Oui Will

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of a financial services company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

We were moving from a website that included all our products to one that solely focused on institutional banking services for businesses. We needed help with redesigning that institutional services website to capture our brand. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oui Will designed the website on WordPress. They led a discovery process to start the process. Along the way, they wrote content and worked with our hosting vendor to build the site. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Marcela (Account Manager, Oui Will), who’s our point of contact. There’s a team of developers and designers behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

We were looking for a unique way to visually communicate our brand. Oui Will had been recognized on a number of different platforms for design, which is how I found them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in May 2019 and is ongoing. We plan to launch the site in February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site has yet to launch, but the beta site has been up for a bit of time. Our team members have viewed it and praised the design as very clean, organized, and seamless. The information flow and the content itself are concise and clear as well. The project is not quite over, but so far, Oui Will achieved our goal of communicating the brand effectively.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been flexible in making adjustments to fit our more specific requirements. In terms of timing and planning, everything was on schedule. They excelled at communication as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The goal of the project was to produce a solid design: Oui Will has done that well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

None that I can think of.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your discussions prior to starting a project covers all your requirements. That way, you get an idea of the timeline, costs, and any additional resources you might need. By setting that foundation, everyone can start on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of a real estate management firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

My part of the company found out in relatively late November that we would need to have an entirely separate brand identity and website by January first, so I went to Oui Will to help us handle the web component of that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled the website development completely from the ground up. They did the designs as well as the wireframes and actual build, although our marketing person provided them with the copy. They were able to get the site up and running with interactive capabilities and all the information that somebody might need to understand our business and get in contact with us.

What is the team composition?

They had three people come and meet with me directly, but I believe their whole team was working on it behind the scenes in order to get it done so quickly.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

I used to be related to a larger bank, and they redid their website, which was how I found out about Oui Will. They worked well on that project, so it was an easy choice for me to pick when I had to develop a website for our arm.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was $15,000, which I was really pleased with.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them during the month of December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone that has seen the site so far loves it and has asked about the developers. I really could not be more satisfied with their work. We plan to upgrade the site to some extent in the future, but for our needs now and getting us off and running in such a short timeline, I was highly impressed.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

After our first meeting, I had one phone call with them in total. Other than that, we had a lot of emails back and forth, but everybody had their pieces in the right place at the right time, and it worked out completely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their whole team is very creative and very attentive, which is a rare combination to find in a service provider.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they did everything very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having the information that you want to relay is the most important thing to prepare in advance because as long as you provide them with that, they will hit the ground running.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the communications manager at Clarity Movement Co., an environmental startup that offers hardware and software solutions for cities to monitor their air quality.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

Our website was outdated, and we’d just launched a new product, so we needed to do a redesign with all the relevant information. We originally started with a different design company, but we weren’t satisfied with their work, so we hired Oui Will. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oui Will presented a proposal and timeline to accomplish our goals. We went through four iterations of what we wanted the website to look like before beginning the design. Our internal team was heavily involved in the project, collaborating closely with Oui Will. They built the site from scratch and also wrote copy and created a brand video. After launching the site, they provided maintenance to ensure it ran smoothly.

What is the team composition? 

We worked directly with three people and also had email access to the designers and developers.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

We found them online and had a phone interview to review what we wanted. We talked to about 10 other firms, but we liked Oui Will’s design and aesthetic the most. The quality of their work seemed strong and their process was straightforward, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers love the new website, and we’ve even received new clients because of the redesign. People stumble across our website and like the content, so they contact us to develop a partnership.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

We talked to them at least once a week, even daily during the busiest phases. They communicated well and integrated perfectly with our internal employees, which made us feel like one big team. We prioritized quality of our timeline, so we sometimes had to push deadlines back, but that was always something we decided together. Our partnership was incredibly organic and fluid, making for a positive engagement. We mainly communicated via phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their vision and aesthetic are impeccable. Out of all the firms we spoke with, their design was equal with some of the most expensive companies. Even though the project has been over for more than a year, we still appreciate their team and talk to them regularly. They’re easy to work with; they focus on building a relationship not just finishing a project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were much smaller when we worked with them, but it seems that they’ve hired more people to better manage all the incoming work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The partner that will work best with them is one that values design and wants to create a piece of art rather than just a website that serves a basic function.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a product marketing manager at Genomatica. We're a biotech company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

