Studio Simpatico

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the assistant director of digital media at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. There are 400-500 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We were looking to redesign our website, BBG.org, to make it a responsive and beautiful website on a limited budget. We had a different developer for the original website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted the new website to be responsive, unlike the old website. We also wanted to highlight the beautiful photographs we have of the garden and we wanted to create a smooth user experience. We tasked Studio Simpatico with all of these things. It’s a promotional website. The component that Studio Simpatico worked on did not involve e-commerce. They only created the design and frontend of our site and then we had an internal developer work on the backend. We run it on a CMS called ExpressionEngine. In May or June 2015, they handed files over to us and the frontend, the CSS, the HTML, and then we did the build from June through November.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with Tamara [Founder, Studio Simpatico] on the design and frontend development of BBG.org. She was a fantastic partner. She was excellent at communicating with us and our stakeholders and very responsive and quick with all her communications to us. She really understood our goals and really created a wonderful design for our site.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We put out a request for proposals and they came to us through a friend’s recommendation. One of our internal team members had known Tamara [Founder, Studio Simpatico] before in another job. We looked at 4-6 different design firms.

How much have you invested with them?

Under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2015 until May 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Anecdotally our users and stakeholders, through emails and conversations, at our institution have all been really pleased with the redesign of the website. It’s provided an easier path for our users to get to key information. Our stakeholders love how it features photographs and the look and feel of it. In terms of analytics, we had a certain set of goals that we wanted to hit on the redesigns like getting our users to engage more deeply on the site especially when they’re on mobile. A big goal was to get mobile users to stay longer and we definitely saw a significant increase in time spent on the site for mobile users. In terms of the work that Studio Simpatico gave us, it was very rare, if ever, that there were bugs. It was all very accurate.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed excellently. The turnaround for when I had asked for fixes or new components, the site was incredibly fast. Tamara [Founder, Studio Simpatico] was very communicative and always made herself available by email and via phone. From a project management perspective, it ran very, very smoothly and was one of the best projects. I’ve been on teams for multiple redesigns and this was definitely one of the best experiences with a vendor that I’ve ever had. We used Basecamp for a lot of project management. We used Google Docs for providing background information, context, and document exchanges. Tamara [Founder, Studio Simpatico] also used a tool that I don’t remember the name of where it was very easy to set up times to talk to her about questions or concerns.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the outstanding things about them is that they are very responsive to the client and to the user. I’ve worked in the past with other design firms where the designers come in with a very clear idea of their aesthetic and their vision, which doesn’t always work well with the client’s needs. This was outstanding and refreshing in the sense that they came in very responsive to the client’s brand and aesthetic, and to the user experience. All design flowed out from that. That was an excellent aspect of working with them. Another was communication. They were incredibly easy. It was a pleasure to communicate with them, which from my experience, is a little bit unusual. I highly recommend them. I had a great experience working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really can’t think of any.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Ashley La Fond and I am the Head of Marketing for SocialCode. SocialCode is an audience-first marketing partner built to drive results through media activation. We combine audience data, insights, content creation and measurement to drive unmatched ROI from digital campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

Our biggest challenge was to find a partner who could scale with us. We had limited in-house resources so we needed a full service partner for initial website development, as well as someone that can provide continued support over time. We also needed a partner that understood our needs and could react quickly. In the past, we have worked with other agencies where project managers lack technical expertise, so a lot of the details got lost in translation. By the time development work was delivered, it would be completely different from what we originally scoped, and have taken double the amount of time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Studio Simpatco started with some small scale updates to our initial site, then we worked with them on a full scale rebuild. Because Tamara (project lead) is a developer, she is able to quickly understand what we are looking for, and has the know-how to build it. She also takes a much more turn-key approach to development. Rather than reinventing the wheel – she is able to recommend best practices when exploring new layouts, features or functionality.

What is the team dynamic?

We interact directly with Tamara. Depending on the scope of the project, she may also bring in a designer.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

Tamara was referred to us. Somebody knew Tamara from her past life and introduced her to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first engagement began in the summer of 2015. Since then, we have done regular updates – sometimes monthly. So, it’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have gotten a lot of good feedback that the front-end clean and easy to navigate. On the backend the CMS is very user friendly – its built so its very easy for us to access and update content and make small changes on our own.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

Studio Simpatico is incredibly organized. They are really good at scoping out a project, understanding what we need, and being able to move really quickly. They use basecamp to keep all stakeholders and assets organized around a project

What did you find most impressive about them?

