UX studio

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the product owner of a school feeding menu design product developed by an international nonprofit organization. The product’s aim is to ensure that children receive nutritious meals while keeping the planning budget-conscious and aiding the local economy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We asked for UX studio’s help in planning the flow and designing the UX for one of our meal planning platforms. Research complemented their provided design services to ensure that the proposed design can easily be used by our local bureaus and by all professionals involved.

What were your goals for this project?

As an international, non-profit organization, we needed to make sure that our internal admin and planning platform is accessible and easy-to-use for our employees and partners worldwide. We also needed to make the user journey smoother and the process clearer. 

Additionally, it was essential that the platform could calculate and recommend nutrition and prices in a structured but customizable format. This function should be able to consider regional characteristics and find the best value for money.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them through a competitive process that concluded with a long-term agreement.

Describe the project in detail.

During the project, UX studio did eight iterations on the proposed UX design based on research results and our feedback. We provided them with the standard UI kit of our organization, which they combined with their suggestions and implemented perfectly. 

Their research also showed that our initial concept of the user flow needed to be rethought. UX studio explained this clearly and could come up with a reassuring solution without compromising the timing of the project.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a UX designer and a UX researcher.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got positive feedback from those involved in the daily use of the product, so UX studio’s design is already under development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a great experience with UX studio in terms of communication and workflow. As an international, nonprofit organization, our processes are somewhat unique. UX studio’s team could adapt to these seamlessly; they provided results quickly and explained decisions clearly. We organized daily stand-ups and were provided with detailed information on how the project was moving forward.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by how UX studio achieved and maintained an excellent quality of work while keeping up with an intense project plan. Also, they were able to solve the complicated challenge of making peace between a centralized structure and its custom use cases.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we were thrilled by our experience with UX studio.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

DashboardVision provides highly customizable online data product services, including web design, data visualization, dashboards, and SaaS product development.

Our services enable entrepreneurs and consultants to bring their data products to market quickly by better differentiating themselves from competitors and creating ongoing revenue opportunities. I work as a project and marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We first hired UX studio to focus on the redesign of our platform, which is used by one of our main stakeholders. We wanted to improve our data visualization based on real user needs. We decided to focus more on our users (mainly market researchers) so that we could provide a useful, relevant, and easy-to-use solution.

What were your goals for this project?

For our initial project, we wanted to refresh our platform’s UI and, at the same time, increase our client’s satisfaction and engagement with our product. Our goals were to understand in detail how our clients use our service and how they integrate it into their everyday work. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for UX companies in the region and had visited a couple before choosing UX studio based on their informative introduction and impressive portfolio.

Describe the project in detail.

This was a research-heavy project. UX studio went through a thorough onboarding process, which helped all parties sync up and define the project goals. The kick-off discussions were a really good forum to clarify the pain points and decide on which ones to tackle. 

From there, they conducted thorough research exercises. It was essential for us to understand our clients’ habits and usage patterns before approaching the redesign. We needed to know which features they used and which they would miss. At the end of the project, they delivered a report on all of their insights to guide our redesign, working with us through prototypes before producing the final UI.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one designer and one researcher. We functioned as a single team, working together on the insights and features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At the end of the project, they had gathered a tremendous amount of insights, which we used as a basis to redesign our platform together. Also, the team made many suggestions for future improvements and recommended several directions that we could potentially take our product. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was a seamless experience. Although our product can be hard to understand, UX studio came up to speed quickly. The team involved us in every step of the research process, discussing topics on a daily basis and hosting regular meetings every week with our broader team. 

Their researcher and designer were always transparent in their communication. They documented their detailed research using Airtable, which allowed us to check on the project status and keep up to date on user test findings. Having access to all of their documentation and prototyping allowed us to effectively work together in a highly collaborative way.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their high level of professionalism surpassed our expectations. They are real UX/UI experts who know how to connect research with design principles. During the project, they were precise and detail-oriented, making sure not to lose even the tiniest bit of information. 

