ActiveColor

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT administration at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first black, Greek-letter sorority founded in 1908. The main purpose of our organization is to provide services, and we currently have over 300,000 members. I take care of our web presence. 

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

We previously had a yearly conference, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to conduct a virtual conference. Given that, our web presence needed to be eye-catching and dynamic — our in-person events were like that, and we had to create the same effect on a virtual platform. Many video conferencing platforms were functional, but the aesthetic wasn’t there; we also had around 30,000 people attending the virtual conference. As a result, we wanted ActiveColor to bring the aesthetic we wanted to the virtual space. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we gave ActiveColor our requirements and what we were looking for in terms of aesthetics. From there, we collectively designed the platform. The team came up with the initial designs, and then we tweaked those designs together. 

We also conducted weekly meetings to get the concepts right, but their resources lead the design process. They also worked on the more functional areas of the platform, which were used during the facilitation of the actual event. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with three people. One of them was responsible for backend development, and another one was focused on the frontend and aesthetics. Damian (Founder, Creative Director & Lead UX Strategist) was our main point person. He managed the project and had a hand in all of the development areas. 

How did you come to work with ActiveColor?

We were looking for a web development company, and I wound up on a website that gave awards to web developers. I looked into different websites there until I came across ActiveColor. I liked their entries on that website. They seemed to be the designers that I was looking for, so I reached out to them. That was the start of our engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from April–July 2021. 

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

We received a lot of good feedback on how the platform turned out — in fact, we repurposed the website after the event as an after-even material. It was truly good. Overall, our members and leaders liked the platform. 

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

ActiveColor’s project management was awesome. They made sure that we were constantly aware of what was happening. Because the project timeline was so short, a lot of chaotic things occurred. However, toward the end of the project — by that time, I was worried that it would be completed on time — they assured me that everything would be fine. 

I relied on them, and everything indeed came out just fine. Overall, the team did as much as they could under the circumstances. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They walked us through the process well. The team took a step back and asked us what we wanted to solve and what goals we were trying to achieve. 

Oftentimes, other developers would come with an image of the website and work from there. They wouldn’t truly try to understand the deeper meaning and logic behind the project. By contrast, ActiveColor gave us insights into how to develop the website instead of just coding based on what we wanted things to look like. 

Moreover, we didn’t have many technical members in our team; we only thought we knew what we wanted. Luckily, ActiveColor was able to channel our thought processes into a functional platform. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

A better understanding of their timelines would have been nice. As a technical and functional person, I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to develop the functional parts of the website on time. If I had a better idea of when those pieces were going to come together, I would’ve been more relaxed as we neared our deadlines. 

To be fair, this issue might just be because we jumped into the project with an aggressive timeline. We didn’t have much time for me to understand how things would come together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust ActiveColor’s process because they know what they’re doing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked at the University of Southern California (USC). When I worked with ActiveColor, I was the director of digital strategy for the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences where I oversaw all the website and application development.

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

When we hired ActiveColor, none of our websites had been professionally developed. They were strewn across servers, had no branding protocols in place, and weren't actively being updated. Because we were vying for a top spot in a worldwide ranking of higher education programs, it was important that we bring them out of the stone age.

Our challenge was to redesign the websites of 20 of our strongest departments in a matter of months so that our online presence matched the world-class education USC provides. So we hired ActiveColor to help.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started out with five websites, and they ended up developing at least 20. They worked with all of the leads in the departments to help them design something that reflected their values and needs. ActiveColor worked with the platforms we were using at the time, and when we switched to new a CMS, they worked with that. 

What is the team composition?

I worked solely with Damjan (Principal & Creative Director).

How did you come to work with ActiveColor?

I found them online. We went through a vetting process with multiple agencies, and ActiveColor stood out. 

While ActiveColor didn’t have the lowest price, they had the highest quality work at the fairest price. Additionally, they were kind, personable, and easy to be around. It seemed like it would be a good partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February 2006–September 2013.

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

All of the programs for which ActiveColor designed the websites ranked within the top five, which is exactly what we were looking for. They did a great job.

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

Great! They communicated regularly through email and never missed a deadline. If we were waiting on anything, we were waiting on our departments to supply content.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The communication aspect was key. Other agencies that I've worked with have not been as great of communicators. 

ActiveColor seemed to have a strong core of people working with them with no huge turnover, which was really great for long term projects because little details didn't get forgotten, missed, or changed by someone else's opinion. Additionally, the team focused on UI, which they did very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing sticks out. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of three owners at a prosthodontics practice. Prosthodontics is a field in dentistry that focuses on reconstructive dentistry.

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

We engaged them to redo our website. We’re dentists, so we know nothing about website design. We’d used another company, but we were frustrated with their progress. It was taking forever and things weren’t working correctly.

We had a very basic website that wasn’t compatible with new devices. We wanted it to display correctly on both desktop and mobile devices, to be user-friendly, and to be up to date with the latest technologies.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a discussion about our goals, style preferences, and the functionalities of the site. ActiveColor gave us a preliminary design. We wanted a boutique, high-end, non-generic style, which is completely different from the templated look of typical dental websites. 

They then developed new websites for our practice and nonprofit teaching center, and they’re currently maintaining and updating them. We’ve made a refresh recently. Especially with COVID-19, we wanted to update our educational materials on infection control. 

ActiveColor has updated the site to the latest technologies over the years. SEO is something we could be doing better, but it doesn’t drive our business, so we haven’t really focused on it

What is the team composition?

