which offers migration services from internal server infrastructures to the cloud. We offer consultancy, design, development, and implementation services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

They were originally hired to design and develop our cloud company’s branding strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group created the branding, WordPress website, and collateral material for our cloud migration company. The site is basically informational, and it’s not used for interaction. Most of our client interaction is handled directly by our sales team.

First, they developed a concept and branding strategy, including colors and images. New Design subsequently designed and implemented our website. They designed all of our collateral material, like letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and packaging. They helped us with design for marketing programs, which included activities like lunch-and-learns and participation in trade shows.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 6–8 people from their team, including Dmitri (Managing Director), a couple of graphic designers, a couple of developers, and a text editor. Dmitri’s company is all virtual, but he’s pulled it together nicely.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

We looked on the internet and had a couple of presentations with providers. It appeared that New Design had quite a background in branding and website design, and it proved to be true.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000–$100,000 in total on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

They gave us the proposal in December 2014, and it took us a couple of months to start. We started the project around March 2015 and got it done by the end of that year. From 2016–2018, we continued to use New Design for little projects that mostly involved creating materials for marketing events and email campaigns.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn’t track metrics for their work.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They always delivered on time. Our work had multiple iterations, and they did their best to keep it on track. The collaboration was excellent, and I’d recommend them to anyone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their flexibility. We were strictly novices at doing this, and they led us through the whole process and explained everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticisms.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I have complete faith in New Design, and I recommend contacting them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for hop skip jump Indoor Play Space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

We needed to build a website as well as get some branding work done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group Inc. built a website for our first launch and another for our second launch. The websites were built on WordPress. A large portion of the work they did was designing the brand for our logo. They illustrated the three characters from pictures of our kids that we provided. Their team also did an animation for the website as well as created marketing materials for Facebook banners, Twitter, our business cards, letterheads, and more.

What is the team composition?

Dimitri (Director) and Elena (Creative Director) were our two points of contact, overseeing a larger team.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

They were recommended by a colleague. I liked the work they showed and the character design for our logo that they came up with.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $15,000–$18,000 CAD (approximately $10,000–$12,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2014–January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’d rate them very highly from a design perspective. I enjoyed working with them.

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were the one team that provided a decent design for the characters we wanted. Their prices were competitive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan the project so you can minimize delays.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Just Ducky Yonge Kids.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

I hired them for branding support for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically our entire brand is worked on by them. They provided all of the design for our logo and website. All of the color schemes, advertising, and promotional materials were provided by them, too. Everything from online design content to our mail-out and print media. 

What is the team composition?

Around 3–4 people worked with us. Generally, the two founders of the organization handled the bulk of it. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

I saw they’d done some similar work for another company in the same line of business. I loved the look and feel of that company’s branding and marketing materials, so that’s why I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2007. We still have some services through them, but we’ve changed direction so we haven’t had a use for them like before. If I do have design needs, I would use them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For me, the work they did was exceptional. I’ve tracked the marketing initiatives, which a lot of it is based on look and feel, color schemes, and design. 

How did New Design Group Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. The team was extremely responsive and the turnaround times were incredible. With feedback and making changes, they were very good about that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were incredibly creative and delivered exceptional work. Their response time was great. For the price, their work was superior quality. I can’t say enough good things about the product I got from them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there is anything. If I were in the position to start a new company and need branding support, I’d hire them again. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just go in with an open mind and provide specific feedback. They’re good at listening to feedback and updating what the client requires. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of a Food and Beverage company- Fru-V Smoothie.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire New Design Group Inc., and what were your goals?

As a brand new product to market, I needed someone I trusted to build a site and packaging design that would represent my products image and messaging well.

New Design Group helped to not only do the website and packaging design, but they also completed the service with consistent imagery across business cards, stationary products and promotional materials. They met the goals of consistent messaging, feel and look - which was healthful, fresh and honest!

SOLUTION

How did you select New Design Group Inc. and what were the deciding factors?

I researched and interviewed many companies before making the decision to work with New Design Group. They had faith in my business as a start up, took me seriously and gave me the attention to detail and the time.

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

As a start up with no image or starting point, they generated many ideas and took feedback/suggestions well until we all agreed to the end result. They met with me many times to discuss objectives and checked in often to ensure we were all on track and on the same page.

They worked in a timely manner and also worked well with others I had enlisted for other aspects (ie:label requirements). Once we had the packaging decided on we started on the other stationary and finally the website. They also host the site.

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

Along the way I worked with a few different people, but mostly it was 2 people. Those that were the creative and those that implemented.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can't compare from before as I didn't have a before, but I can say that I have had many compliments on the site and packaging over the years. The product has been doing well and stands out on the shelf.

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

We had regular communications either via phone or in person to go over the project and ensure all was on target. New Design Group was always available and always on top of things and always made me feel like my project was the only one they were handling -even though it clearly wasn't.

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

They gave me a great site that is easy to use and when I am not able to remember or figure things out they are always there for me.

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

As with any new project there are going to be issues, but they did a great job of minimizing them and things were corrected quickly.