On top of that, they had a clear workflow, and every step was easy to understand and follow. They taught us about UX principles, and, after doing one project with them, we can really see the added value of their work. Not only did they handle the project like true experts, but they also treated our most sensitive clients with patience and professionalism.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing comes to my mind, now. We were really satisfied with the professional way that UX studio handled the redesign, so we’ve decided to continue our collaboration into other projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a product manager at the HolidayPirates Group, an online travel company in Europe and the US.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We contacted UX studio to help us with UX research. Our team wanted to understand the needs of travelers in the US market better. We already had some insights from previous research that we conducted internally but we needed validation and professional support with the extra workload.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to identify our US users’ pain points and make the site more relevant for them. Since travel habits and usage of sites are very different from what we see in Europe, we aimed to get to know potential American users better and gather information on how to develop our product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

UX studio posted impressive guides for usability, testing, and design on their blog. That led me to reach out. Fortunately, UX studio offered a flexible solution and was well prepared to help us also via remote research.

Describe the project in detail.

During the kickoff meeting, we defined the project goals and the product strategy. Our team handed over all necessary information and domain knowledge, discussing previous research results. UX studio then implemented their plan to schedule, run, and analyze 20 remote interviews.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one UX researcher.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The researcher was dedicated to the project and helped us generate new features ideas. They communicated each step clearly and always provided a very thorough debrief after the interviews. UX studio provided the exact results we wanted—having the ability to update our personas and understand the journey of US travelers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The researcher was personable and easy to work with. Airtable made the research documentation easily accessible. We had remote weekly status meetings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were organized, effective, and transparent. The team updated the template after each interview with incredible insight. I wish every designer and researcher I’ve worked with had similar tools.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. We loved our experience with UX studio.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of product at Campanda GmbH, a holiday website specialized in renting RVs for vacationers. We also create content and supply campers with information and tips about this style of travel. We don’t own a fleet of RVs but rather connect RV enthusiasts with everyday RV owners who want to rent out their vehicles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

As search is a central part of the user’s journey to eventually renting out a vehicle, we felt that we needed to completely re-think and revamp this feature with the help of external professionals. We wanted to add new features to our search tool, while also applying the principles of material design from day one.

What were your goals for this project?

A specific goal was increasing the number of direct bookings/inquiries. We were also hoping that we would get to know our users better, thanks to the new research insights delivered by UX studio.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked with UX studio before and were satisfied, so we came back.

Describe the project in detail.

UX studio wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the project, but we still wanted to provide them with as many insights as possible, so we sent them research documents in advance. We kicked off the project here in Berlin. Aside from clarifying the project’s goals and scope together, Mia (UX Researcher, UX studio) led stakeholder interviews (with users, other agencies etc.), while Anna (UX Designer, UX studio) spent quite some time with our in-house designer in planning their collaboration during the project.

Given that the project was based on material design principles and we had a short timeline, there was high-fidelity prototyping from the beginning. While the designers worked on the mobile and desktop prototypes, Mia led usability tests and tree-tested the search filtering system. She also started working on our new, updated user personas and provides ongoing UX audits.

What was the team composition?

UX studio was in direct collaboration with our CTO, me, and our in-house designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the end, we received what we had signed up for, so we’re delighted. By the end of the six weeks, we received a high-fidelity, clickable prototype of the revamped and restructured search feature, that was based completely on user inputs gathered by the researcher. We got to these results much faster and efficiently than we would’ve on our own thanks to their extra design and research capacity and UX expertise.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were in continuous contact with the UX studio via Skype, Slack, and InVision throughout the project. They’d present results during our weekly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We’ve had good experiences with UX studio before, so we weren’t surprised to see their professionalism and dedication once again.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Due to our short timeline, certain things we started together couldn’t be completed and fully followed up on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sport360 is a multimedia platform that covers local and international sports. We created Sport360.fit, an online fitness and health magazine for women that hosts Arabic and English content. I manage the sports and fitness content, and was also a member of the project team that designed Sport360.fit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We hoped to extend the Sport360 brand and reach more people who were interested in health, nutrition, exercise, and better living. We wanted to create a platform dedicated to this content and accessible on multiple devices. This would be the first magazine targeted at an audience in the United Arab Emirates. We imagined a platform with practical food tips, fitness tools, and expert resources to engage the community.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a platform that offered a unique, enjoyable reading experience with high-quality content. We knew that our value proposition was good and that demand for Arabic health and fitness content existed. We had a tight schedule and wanted to base the design on our user research. The quality of both the content and design was an important consideration. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a UX company with experience designing for media outlets and the ability to deliver our expected results on a tight schedule.

