Parallel Design Studio

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of Butterfly Culture. We, a team of industry experts, specialize in providing faster and more efficient Mobile & Web Technology Solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Parallel?

We hired Parallel for Product design that includes UI/UX Design.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to develop a mobile app, The Bianca app (a Travel companion app) that acts as a travel companion for our guests (who have booked trips with us) and provides them resources like access to the trip itinerary, Hotel details, recommendation during the trip, Transportation details, etc. to make their travel hassle and paper-free.

SOLUTION

How did you select Parallel?

We discovered Parallel through a referral from one of our clients and we ran through their portfolio and choose them for their approach to problem-solving, Clean design, and Design sprints which many other didn't offer.

Describe the project in detail.

The Bianca app (a Travel companion app) that acts as a travel companion for our guests (who have booked trips with us) and provides them resources like access to the trip itinerary, Hotel details, recommendation during the trip, Transportation details, etc. to make their travel hassle and paper-free.

What was the team composition?

We had 3 devs + 1 QA from our end and 1 Product designer, 1 visual designer, and 2 UI developers from the Parallel end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This was a great efficiency gainer for our trip coordinators who spent hours together coordinating with our guests earlier. Many of the trip documents were better organized for guests and were paperless. There was also a 15% operational cost savings after the app was introduced.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was time-bound, the project was well planned, and each task was laid out efficiently. Product designers heard our requirements and identified the right problem to solve. Kept us in the loop and incorporated our feedback in real-time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Design sprints. Having worked with various design studios in past, Parallel is probably the only design studio in Bangalore that provides a design sprint with such great proficiency.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing specific to the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Aspec Scire is a Drone Data Analytics company that applies computer vision and machine learning to construction & infra industry problems. I lead engineering and product development efforts at Aspec Scire.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Parallel?

We were redesigning our platform workflow and building a new web interface for the same. Parallel helped us with product design and UX.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a streamlined but simple and intuitive workflow. Our product is very complex with lots of features that complete the solution. We wanted an interface that provided user an ability to navigate the workflows with ease.

SOLUTION

How did you select Parallel?

We had worked with Robin earlier for a mobile app based assignment. We have seen how the team works and we were very impressed. It was an easy decision to go back to Parallel.

Describe the project in detail.

New web interface that creates workflow for data gathering (drone flight planning), data upload, processing and visualisation. We provided the workflow and existing product interface. Parallel, through its design sprints, helped us come up with a UX and UI design that help create this new interface.

What was the team composition?

Parallel had 2-3 people for the design sprints and we were in equal number.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to roll out the new interface on web due to Parallel help with the product design. Since then our user adoption has grown quite successfully.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything was spot on. Communication was effective and timely. Methodology followed by Parallel was very good.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Razor sharp focus on the product user and the problem that is being addressed, drive towards simplicity and minimalism and ability to deliver in quick time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a home service provider for individual users, including cleaning, laundry, appliance repair, and different types of home management. We provide an app through which users can log in, read information about the nature of the work, and book an appointment with a technician or service provider for in-house visits. I was the company’s former head of products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel Labs?

We were a fairly young firm at the time, and like most other startups, our focus was on ensuring that we had a fairly robust engineering team to deal with challenges around technology. We didn’t have any UI/UX people internally.

I did a lot of sketching myself but didn’t have the proper time for it given that we had a lot of organizational obstacles to overcome. We wanted someone who could function as a UI/UX extension of our team, understand our business, and create the user experience we wanted.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The product was mobile-first, but eventually made available on the web as well. Parallel Labs worked on both versions.

I’ve worked for a lot of large organizations’ product management teams in the past, so I gave Parallel Labs clear expectations from this standpoint. We needed to be quite exhaustive in our approach to make sure we went over every available option. We had be current with the latest design principles. We went through three or four concepts when we started and moved on to the rest of the screens only after we narrowed down on a design language.

What is the team composition?

I mainly interfaced with their founder who solved things internally and ensured completion of everything I requested. There were five or six people on the team, but I didn’t communicate with them directly.

How did you come to work with Parallel Labs?

