Visions Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Quality Assurance and Social Media Administrator of NLCS International

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

NLCS International manages the international partnerships between NLCS (UK) and its family of international schools. Our role is to ensure that each NLCS International school delivers the same exceptional educational experience to every student, based on the three pillars of an NLCS education.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Visions Design to accomplish?

• A website re-design
• create a website which gains more traction

SOLUTION

How did you find Visions Design?

Online Search

Why did you select Visions Design over others?

• Pricing first our budget
• Good value for cost

What was the size of Visions Design’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

NLCS International approached Visions Design with the offer to re-design our website. This was a large project for us as we felt our previous website did not function as best as we'd like it to. Visions design were great at chatting through the initial stage of the project and getting to know us as a company in order to understand what we want out of the collaboration. Visions Design stood out to us due to the very tentative project manager, Charlie.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• a successful re-design of our website
• a website that is appealing and immersive for users
• increased SEO

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

The Visions Design team work very well together which made it very easy for us to communicate across multiple staff. I was introduced to key members of the team by Charlie (our project manager) and understood who I should communicate with on different areas of the project.

All key checkpoints were delivered on time, minus a minor set back for our 'go live' date. However it was explained by Visions Design that this was needed in order to make sure everything was 100% ready for our launch, which I appreciated and was not rushed at any point.

What was your primary form of communication with Visions Design?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was very impressed by Charlie (Vision Designs Project Manager) as she was very easy to communicate with and always made an effort to call me if I ever had any questions - Charlie was the defining factor in why we chose to work with Visions Design. They had a unique approach to designing websites and from seeing their portfolio I was very confident in their ability to create a modern, sleek website for us.

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

The only area of improvement would be to cross reference the mobile site with the desktop browser as I felt the mobile site was slightly neglected and had quite a lot of errors and bugs during the development stage.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of Pebbles Care Ltd

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We offer specialist Residential Child Care across loving and nurturing homes in Scotland and England, where our children and young people experience a genuine sense of family and feel safe and valued.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Visions Design to accomplish?

• Refine a new logo design
• Create brand guidelines
• Create new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Visions Design?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Visions Design over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Visions Design’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

When we first got in touch with Visions we already had a very rough first draft version of what we wanted our new logo to look like. Visions helped us to refine the logo through their knowledge of both digital and print uses ensuring we ended up with a logo that could scale effectively for all possible uses.

They created all iterations of our new logo plus additional versions for each of our service offerings:

• care
• education
• therapy

Visions also helped us to select new brand colours taking into consideration colour psychology which was particularly important to us as a business as we place a strong focus on our therapeutic parenting model and our therapy offering. The thought that went into each of the colours was a great touch that further exemplified Visions' knowledge of our sector. Visions then used all of this to create new brand guidelines for us. The final part of our project with Visions was the build of our new website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased applications for roles
• Decreased bounce rate
• Increased time spent on site

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

I came into the project when it had already started due to my predecessor going off on maternity leave and I have to say the transition was seamless.

Charlie and the rest of the team were super welcoming and made themselves available to speak to me on the phone, by email, or via video call with any questions and queries I had throughout the process. Everything was delivered on time or even ahead of time which was fantastic, giving us more time for internal sign-off.

What was your primary form of communication with Visions Design?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

Visions Design genuinely cares about our sector and has previous experience working with companies like us which made things so much easier as they already understood the challenges we face in our sector.

I also found the fact that the team could give us feedback on why/why not it was a good/bad idea to do certain things, drawing from their expertise in branding and web design and not just go along with something they knew wouldn't work because we said we wanted it. I feel this dynamic has helped us end up with an even better outcome.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of Hikitia and also an artist at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Visions Design?

I wanted a website that looked high end, the standard that the company deserves. Something that stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Only visions could do that

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Their portfolio left me feeling that they were the ones for the job. Plus they equally engage in SEO, which is what I will need after design. I’d prefer to have it all in house.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

A website needed designing to suit the strong, classy brand. It needed to be a gallery of all of our work. Branding was also included in this project with logo design.