Describe the project in detail.

UX studio handled the entire product design while communicating with our development team in Spain. Part of the UX studio team came to our headquarters for a kickoff. It was nice to meet them in person and ensure that they understood our company and objectives. 

After they updated the rest of their team about the plan and schedule, we began the project. Given the task's complexity, and the fact that they worked on multiple platforms simultaneously, weekly meetings weren't enough. To keep everyone updated, we held quick meetings with their project manager every morning.

What was the team composition?

The team included two or three people from Sport360, four designers and four researchers from UX studio, and several of our developers. We led the project and consistently communicated with everyone, but UX studio also talked to our developers regularly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were happy with the product and user feedback was positive. The final design had a young, fresh look. It's the only magazine of its kind in Dubai. UX studio steadily improved the prototype through user testing. They created an informative and user-friendly platform.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Because of the large team, multiple time zones, and a short timeline, everyone had to work to create an ideal workflow. Coordinating this project was a challenge, but we eventually found tools and methods that worked well. The daily standups were extremely useful. UX studio was transparent; they involved us during every step of the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We would definitely work with them again. UX studio is a young, dedicated, talented team that is ready to make a difference. They looked at everything with fresh eyes and brought new ideas to the table, which was useful. They were flexible and agile, and they lived up to our expectations. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything worked well, so I cannot think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Xeropan. We’re a startup with a language-learning app that offers a game-based, AI-powered learning experience to users.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We needed someone to redesign our mobile app and build a desktop version.

What were your goals for this project?

We mainly wanted to reduce churn rate and, in turn, increase user loyalty. Moreover, we were hoping that by improving onboarding it would be possible to enhance our users’ understanding and perspective of the whole app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our developers were supportive of hiring UX studio after working with them at another company.

Describe the project in detail.

The UX team went through a short preparatory period before kickoff so they were prepared from the very beginning. We discussed our main issues, goals, and scope at the first meeting, and based on that, we finalized a project plan. They started by testing our old app and analyzing our inputs and competitors, which helped refine the user journey.

After a week dedicated to sketching and concept testing, they created a prototype, which was tested and iterated over every week. We then decided to redesign the desktop landing page, which eventually led to us designing a whole new web app in the last three weeks of the project. They also gave us suggestions on measurements and possible future changes.

What was the team composition?

Two of their UX designers worked with our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on the outcomes of the latest tests, the final design and user flows are very good, navigation is more straightforward, and the whole app is easier to understand. There are lots of new functions, as well as a rationalized information architecture. Thanks to their supportive and helpful approach, we learned a great deal about UX.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We spent a lot of time with the UX studio team, either gathering together in their Budapest office or online meetings, or talking on Slack. They were proactive, open to our ideas and feedback, and reacted to everything quickly. They were also transparent about every stage of the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was extremely happy that we chose UX studio and was absolutely satisfied with the results. It was fascinating to see how they worked. They were highly prepared, flexible, and consistent. and showed me how effective user research could be; all design decisions were backed by research, which was inspiring. I learned more about UX in these past few weeks than I ever had in my whole life. It makes me want to work with them again.