Speed. They are able to move really quickly but also maintain quality. They implement just the right amount of process, project management, and production so we’re organized but can move quickly and efficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no - we have been so happy with our partnership. Of all the things that my team does, [web development] is the one area that I always feel very confident about, because we have such a good partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a product marketing manager at a drone software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

Our website was, at one point, built on WordPress, but we then switched to a Ruby on Rails application. Because of technical limitations, the Ruby website was stalling our content production. We wanted to find a company to do nothing except turn our existing Ruby app into a WordPress website with no redesign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We requested them to completely refactor our site but make it look exactly the same and with the principle that it would be easily updatable. We wanted it done in a three-week timeline, a pretty aggressive goal, but Studio Simpatico confirmed that three weeks would be doable.

What is the team dynamic?

We only worked with the founder, Tamara Olson, to develop and execute the project.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We received several referrals, but all of them wanted to work on more technically challenging projects, and we were just looking for somebody who saw the simple project for what it was, so I decided to search LinkedIn and found Studio Simpatico there.

How much have you invested with them?

$10,000 to $15,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We were involved with her in March and April of this year. The initial project was three weeks, but we worked with her on another project moving our blog from Medium onto a WordPress platform to make it native.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything Studio Simpatico did was flawless. She hit it out of the park in terms of both making the right decision and consulting us when she felt like we should be in on the decision

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

When Tamara had to make a medium- to large-sized technical decision, she would come to us, give us the options, and let us choose which route to take. She hit every deadline, and even helped us on our side when we were behind on deadlines.

We used Basecamp as a project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

She had a commitment to self-service and left us in a position where we could do everything that wasn’t WordPress development. She really understood our concerns about WordPress upfront and knew the limitations and was very clear about them. My favorite part of working with her was the commitment to simplicity she had. She didn’t overcomplicate things, so we didn’t have to worry about her bringing us a lot of new, creative ideas until after we had done the initial project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything she did and every communication with us was flawless.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the creative director of a financial tech startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Simpatico?

We needed to undertake a big website overhaul. The previous version had been built by another company in WordPress, so we wanted someone who was handy in that space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Studio Simpatico worked on our promotional site. The team built it from from scratch using WordPress. We collect contact information from users who download our papers, so the site’s framework for storing and managing a contact list was important.

What is the team dynamic?

At the time, Studio Simpatico was still a pretty small company. So I dealt with only one person, the main proprietor.

How did you come to work with Studio Simpatico?

We received a referral from a company that had worked with Studio Simpatico’s proprietor. They had a good engagement experience and received quick turnaround on answers. We didn’t look at any other vendors.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Studio Simpatico around 2 years ago, and are engaged in ongoing projects. We used them for the refresh of the original website we built with the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site works seamlessly, and we haven’t found any issues with it. We haven’t heard anything from users, but I consider that a good thing. We haven’t experienced any bugs.

How did Studio Simpatico perform from a project management standpoint?

We use their instance of Basecamp to communicate with Studio Simpatico. They’ve helped us set up a schedule detailing when things are due on our end and theirs. They’ve been pretty good about keeping things on schedule. They respond within a day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re flexible, and if something can’t be done, they notify us. If something is not a vendor’s core competency, it behooves them to tell us about it. Studio Simpatico has been good in this regard.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Development & Communications Officer of Urban Pathways

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're dedicated to our mission of combatting homelessness through housing and support services while advocating for systemic change.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Studio Simpatico to accomplish?

• Rebuild Urban Pathway's website
• Light rebranding

SOLUTION

How did you find Studio Simpatico?

Online Search

Why did you select Studio Simpatico over others?

• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Studio Simpatico were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Studio Simpatico was contracted to fully rebuild the Urban Pathways website and, as part of that process, to perform a light rebranding for the organization. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have a fantastic new website and our brand is more fleshed out, with a nice update.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They delivered the project on time and worked with us as we were down staff on our side. They did a great job helping us keep things moving.

What was your primary form of communication with Studio Simpatico?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were great listeners, and really got what we were looking for through early discovery conversations. They received feedback well and worked with us to tweak things along the way so we ended up with an exceptional finished product.

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

No suggestions here