Sparklin Innovations

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of an e-commerce, fashion company. We aim to humanize the way people shop online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparklin Innovations?

There are multiple social platforms that have tried to add commerce functionalities, and there are also multiple e-commerce platforms trying to add a layer of social media, using influencer marketing and other approaches. There is no e-commerce platform in existence that has built social commerce from the first day.

Social and e-commerce present different kinds of problems, and we're trying to solve both at once. We’re building a user-generated content (UGC) platform, so we needed a lot of UGC to launch. We needed Sparklin’s help to simplify our UI so it would be easier to create content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the start of the engagement, we didn’t even have a name. Sparklin helped us with many aspects of branding including overall messaging, communication, guidelines, and philosophy—how we should communicate through design and social media. They also helped us develop a logo and a brand philosophy.

Coming to the product, they worked on UI elements, payment and delivery, and how we should solve the UGC problem inside the product. After weeks of discussions, we created a prototype and they went through and made multiple changes based on user feedback.

What is the team composition?

We worked through a project manager on their team.

How did you come to work with Sparklin Innovations?

I got in touch with a lot of other designers and agencies in India and tried to identify the best partner. My network helped us locate Sparklin. I connected with their team and they broke down our scope into storytelling and UI/UX parts. We determined that Sparklin was a team that could help us simplify our UI a lot, and integrate our emotions into the design. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started initial discussions in June 2017 and began prototyping in July. The collaboration ended in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have our first 1,000 users from different parts of the world and they’ve all loved the product. They said they hadn’t seen this kind of innovation on a social commerce product before. The product had a lot of bugs, which is typical for a first version, but people have liked the design of the app – Sparklin only worked on the design. We have a prototype and we’re looking to enter the market in the next three to four months.

How did Sparklin Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack, Gmail, and Trello for communication. I’ve worked with agencies from the U.S. and the U.K. in the past, and have always encountered problems when there were multiple stakeholders on the provider’s end. Sparklin provided a dedicated project manager who handled the design team and understood our business and design. We were able to communicate better in this way. He was an efficient person, and replied to me whenever I wanted.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stand out in terms of communication. They have an understanding of building consumer brands and can tell a story within a product. This is important for any consumer brand. There are only a few companies in the world—not just India—who understand this well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could start using more technologies and tools. People can learn how to use them, but we wanted to finish the project quickly, so it didn't affect us. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be transparent and up front with your problems. Whatever research and information is available should be documented and shared with the team. Maintain ongoing communication, and don’t simply leave the project with them, expecting it to be completed. This isn’t how you get the most out of the collaboration. Sparklin can help in areas other than design as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the product manager for Paytm, a fintech company in India. Originally, it was a recharge platform that allowed Indian users to recharge their prepaid mobile phones. We also provided means to pay electricity bills, Indian TV cable bills, and bus ticketing systems as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparklin Innovations?

My key results areas were making sure that the product was user-friendly. That involved onboarding a team that could take end-to-end responsibility of designing a UI which offered the best UX to the user, as well as implementing it for us. Our team didn’t have a lot of people with the required skillsets to convert ideas into design, then design into usable screens. We primarily hired Sparklin to do that for us—to understand what we wanted, create designs for us, and help with the implementation of those designs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first version of our platform was not very user-friendly. Our team was good at implementing the backend, but didn’t really understand the importance of making it simple for the user to use. As a product manager, I was coordinating a lot of things, so I wasn’t able to dedicate as much time to the UX as I would have liked to.  

The first thing they did was simplify the UI, which then improved the UX. They focused on things like reducing the number of clicks a person would have to make in order to complete a purchase. They also brought in the concept of using the UI to highlight the relevant sections of a screen in a particular way. That involved subtle changes to bring a user’s attention to each section.

What is the team composition?

Himanshu (Founder and CEO, Sparklin Innovations) handled the main design part. There were also a couple of HTML developers assigned for performing the conversion to HTML. 

The only thing they were not able to do for us at that time was to provide JavaScript coding. We were working with a different version of JavaScript, in which they didn’t have expertise.

Himanshu told me he’s since gotten a full-stack team working on everything from mobile to web interfaces.

How did you come to work with Sparklin Innovations?

I was looking for an agency and they found me. We had a preliminary call, and I asked them to come to our office. We discussed a few concepts that we were trying to implement, and the solutions they came up with were really fantastic.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their services was in the range of $50,000. We were being billed for a team of 4–5 people.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2012. I moved on from Paytm around January or February 2013. I believe that they continued the engagement even after I was away.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were pleasantly surprised by the deliverables—they surpassed our expectations. One of the best results is the simplicity of the UI. Any article talking about the UX of Paytm at that time would mention that, as well as how it is extremely easy to navigate. 