We were building a brand for our cosmetic ingredient, so we needed a website that would be consistent with that brand. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a WordPress website from scratch and did some branding work for us. We had a meeting where we discussed the concept and then, they started the design phase. After we made some edits to the design, they did the development. Our website is different from any other site in our industry. We were looking for something clean, modern, and unconventional, so Oui Will was very creative with their design.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 5–6 members of their team, including developers, designers, and our account manager.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

I was looking for an experienced design firm that could work with our budget and Oui Will matched that criteria. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between October 2016–March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback has been very positive and some of our colleagues even commented that our website was the best-looking website in our industry. In the chemicals industry, everything is quite conservative and tied to larger brands, but we had an opportunity to build something special and unconventional. We've seen very good traffic and our website won some design awards.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

We usually talked to them a couple of times a week and they paid a lot of attention to our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to build something very creative without too many guidelines.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It'd be great if they had more analytics expertise, but that's not what I hired them for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I’m the CEO and Co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?
We needed to leverage their expertise and their high production quality videos to tell a story about our products, and explain it in a way that’s compelling and doesn’t come off as contrived. We needed the most high quality content to share about our company while staying within budget.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We had a series of videos that Oui Will did for us over the course of several months basically to describe our product, to launch our Kickstarter campaign, and even to help us conceive of some elements on our website, for which we were in a last phase of development. They offered quite a creative eye and shared their results with us to see if we were on board with it and if we believed it was the right direction to go. They worked with us to write scripts for the videos and essentially to produce wire frames for the elements of our future website. They added touches that really went a long way to tell our story. We actually ended up putting a gif of some of those sections on our Kickstarter page.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

Cost was a factor. We got quotes from other video houses, and they were extremely expensive. A friend who had done work with Oui Will in the past recommended them to us. We liked that the backgrounds between Gui and Chelsea [Founders, Oui Will] added a bit of yin and yang to what they do. Seeing some of the work they did for other brands gave us confidence. Once we had that initial video made with them for our Kickstarter in 2016, the work was solid. It put us at ease. They proved what they could do, and it led to us to doing more stuff with them.

How much have you invested with Oui Will?

In the tens of thousands of dollars.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them October 2015 and have been working together since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They were really willing to work with us as a start up in terms of pricing, and I know they charge a lot more to established brands, but they had a passion for what we’re doing and helped us out initially. We agreed on a rate that allowed us to invest in producing a high-quality video without penny-pinching. We’ve had two successful Kickstarter campaigns for which they’ve produced the video, and I think the quality, the way the story is told, and the storyboarding, has all made an impact.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

There is probably some room for improvement. The high-level perspective is there’s only so much that 2 founders can do. There were some scheduling challenges getting through some of the work but I wouldn’t say there was anything egregious. I think part of it is that they are passionate about what they do. There’s probably a natural tension between the agency and the client where, as the client, you ask yourself whether you want to be pushed out of your comfort zone or whether you just want to go with what you’re saying based on what you think is safe. At times it felt like we were in crunch time, and they still wanted to offer another creative element, but that said, it generally paid off. I call it all part of the messy process that you go through to make something good anyway, whether it be internally or externally. One time when I wasn’t happy with one of the things we were doing, I remember one of Chelsea’s camera guys came over to my apartment and spent a few hours working it through. We all just wanted to get to a point where we were happy with it. Chelsea and Guill [Founders, Oui Will] were painstaking in their efforts and took the time to make sure we were all aligned. Ultimately once we had agreement on that, it gave them the license to offer their constructive feedback and/or real creative ideas to the project. I was in contact with at least 4 or 5 additional members of the team. I spoke with them anywhere from every couple days to at least once a week as we were working on the project.