I researched and talked with a few UX firms that could help us with the task at hand. One studio told us that they wouldn’t be able to deliver by the timelines we were asking for because of prior commitments, but they pointed us to Parallel Labs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the first quarter of 2015 and the collaboration lasted for 3–4 months. We had an app and a website, so it took some time to finish everything.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I had a fairly good idea of what the industry standards and latest design principles were. What Parallel Labs delivered was in-line with those. They knew what they were doing, and I realized even from our internal testing that end users would benefit from the kind of interface we were designing. The persona- and fast-driven design approach worked well in our case.  

How did Parallel Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t have any problems in this part of the collaboration. I spoke to their founder frequently— sometimes more than once per day—to ensure that things were on track, that we had enough clarity, and that they were aligned with our chosen design approach. They managed to deliver everything we wanted on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had a lot of debates with Parallel Labs, unlike traditional design firms who tend to be overly-agreeable. Their founder and I were both able to present our perspectives on how we should do things. We drew inferences and inspiration from real-life products. It wasn’t a conventional client-provider model, but more like working with an in-house team. I appreciated the kind of involvement they had with our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I advised their team, even at the end of our engagement, to invest in their future. We had a team of Android developers when we started out, but no iOS ones. I understand that they’re more of a UI/UX design firm, but having the option to onboard technologists and engineers would’ve allowed us to finish everything without searching for more resources. More often than not, there will be gaps between design and execution when different teams are working on the same project.

We ended up outsourcing the iOS development to another firm, which required some time to make the transfer. I have no feedback specific to their quality of work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I maximized the potential of the relationship. Anyone exploring Parallel Labs’ services should reach out and see what they can contribute. It’s important to at least hear them out before making a decision.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Explara, which was founded in 2008 to provide a do-it-yourself event platform for customers around the world, primarily in India and South-East Asia. We also have customers in the U.S., Europe, and around the world. We provide an end-to-end solution that helps event organizers and association managers handle registration management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel Labs?

We had quite a few UX challenges with the startup product. It was okay for the initial 10 customers, but would not work if it were scaled to 1,000 or 10,000. We built it in-house, went to market, and had some success before quickly discovering our limitations. We were not efficient and weren’t thinking creatively about our UX.

The internal team was a little complacent, thinking that their work was perfectly fine, so I got in touch with Parallel Labs. The aim was to impress customers with the platform’s ease of use so that they would come back. We wanted to address acquisition, retention, and general experience all at once.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Businesses use the platform to host events. It has two angles—end-user registration and customer tracking—and most of our issues were on the customer side. There were too many options, too much confusion, and no easy way to navigate the platform. That was when our engagement with Parallel Labs started.

They analyzed the entire process and sketched it out to create a 2.0 version of the product. We gathered user feedback, evaluated our current theme, and made a couple of sketches to gauge whether we could cut down the noise in terms of color, tone, and messaging. They’ve also performed R&D on products that compete with ours and ones that tie in with other industries.

The core parts of any product need to be right. Otherwise, people won’t use it even if it has thousands of features.

What is the team composition?

We contacted Robin [Founder and Product Designer, Parallel Labs], who was keen on working with us hands-on. We worked with a UI designer, Robin worked on the UX elements, and my team addressed the product and customer side of the story. In between, we also interacted with two or three other team members.

How much have you invested with them?

They have their own standard pricing, which is on par with the market. I already know what they can do, but I always benchmark new providers. If the price fits our budget, then we’ll be okay. Other companies would charge us a lot more for the same work, and I would also have had to spend a lot more time establishing a good balance.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Robin in 2013, while he was with another company. At the time, we were working on UI and branding.

He founded Parallel Labs in 2014. I liked his previous work, so we continued the relationship. The UX engagement officially began in December 2014. Our most recent project was completed in 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From time to time, we ask our customers what they like and don’t like about our platform. The feedback has been very good. Our customers see us as a fast-iterating group that takes their feedback into consideration.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Parallel Labs’ reliability, strong reasoning, and market insights are all assets. They want to do their job well.