How did Sparklin Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a version of Redmine for project management. I was quite satisfied with the timelines—slight delays happened because the requirements changed during the project. Given this, their performance was very good. They delivered what was requested, and even a little more.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The biggest thing they brought to the table was simplicity. I cannot stress that enough. So many product managers don’t understand their products from the customer’s perspective. They try to build technology marvels, but if those tech marvels are not usable, they will not hit the market correctly.

The other thing they brought is context. Most agencies miss this and start giving clients ideas that are out of context or not suited to the product. There are a huge number of UX agencies in India right now, but I rarely come across any that produce deliverables that are as simple and contextual as Sparklin's.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to let go of things at times. Sometimes, they can get a little too passionate about the product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a grocery delivery app. We process orders during the night, and deliver them before seven a.m. We’ve been in business for three years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparklin Innovations?

We needed to redesign our mobile app to increase the number of orders we get and better engage with our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sparklin designed the entire app, but they didn’t handle development. We decided to make it more personal, so we were looking to recommend products to customers. Sparklin worked on the customer journey, homepage, payment scenarios, and payment system.

What is the team composition?

We’ve mostly worked with the founder, but we’ve also communicated with other team members, just to a lesser extent.

How did you come to work with Sparklin Innovations?

We received a reference from our investors. We met with Sparklin, and liked their approach. We felt they were collaborative; that they wouldn’t take our requirements and make us wait for their designs. They were open to discussion, and had impressive UX design knowledge.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sparklin Innovations in September 2017. The project is in its final stages. We are discussing the deliverables at the moment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched yet. After finalizing the app, we still plan to gather customer feedback.

How did Sparklin Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve given us regular updates on our daily timelines. We’re local, so the communication has been face-to-face, and we aren’t using project management tools. We’ve also communicated by email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have stood out in terms of domain knowledge, specifically design and user journeys. Secondly, they’ve demonstrated conviction in their approach, rather than just doing what we were telling them to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could use more technology for exchanging feedback, and they could improve their sharing of deliverables.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should prepare to be challenged on what they think the correct approach is. Listen to Sparklin Innovations and be open to their ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a financial-inclusion consulting firm, providing services that channel donations from larger institutions to organizations in developing countries. There, we offer consultancy and training services to institutions that serve the bottom of the pyramid.

I’m the global head of the company. My team develops communication and marketing plans in addition to executing various studies, reports, and projects. The work revolves mostly around the circulation of information across digital platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparklin Innovations?

After nearly 20 years, we wanted to revisit the company brand and visual identity. We needed resources to help understand the market and how our competition fared. We also wanted an external firm who could guide us in redefining our image. This rebranding would involve developing a site and other marketing channels, which we could leverage for communication.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the bidding stage, they outlined their rebranding process, including all timelines for each phase. This became the basis of our rebranding process. The revamp process included redefining our brand, implementing it into a WordPress site, and redesigning the layout accordingly.

Currently, they’re redesigning our new site. The previous site also uses WordPress, which already has all of our desired blogging and tracking functionalities. As such, we don’t want to add additional features.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a single point of contact who coordinates with our internal team. We’ve also met their designer, though we haven’t interacted with anyone else behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Sparklin Innovations?

One of our senior managers had worked with them previously and referred them to us. Their work received good reviews, so we contacted them. At the meeting, they asked the right questions and demonstrated a level of enthusiasm and comprehension that greatly distinguished them from their competitors.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in July 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched the new site yet, so we lack any quantitative metrics from users. However, we appreciate that they’re developing the site using a familiar CMS. Since we were already using WordPress, our team understood its functionalities, which facilitated implementing updates and monitoring site statistics.

While the branding process went well, we’ve noticed a disconnect between the proposed ideas and the final product. As we enter advanced site development, we feel that their team may lack the adequate skill set to meet our needs.

How did Sparklin Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

Although we’re satisfied with the quality of their work so far, we would prefer more transparency and communication. The rebranding process went smoothly. But now that they’ve begun developing a complicated version of the site, we lack a robust system for progress tracking and version control. We aren’t using a project management tool to coordinate the engagement. As a result, we’ve had to push them to present various stages of the site.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their responsiveness. They’ve never had an issue with availability and reply quickly to our inquiries. This helps us keep track of the project status. Sparklin Innovations continuously checks and offers help, even when they couldn’t deliver the final products how we wanted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our initial conversations with Sparklin Innovations proved to be more productive than what we’ve seen in the final outcome. They have the right capabilities, but there seems to be a gap between their concepts and the actual designs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Customers should clearly define the project process in the beginning and stick to it. We encountered communication challenges on our end because most of our staff travel for work. We faced difficulties sending feedback in a timely manner despite their efforts to accommodate our schedules.