What did you find most impressive about 111 Minutes?

Probably the best thing they’ve got going for them is that they’ve managed to tee up a unique twist on their agency between the work they’ve done and the fact they have connections to Europe and San Diego, which you see in their work. They have a very likable and dynamic set of founders and clearly everyone who works there has to meet a certain standard. One of the things I really admired about the process was the willingness to interview different stakeholders around our company, from investors, to key executives, to customers, to employees. What I admired about the videos is they have very high-quality automatics, and they have a really strong team that can produce these explanatory graphics. It’s the extra detail about Oui Will that I really admire: the extra time to get the story right as well as very high-quality production that I think ultimately leads to a really good product and helps elevate our brand.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with 111 Minutes?

Our team is in San Diego and Vancouver. Their team is in San Diego and Paris. A lot of coordination was required to get all the pieces of the story and though it wasn’t necessarily hard to do the brainstorming, sometimes coordinating times and things like that was challenging. It would be in their best interest to streamline their services, clearly defining the suite of offerings and services they provide. I do like that they customize to your budget and needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are landscape architects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

We needed to update our website. It was outdated.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a top-to-bottom redo to start fresh, bring it up to date, and better reflect who we are as a company. We’re based on showing our project work, so we wanted the site to focus on that. Other than that, we didn’t have specific requirements for the site. We wanted them to propose to us what they thought would be best for us. They also did a little bit of branding work, but it was primarily web design.

We’re landscape architects, and the point of our website is to show our work, so of course it was going to be heavily photo-based. In the course of discussing what the site is or isn’t with Oui Will, they proposed doing video. We liked the idea, so we ended up with a combination of photos and video, and they produced the video.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

I wanted to work with a local company in the San Diego area. I started looking and trying to educate myself on who wins awards in web design. I wanted to work with someone who was current and doing work I liked. I started to cross-reference everything I could find about the top companies in town with my criteria that it not be some giant corporate-type thing. I wanted to work with the owners of the firm directly. I had a short list of three or four. I contacted one of these companies, but I think they probably didn’t want to just do web design for us. It never went anywhere. I got a call from Oui Will and started talking with them. I really liked them, and I felt there was a connection there and we could work well together, so we ended up deciding on them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I don’t recall the start date for the project. There were some scheduling issues to get things set up in the beginning, but we weren’t in a hurry. It started in 2016, but I don’t know the month. It was in the summer or fall, and the project took about four months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We are still creating the final content on our end, so we’re not 100% there yet. That doesn’t reflect on the work from Oui Will. We’re not trying to market on our website, as we get all our work through referral. The site is just so we have a professional presence. We don’t look at any data about hits on the website or any of that. If a client wants to work with us, they can look at our website and know that we’re professional and have the resume to do the work. That’s all it is; we’re not trying to get work from the website.

We’re really happy with the work they did for us. I think they listened to what we asked for, and gave us what we asked for, with great design and good usability. They’ve pushed us to do some things we weren’t sure about, such as the video. We felt really good in their hands, and they did a great job of that. I think it’s going to be something we’re proud of and really happy we did. I think we’re definitely satisfied with the whole thing. We’re getting everything we wanted out of this project. We’re very pleased with it.

The website is certainly much more current. You can tell it’s well-made, and it runs smoothly. From a technical side, they’ve done very well. We like the way they built the back office, allowing us to maintain our own. When we get a new project that we want to put on the site, we’re able to do that easily ourselves, which is something we wanted. It’s going to be really nice for us.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well. We were not in a hurry, so I can’t say what they’re under a tight timeline. Everything was done in a timely manner. They were very responsive and easy to contact. We used text, email, and in-person meetings, as they are local. When they came into our studio to shoot video, that was a whole-day thing. It was very well-organized on their part. There was one time where we did something with screen-sharing remotely, but it was mostly phone, in person, email, and some text. If I had a question or problem, they responded right away.