They came with a lot of UX design and research experience, and our team held a vast amount industrial and technical knowledge and data. The combination of these different backgrounds and areas of expertise created a synergy that helped us progress fast. They were attentive and flexible, adapting solutions to handle technical bottlenecks on the development side.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot mention anything because I’m completely satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a project manager at Profession.hu, a leading recruitment platform in Hungary.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We needed to redesign a section of our internal applicant tracking system on our recruitment site. Our current platform was outdated in terms of functionality and design. We needed a wireframe for our platform and we also needed UI and branding suggestions.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted an updated system that had new features, including a matchmaking algorithm. We wanted the internal platform to have an applicant tracking system that could be used for recruiters.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

UX studio was given an invitation to an RFP because we had personal connections with their team and had heard positive things. After two rounds of presentations, we chose them because they had the best proposal.

Describe the project in detail.

The designer and researcher from UX studio introduced us to a practical, structured design framework. We had a meeting before the project began to help prepare them for the actual kickoff. We discussed the most important elements including business goals, value proposition, user journey, etc. Time was limited during the project so the scheduling was done cautiously. Their team spent two weeks prototyping and testing with our target audience. They came up with ideas for product improvement and suggested many new features.  We had weekly meetings for updates on their progress throughout this time.

What was the team composition?

Five members from our team worked with two people from their UX team at UX studio.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new flow and processes are straightforward and user-friendly. They provided many other suggestions that we are looking to implement in the future because of how satisfied we are with the final outcomes.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were very transparent about what was happening on their side so we always knew where we stood in the process. Both our team and theirs provided opinions and insights at each meeting. Although it was a short project, we stayed within schedule.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We loved their laid-back style and mindset. They were well-organized and we appreciated their transparency throughout the process. The team communicated openly and professionally. Their delivery speed week after week was remarkable. We are 100% satisfied with the quality of their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of any major issues, but sending a memo after each meeting could be helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m one of the co-founders of a sidewalk navigation app startup called Route4U. We’re dedicated to making the world accessible for people with wheelchairs. Our app uses community-generated information to map out cities based on wheelchair accessibility and pedestrian infrastructure.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We needed resources for a short-term project geared toward improving our app’s end-user experience. By the end of the project, we wanted a detailed prototype, a few design suggestions, and comprehensive user research.

What were your goals for this project?

We were collaborating with the City of Dublin as part of the Smart Dublin Project, which seeks to make city-wide pedestrian infrastructure more accessible. To do this, we needed to learn more about why our users used our app and sought ways to engage able-bodied people to use it, too.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Due to the nature of the project, we sought an agency that had a rigorous research process. UX studio had a good reputation, so we went with them.

Describe the project in detail.

Over a five-week period, UX studio gathered a large volume of user insights. They met with key stakeholders from the city council, conducting in-depth interviews with disabled people and representatives from associations that help them. They then mapped out the transportation problems that disabled people and their helpers faced on a daily basis.

Based on their research, they helped us identify business and user priorities for future development. They gathered all of their important insights and suggestions, including a value-impact matrix based on the Kano customer-satisfaction model, and presented them to us in a series of workshops.

Finally, they designed a prototype that included gamification elements to encourage able-bodied users to engage with our product. We plan to go over their prototype with our development team to execute changes to our app.

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with a UX designer and a UX researcher.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was important to us that UX studio backed all of their suggestions with research. Despite the time constraints, they gave us significant insights for future development. The city council also appreciated working with them.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was easy to work with them. We had weekly meetings and communicated via Slack. They were transparent and involved us in the ideation and decision-making processes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to use their research to help us prioritize our development. Furthermore, they worked quickly and challenged us with thought-provoking questions. We were satisfied with their design and suggestions but could have used even more of them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It would be beneficial if UX studio suggested reading materials for their clients to ensure that they understood the reasoning behind their decisions. At times, I felt like I lacked the UX design experience to understand the root of our issues. It would have taken too long to explain everything during meetings, so I would have appreciated other learning resources.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Product Officer and Co-founder of Talent Deck, a staffing agency for the technology sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We had a tool that was not yet a minimum viable product (MVP). We needed a vendor to do research on user needs, the job-matching market, and strategic UX implementations.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to gain new insights into our product, business model, and overall strategy.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I followed their blog for a while before reaching out. Based on the content, they seem like a great fit for our company and values.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a kickoff meeting to define goals expectations to plan the project in detail. Initially, we focused heavily on market research, competitor analysis, and user insights. Working in weekly sprints, UX studio conducted field research and held weekly strategy sessions, making several suggestions about potential directions for the project.