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

A good three vendors were on the project but I also had the opportunity to meet others. Dom branding Dom designer Charlie relations manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was very impressed with the presentation of the site. As are my family members who I have shown. If their SEO work is as good as their design work then I will have no problems at all :)

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were incredible. I particularly liked the fortnight meetings and getting regular updates.

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

They made things fun at the same time as serious. Had a family feel. I like that.

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

I wish I could think of some constructive feedback but actually…they nailed it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Clayhouse and we are an online interior design service offering bespoke concepts for nurseries, playrooms and children bedrooms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our business is a complete start up and felt it was imperative to have the expertise of a company such as Visions that could support us to deliver a sleek and professional website to allow us to launch to market. By making this investment, we are hoping to increase our brand awareness and gain substantial traffic which will in turn convert into sales throughout the year.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for local web developers in our area and shortlisted 4. After initial consultations with them, we chose Visions based on their skillset and the support they could offer, previous projects, cost estimates. However most importantly it came down to the relationships I felt could be build over time - this was such a personal project to me it was vital the people I worked with had the same passion.

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

We had a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals and objectives. From there, the team delivered mock-ups for our logo designs and branding along with wireframes for our site. After a few iterations, the team designed and developed a templated WordPress site. They updated the content written to reflect our company's services and dedicated imagery. Visions also supported us by finding a solution to integrate a digital form and third party payment supplier to create a streamline customer journey.

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

Our main point of contact was Charlie, Marketing Manager who was fantastic and supported us throughout the entire project. Domenic, Lead Creative was there throughout the full creative journey and there were further designer and developers working behind the scenes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Whilst were are still in the early days post launch we have seen a much more cohesive brand link between our social channels and web and a dedicated place to direct customers too making the journey much smoother. We have had some amazing feedback and clients are loving the design, and they now have a better understanding of our services

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

We had Bi-weekly meetings (probably my most favourite meeting of the week it must be said) either my video call or in person with Charlie and any other relevant members of the team depending what stage of the project were at. If there were any delays, they let us know ahead of time so that we could prepare. We used Adobe, Bugherd, Google Drive to coordinate, and they worked well for all involved.

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

Firstly their overall approach and people manner which is what caught me initially never changed throughout the project, it really felt as though we were just an extension of wider team. They were able to find solutions to problems we faced without compromising the look and feel of the brand and have made the entire site super easy to manage and maintain.

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

As with anything when we first launched, there were some minor bugs. We let them know, and they were quick to fix the issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at an executive search firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Visions Design?

We wanted to increase our business’ brand awareness.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Visions Design updated our brand and designed and developed our website from scratch to make us look more modern and attractive to our industry. 

Regarding the website, we started by meeting with them to discuss our needs and what we were looking for, and then they took us through a back-and-forth feedback process with weekly meetings to review the progress of their work. In terms of functionalities, they added a contact link so people could reach out to us and also made a page that showcased our previous clients and portfolio of previous work.

For the branding portion of the project, they did market research and interviewed our stakeholders to learn more about our business. The deliverables included redoing our logo, color scheme, and brand messaging.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with around five members of Visions Design’s team, including Charly (Marketing Manager), a coordinator, multiple designers, and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Visions Design?

We went through a lengthy vetting process with numerous website designers, but we chose Visions Design because we were impressed with their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about £12,000 (approximately $14,900 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2022–January 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched the platform yet, but we saw a positive response from the people that have seen the site. Visions Design made our website sleek and modern compared to our previous product. They were great consultants, did a great job helping us achieve what we were looking for, provided helpful suggestions, and committed to what they promised.