What did you find most impressive about Oui Will?

I think it’s their sense of design. It was important to us to align with someone who could make our site look like something that reflects us. I got a sense from them that they really could connect with that and make it happen.

Are there any areas Oui Will could improve?

Not really.

Do you have any advice or recommendations for a potential client of theirs?

No. I think we’ve mentioned that we’re using them to some of our clients, who have since looked into using them. I don’t really do recommendations like that, but I think just the fact that we’re working with them means they’ll get some follow-up work through people we know.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Page 90 focuses on brand storytelling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oui Will?

I am often charged with creating brand stories for either upcoming companies or large, blue-chip ones which may have lost their focus. While I am very good at the verbal part of this which involves figuring out what the story is, I do need a partner for putting the imagery and visualizations in place. This is where Oui Will comes in.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oui Will provides app and web design for us, but they actually do more than this. If I was to pitch an internal training app, for example, I could either sketch it out myself (which I’m not very good at), or have Oui Will mockup 12 slides of wireframes and designs to show the client how it would look on employees’ phones. This gets people much more excited than hearing me talk about it. Oui Will is very good at bringing my ideas to life. They’ve also designed my own website and business cards.

Outside of web design, we've worked on brand identity, coming up with a complete visual suite in terms of the brand mark, color palette, collateral, and so on.They're also really great with my crazier ideas, like an upcoming brainstorm for a Mercedes-Benz that we morphed into a board game. Oui Will seems like they're always up for the challenge, no matter the form factor.

I’ve used different web development and design agencies, depending on the need. I started using them for my more sophisticated clients, in terms of product and service offerings, but I’ve come to use Oui Will for most of my work. They are flexible to my needs, which is great.

I think that they have the team for it, but I haven’t used Oui Will for coding.

How did you come to work with Oui Will?

Several years ago, I was working on a project for a tech firm in San Diego. I was put in touch with another agency, for which Oui Will’s principal was working at the time. I had a good experience and liked working with her. I decided to contact her again one year later, but she was no longer at the firm. I tracked her down and found that she had started Oui Will. I met them and gave the team a project for the China launch of the Lincoln brand. They got the aesthetic and vibe right away, elevating what I had thought of. After that, Oui Will became my go-to agency. I’ve done at least six projects with them so far.

How much have you invested with Oui Will?

The cost of Oui Will’s work has been over $100,000 in total, so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Oui Will right at their inception, around the fall of 2013. We’re currently working on a game which I’ll use for a pitch meeting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I don’t have any hard numbers, but anytime I’ve made a presentation, whether it was for the president of Audi or to the HP marketing department, everyone was blown away by what I showed. They’ve often wondered why their own departments couldn’t do the same work internally, even though they’re big companies. I look amazing because I’m using Oui Will. I would love to take full credit for how great my presentations look, but I can’t.

How did Oui Will perform from a project management standpoint?

Oui Will is very good about being on time. They’re sticklers and will spend time upfront articulating the scope of work so that neither their team nor the client will get burned. We agree on the deliverables, the budget, and the schedule, and Oui Will stays within that realm. It’s usually the client who strays from the scope, not the designers. We communicate through phone, text, email, and office visits. We’re both located in San Diego, with Oui Will being 20 minutes away from my office.

What did you find most impressive about Oui Will?

I’ve been most impressed with how Oui Will reads my mind in terms of what creative direction I want, and elevates that, bring even most of my abstract ideas to life.

Are there any areas Oui Will could improve?

Their design details are insanely good, but always check their copy for typos.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Oui Will?

Spend the time upfront making sure that Oui Will understands what you need, ensuring that there’s a clear scope of work. This works quite well with my own clients, and it can be applied to anyone working with an agency. We have built a lot of trust in our relationship with Oui Will since we’ve worked on many projects together and did them right. We don’t have any snafus with budgets and schedule because Oui Will puts the effort in upfront. The clients should be just as diligent.