After finding a reliable provider, we’ve always referred Parallel Labs to others. I’ve enjoyed their creativity and mindfulness, so I want them to grow and be more successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are certain parts of their business that can improve, so I’ve given them feedback from time to time. I’ve suggested that they start providing web development. Doing the first round of coding would maintain quality.

I’ve also suggested creating reusable components and patterns. That could help Parallel Labs become an authority in this space.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

In my experience, work won’t get done when the client fully delegates it.  Delegating the work and expecting it to get done will lead to failure, so clients should engage deeply with the team and build the product together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We offer private, flexible and customized trips for travelers across the world to more than 40 destinations across the world, such as Asia, Africa, and South America. I am the Senior Tech Product Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel Labs?

We have an internal tool that powers our sales team. We built an internal version without much UX and made it functional. With the help of Parallel Lab’s team, we made it more intuitive.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parallel Labs understands our user personas and comes up with simplified UX. They help code and deliver the UI in HTML and CSS. We also migrated to a frontend framework, Vue.js, and they helped build relevant components.

What is the team composition?

I work with their founder, Robin, who is amazing at understanding requirements, with a designer who helped create wireframes and visual designs, and with developers who have done a brilliant job of translating those amazing visual designs to front-end components.

How did you come to work with Parallel Labs?

Our CTO shortlisted a few candidates. Through Google Search, we found a few companies in Bangalore. We interviewed a few of them and finally selected Parallel Labs. They were the best in class.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Parallel Labs 15 months ago and it's going well so far!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There is nothing better than end-user feedback. Our end users love the design.

How did Parallel Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I would give them an 8/10 for project management. We adhere to Agile methodologies, more like chaos because we like super fast development). Parallel Labs has managed to cope with our constantly-changing needs.

There has been some misinterpretation of information as it’s been passed on to the UX designer, HTML person, and developer. We’ve tried to identify the ideal workflow and improve upon it. Overall, I think they’re excellent, but there have been some hiccups. I don’t completely blame them for this, though, because there’s chaos on our side as well. It’s a collaborative effort.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with a few designers in the past and always faced challenges in terms of patience and thought processes. I’ve never faced these kinds of problems with Parallel Labs. They were motivated even after development and during design reviews to undergo further changes and make the work perfect.

They have an eye for international-level design and workflows which result in supreme user experiences. The team is able to understand complex business-use cases and come up with intuitive design solutions. They have an open, collaborative style which is unusual for designers based on my experience. They’re willing to refine the work until I’m happy with it.

They focus on solving clients’ problems. This level of customer service has made it a pleasure to work with their company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve come across some operational challenges, but I’ve been able to make them understand the scope during the planning and design phases. They got what I was trying to say and have dug deeper when needed. The operational issues are partly on us as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sometimes people have an idea of everything and a set way of solving an issue. If you keep an open mind and trust them, Parallel Labs will be able to solve any problem down the road. This will make the process more collaborative and bring an additional perspective to the workflow and problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Boomer, which is a mobile software service platform. We help micro businesses create an online presence. Around the world, including in the U.S., many small businesses do not have their own website and find it very difficult to create a website even using Wix or other options. We help them to create their site within a few minutes using our app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel Labs?

We needed help with designing the UX and UI for the mobile app as well as the website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our objective was to make it extremely easy for micro and small businesses to create their website. Traditionally, when someone wants to create a website and make modifications, they would need technical help, and every time changes were needed, they would call someone to help them modify it. Just creating a website is not enough. We wanted people to be able to market themselves on social media, so we linked the digital website app together with social media marketing. When I publish an update to my website using the app, I can also publish to social media. Once people find my business through social media, we drive traffic to the website. Once they come to the website, we help them engage with the merchant in real time through a built-in live chat.

What is the team composition?

Our development team and their designers work together to make decisions.

How did you come to work with Parallel Labs?

I worked with the founder when he worked with another design firm. Since I had worked with him before, I decided to use their services.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2014, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Whenever they implemented their design, they went into the field and conducted user interviews. As a product owner, we have to do our own checks and balances, so we have user interviews as well. People have been finding it useful and let us know what improvements can be made. Overall, the quality of work has been pretty successful.