How did Visions Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great; Visions Design’s team met our deadlines, stayed on budget, and kept us updated on the process through weekly meetings. Regarding tools, we used phone calls, Zoom, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Visions Design’s ability to commit to deadlines and come to us with helpful suggestions were their biggest strengths.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been helpful to have meetings with them a bit more often.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO or Etage Ltd who are a modern Technology platforms, services and support business

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Visions Design?

We had an older web site that was built internally when the company was formed in 2019. As we grow we require a better way of communicating our company ethos and services and hired Visions to work with us to develop just that

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for modern 'out of the box' thinkers who mirrored our client first can do attitude.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We went through a number of phases starting firmly and keeping firmly the business goals of the project front and centre. We had a number of briefing calls followed by regular design meetings to build a 'first pass' framework. This framework and base design were then developed over a series of updates until we were happy. Visions also helped us with a redesign of our logo and colour pallet which expressed our modern approach. Finally the end solution was put into test and we were able to use the site and all its functions in pre release testing where final changes were made.

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

We worked with sales associates (x2) and x2 web designers/developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been happy with the project and engagement from start to finish. We have had many comments on the unique style and flow of our new website which is very encouraging.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy and well documented throughout.

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

Their ability to engage with the client was fantastic from start to finish. If there were any problems I felt we had a good process and platform to raise them and work on them jointly in good time, which impressed me greatly.

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

The only minor negative was Visions lost our sales contact mid term of the project. I appreciate this wasn't their fault but we had to repeat some minor tasks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of a company called pugnacious, which is a experiential marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Visions for a compelling website and that is just what we got. They by far exceeded our expectations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

They contacted me via LinkedIn. The were the only company that wouldn't provide samples and pushed for an actual meeting, which I appreciated. After looking at their work, we knew this would be the perfect partner for our brand.

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

We hired Visions for website development and a sizzle reel. They took our boring and confusing website and turned it into an experience.

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

The project managers, Charlie and Dominic were who we mostly worked with. Daniel is the founder and CEO and is the one who reached out for the business, which I thought was nice. He assisted for the first two meetings and then handed it off to his AMAZING team, which he built. A true leader is one who trusts their team and allows them to shine.

Charlie (we gave her a pug name of CC Hammer) and Dom (Toretto) were TOP SHELF. They made things so easy for us and would push for excellence each time. I was so surprised how committed they were when we are not a huge company. They made us feel as so.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I would put our website over anyone in the state of Texas. I say that to say they went far beyond our expectations and we are so thankful they did. The company reel they did looked like something that came from a huge studio.

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

Always on time for meetings and lead with a detailed agenda. They always brought fun and personality to our meetings, which made the process enjoyable. They are patient with folks that aren't website developers and make you look good.

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

Their staff and quality of work.

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

None. They seriously went above and beyond and we will be shouting their name from the mountains high.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of an AI research startup. I speciailise in technical innovation, especially in computer vision. We are primarily research and consultancy focused, so not making products at this stage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As a brand new startup, we needed a coherent and distinctive visual design to help us begin to build our brand. We knew mostly knew what we didn't want, but were open to ideas. We had explored fidderent options ourselves but hadn't found anything we were particularly keen on. We wanted a bold look to match our desire to be seen as innovative, but also one that could be trusted.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked at a number of companies online, exploring their portfolios and their processes. We selected two to talk to further based on their designs and galleries. Visions in particular stood out to me as a local company as I lve in the same town and had seen their work on other local businesses. After talking to both we were happy that Visions understood our brief, had a good approach to deliver what we wanted, and were reasonably priced (in this case slightly more expensive than our other option, but we decided it was worth it).

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We wanted a logo design and a colour package to help us build a visually coherent brand. I had an initial meeting with them when selecting a client, where they chatted with me for a few hours before we had selected them, and then a workshop with my other co-founder where we went into more detail. They focused a lot on asking us our story and values which we liked, as it felt like they were really trying to understand what we wanted as a company.