What was the team composition?

The team included a UX researcher and a UX/UI designer. I was their main point of contact on our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their service met our expectations for quality and price. The team dynamic was great.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The company worked closely with us to bring our vision to reality. Even though we had some time difference challenges, communication was still effective and efficient. In addition to Skype and Slack, we communicated via in-person meetings, which included weekly project reviews.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciated their honesty and transparency, which enabled both teams to challenge one another openly throughout development. We were satisfied with the quality; their team worked quickly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

UX studio made occasional typos and grammatical errors on reports, likely due to the language barrier, but this was only a minor problem. Otherwise, there weren’t any problems. We were extremely satisfied and would work with them again.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a software development company called IncQuery Labs. Our firm has over 50 years of total research and development experience in model-driven engineering. We work with clients from all over the world and are part of the open-source software ecosystem.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire UX studio?

We were working on developing a web-based prototype engineering tool. It’s a new generation model-based system engineering (MBSE) technology that allowed users to scale out engineering tools with web technology.

However, the software was 10 years old with major usability issues; and it was in desperate need of a redesign. We wanted to migrate the tool to the web and modernize its look with a friendlier, easy-to-use interface. As a result, we approached UX studio to focus on the UI and user interactions.

What were your goals for this project?

We had five weeks to develop a concept and create a design for a product demo. Given the short time frame, we initially limited the scope to design work. But once we started the project, they assigned a UX researcher to provide insights throughout the process. We expanded their role to include usability testing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Another firm that had worked with UX studio before referred them to us.

Describe the project in detail.

They provided two main teams: the UX team and the UX researcher. Both teams worked in close tandem with our internal developers to finalize the concept and create the design for our product demo. The UX team focused on the prototype and designs, honing in on smaller interactions and functions that would make the software more user-friendly.

While they worked on the interface, the researcher immediately started usability tests. Because the product was interaction-heavy, we decided to conduct user tests in one block. We allotted two weeks for the researcher to lead eight user tests. He collaborated closely with our developers, delivering insights about the tool’s accessibility, which we incorporated into a working demo.

What was the team composition?

Their team consisted of a designer, developer, UX researcher, and an expert. They coordinated closely with our in-house developers, including myself.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Changing an MBSE tool was no easy task; there were strict rules that we needed to follow, so our creativity was limited. With UX studio’s support, we managed to give a fresh look to the interface and improved its usability. Not only did the team allow us to develop and test a mock-up, we were able to test a working demo, which proved to be extremely useful to the overall design process. By the end of the project, we ended up with a highly improved product in terms of usability and design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They collaborated closely with our team, attending weekly in-person meetings and providing new insights They wanted to ensure that it was possible to develop their designs, so they maintained constant communication with our developers as well as our designer and business leaders. We used an agile methodology, which suited our workflow well. While they clearly defined their process, we were able to modify it based on our project needs. In terms of daily back and forth, we used Slack and Skype to coordinate.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Compared to other design firms that we’d worked with, we were satisfied with UX studio’s professionalism and quality of work. Not only were they flexible and communicative, they took the time to understand our product in order to give the best solutions. Despite limitations in our methodology, they were able to bring creative ideas to the table. Their teams also worked in pairs, which allowed for productive, quick interactions and more in-depth observations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were times when I felt that they could have made more creative/artistic decisions, but they ultimately delivered an exceptional final product.