How did Parallel Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They are an especially good team. They do a very good job, and, at the moment, we don’t work with anyone else. We mostly communicate through InVision, which has all of the designs and allows us to comment in real time. We also have weekly phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their founder as well as the rest of the team are very good and differentiate themselves from other teams. Their output is quite global in terms of standards. They are very good when it comes to standing up to their clients if they believe that something is the best user experience; they really stand behind it and quality is very important to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, whenever there are improvements that need to be made, we discuss it. For example, if we feel there is a slippage in quality, we are upfront about it, and they respond by fixing it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They do a very good job, which is why you pay top price. They really deliver on the product and in that sense, it is worth it. There are always people who can do the work at a lower cost, but it may not measure at the same level.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO [Chief Technology Officer] of EatFresh. It was a food tech platform that made deliveries for lunch and dinner through a website and a mobile app. I have since used their services at a different company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel Labs?

We didn't have a UX/UI [User Experience/User Interface] designer in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on a mobile app as well as a website. There are pictures of food and the description of who made it, how it was made, and the price of it. It’s an e-commerce product. You make the purchase choice, add it to the cart, go through the checkout process, and then you check out. After checkout, you track your delivery, you get to know how soon you're going to receive it, and that's it. You give your feedback and rating of the product. 

They provided development and design services for this application. The app and website are available for iOS and Android. They helped develop the frontend, while we did the JavaScript and connected it to the backend.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked mostly with Robin [Founder / Product Designer, Parallel Labs] and Chaitanya [Interface Designer, Parallel Labs]. There were six to eight people working with the product. That included other designers, assistant designers, and copywriters. There was also a web developer involved with the project.

How did you come to work with Parallel Labs?

I came to know them through references of other founders they’d worked with before.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since October 2015. EatFresh launched in 2016 but shut down towards the end of the year because of funding problems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received positive feedback during user testing when we showed users the previous version and then the new version. I was really happy with the way it turned out.

How did Parallel Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well given the ambiguities that were there on the project. We had some broad requirements. Once we had an iteration of the solution, we saw what worked and what didn’t, then went back to the drawing board. A lot of our requests were accommodated well.

We communicated through email and tools like InVision and Zeplin, which offer visual communication. Robin was there for me whenever I needed to pick up the phone and call him. We met in person at times to make sure the project was on track.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was a startup. There were a lot of unknowns and they dealt with that very well compared to other design agencies I've worked with in the past.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In general, especially in design projects, you should communicate a lot. You can never go overboard with that. There's going to be disconnects between what you think and what they assume that you are thinking, and that may be lead to disasters or a lot of problems later on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Managing Director

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

we wanted a brand new customer interactive website

SOLUTION

How did you select Parallel and what were the deciding factors?

their understanding about Technology understanding about what we were asking and enhance that to customers flexibility managing expectations

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

we met few times explained who we are - where we stand today and then shared all our thoughts and ideas to them they then crated a deliverables and visited us and we finalized the project and GA

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

6

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

our site is about to Launch but from our well-wishers we get very positive response and we feel happy the way this has come out

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

weekly updates / phone calls /

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

The team is always available for any questions.

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

everything worked out

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder at Postcard.travel - a travel web app that helps people build their travel bucket lists

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Parallel?

To help with designing the product from the ground up for our web app.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to establish an MVP for the Postcard media format and also build a product around it that would lead to Product Market Fit.

SOLUTION

How did you select Parallel?

Parallel focuses on design sprints. It felt the easiest, fastest and most cost efficient way to test our hypothesis about our product and market.

Describe the project in detail.

Postcard helps people build their travel bucket lists. For more information please visit www.postcard.travel

What was the team composition?

The founder and the team were hands on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The MVP was very successful and we were measuring it using target metrics on Google Analytics. We are looking to role our our version 1 of the final product very soon.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The process was seamless and transparent - just like we wanted it and the team was very approachable.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Robin has put together a great team who are passionate about their work. They genuinely believe in the idea of product design sprints and their quality reflects in their outputs

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their branding design is good but can be improved. We ended up working with a specialist brand strategy and design agency to complement the Parallel team.