After this they sent through initial ideas for us to downselect on, then a draft copy to assess, and finally the full pack. We talked with them at each step, and honetsly had very little critical feedback - one of their initial designs was almost spot on for us. They were very open to discussion on the design, and answered all our questions on how we actually use it going forward.

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

We primarily worked with three people; Charlie, the marketing manager; Domenic, the lead designer, and Daniel, the MD. All three of them were engaging, helpful, and fully understood what we wanted. I had two in person meetings with them which were fun and easy, and gave me confidence that they knew what they were doing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final branding can be seen all over our website, social media, and soon our business cards and clothing for events. It's given us a strong identity that we've been able to build upon, which really stands out from our competition. Since launching, we've had a lot of positive feedback on the look and design, and we are extremely happy with it. They even came up with a great slogan for us without being asked which is now a core part of our image.

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

The team were very responsive, replying to emails at any time of the day and being very quick to set up meetings once asked. We knew what they were doing at all times (without being overwhelmed with minutiae).

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

Having not worked with a marketing agency before, we wondered how much of it would be "emperor's new clothes" spin. We were very impressed and happy with how both down-to-earth and knowledgeable Visions were about the design process, and how well they explained what they were doing and why.

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

Nothing, I look forward to working with them again in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Director at a civil engineering company based in the north west

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

A complete re-brand of company logo and a new website

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Their very good initial meeting and brilliantly impressive quote format documentation

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

As a company we were recently had large investment by private equity and were tasked with trying to completely re-brand the company and everything visually from the outside looking in. Hopefully making us appeal to further customers in the future

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

3 or 4, from the same person holding bi-weekly meetings running us through the process, the web designer sometimes joined the meeting. at time others also

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great design, lots of wow factor which is what we made them choose them. Well structured bi-weekly meetings booked in right at the start of the journey. Lots of help and patience towards the end when lots of checking/tweaking/changing was required when ready to go live

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

As above, we structured. When slightly more input was required different individuals would join the meeting. I like how the people that designed the site/brand could join us in real time and show amendments/options during the meetings

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

The ability of each member to pick up where the other left off, didn't feel like we were having to repeat ourselves at any point. Obviously lots of different people involved in a project like this.

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

Nothing, we were completely satisfied with their job well done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the PA to the Managing Director of an Environmental Consulting Company . We work with large scale clients within the construction industry providing bespoke geoenvironmental, ecology and acoustics solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Visions Design?

We first started working with Vision a few years ago. We were looking for a company to overhaul and manage our website, as well as provide ad hoc marketing support.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Working with an independent local company was important in our decision to work with Vision. I contacted a few companies but found that the personal tailored approach that Vision provided was exactly what we were looking for.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Having only started trading 8 years ago our website hadn't changed within this time. All of our efforts and money had gone into moving the business forwards however we hadn't invested in the website and the way it looked and information within was letting us down!

I started to look for a company who would be able to completely change the website and design and manage this going forwards. Vision helped with this and we are so happy with the results. having someone responsive at the end of an email is invaluable in helping us to provide the best digital solution possible to our clients .

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

Charlie is our main point of contact, she helps with anything we need. I've had dealings with many others from the team and I find them all to be helpful, attentive, friendly and forward thinking in their approach to our marketing needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall look of the website is amazing compared to what we had before. We've had lots of positive feedback both internally and externally about the website. Similarly all of the ad hoc marketing collateral that has been designed and produced has been delivered to a really high standard.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Charlie was really responsive on both emails and over teams. I find her friendly and helpful and couldn't ask for a better level of service from her!

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

Our overall experience with Vision has been overwhelmingly positive. As a team of engineers our knowledge and expertise don't lie with creativity, so to have Charlie and the teams help in what we can achieve has been invaluable. They have fab ideas and help me to surpass our marketing and design expectations.

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

I honestly don't have any negative feedback to give, I've been pleased with all aspects of the service that the team at Vision have provided. If a project took longer than anticipated this was always due to my responsiveness, Vision were always on the ball with their responses!