We’re working with Damjan (Principal & Creative Director). We’ve also had project managers and designers reach out to us from time to time to discuss layouts and other items.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ActiveColor in 2008, and they’ve continued to update the websites over the years.

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

The site is mainly a way for people to verify our identity, and we don’t get many new patients through it. We don’t really monitor metrics, since most of our business comes from word-of-mouth referrals, but patients will tell us from time to time that we have the most beautiful website they’ve ever seen.

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s very easy to work with Damjan. The communication was clear on what he wanted us to supply and what he was going to supply. ActiveColor is effective and responsive whenever we reach out to them, and they meet deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They tailor the project to the customer’s needs. We specifically asked for a unique style. We’re three women, and I think that the site reflects our aesthetic, but it’s also informative.

The main aspect of ActiveColor that we like is the ease of communication and smooth, direct working relationship. We’ve never had to keep checking up on them to resolve an issue as was the case with other people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could provide more education for customers like us, who know nothing about SEO and other website aspects. For instance, someone complained that the website didn’t have a feature for hearing-impaired people.

ActiveColor’s main focus is website design. We’ve engaged SEO people, but we’re not that keen on spending hours on writing content only to get three patients per year from it. The team could consult us on changing keywords or other elements that don’t require a lot of extra work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

As with anything, if you’re clear on the list of wants and give them effective responses, it’ll go very smoothly. Both parties need to be clear on what the goal is.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an academic health institution with a university and medical school in combination. Our particular center deals with health equity and health disparities.

What challenge were you trying to address with Active Color?

One of the biggest challenges was trying to address is the lack of communication between primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists. When patients leave a PCP and have to go to a specialist, it’s hard for the PCP to get information back from the specialists, as well as hard for the specialist to get the baseline information for why the referral is coming to them. We were looking for a vendor who could help us solve this communication problem based on another project I was responsible for a few years ago.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Completing the project involved a series of deliverables. It’s like it never actually gets done because we’re always trying to perfect it. With them, we set project discovery time, delivering time, and then forecast what future projects are. As a planner, that’s critical to the work that needs to get done and how it needs to get done.

To start, they were designing a piece of SaaS product. It’s a standalone, HIPPA compliant system that allows primary care organizations and specialists to communicate around patient care. We gave them the general idea, including initial plans of how a similar system I’d worked on had functioned. They then came back with their initial ideas were. This started an iterative process until we got to a “Go” status. They led the whole design process. We only gave them the foundation of what the technology should do.

We’re very involved in the technology work of our center, and we were willing to tussle a bit about how we wanted things to be. I was very pleased we didn’t have a team that just executed what we told them. They let us know how things were going to work out based on what we asked for. Then, we were able to make decisions to change the ideas or not.

The system is set up to be used by hospitals and primary care practices or health systems. The system allows them to have bi-directional care between primary care and specialists. It also helps them do point-of-service scheduling, which allows patients to leave primary care offices with a scheduled appointment with a specialist, rather than having to call themselves. 50% of people who have to call never show up to their referrals.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with the CEO, as well as several programmers.

How did you come to work with Active Color?

We got two solid bids. Initially, I didn’t work directly with Active Color. They’re a sub-contractor for another vendor we’re working with. Eventually, we began to meet more with Active Color, and I liked their ability to drive the project. They didn’t come in with any assumptions of how we wanted it to work.

How much have you invested with them?

This is challenging to answer, as we don’t pay Active Color directly but work with a vendor who contracts with Active Color. I believe it’s in the range of $200,000-$1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2016, and the work is ongoing.

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

The initial goal of the system is that we’ll be able to get people in for screenings for cancers that are treatable and beatable if discovered early. We’ve been able to do this for many people, so it’s really hard to put a value on a single person’s life. The increased ability to screen individuals for cancers that are beatable is what the system does.

Every health system has an electronic medical record (EMR) they use, and everyone that gets an introduction to this project wants to change their system to use this. It’s not even designed to be an EMR, but the user-friendliness of it makes it a success.

How did Active Color perform from a project management standpoint?

The design work is very intense because there are lots of sheets, so they do a lot of screenshots and scrolling to run us through everything. They have a system for taking what we want, coming back with some screenshots and pictures, and then taking those back and doing several iterations.

We communicate through email and meet bi-weekly or sometimes weekly on Zoom. Once or twice a year we’ll meet in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re engaged in our project and are forward-thinking. When we think we’re done with something, they’re not done. They’re always thinking about how we can stay marketable and relevant to the conversation in the technological and healthcare worlds. They’ve even transferred the technological environment the platform runs on to keep us up to date. They’re willing and capable of taking your project to the next level if that’s what you want.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The challenge in working with non-major corporations is that they have to keep their programmers paid. Continuous projects help with that, so it’s difficult to maintain staffing if we pause for a while and then start up again. We try to package requests together, so we don’t lose programmers in the future that are working on our tasks now. It’s nothing they do, it’s just the market. Major companies can just keep people on the payroll.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think that people need to come with an idea and mind, and as long as they’re clear Active Color can help make it a reality. They don’t need all the details, just a clear goal in mind about the client’s endgame. Their team will make it work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a marketing consulting company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

We hired them for UX/UI design and web app development support.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed the expertise in UX/UI design for support with our client projects.

What is the team composition?

We’re only working with the owner, but I know he has a team of developers.

How did you come to work with ActiveColor?

A friend referenced them to me. I liked their style of design.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with ActiveColor started in August 2016.

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

ActiveColor was our first UX/UI design team in our first project as a company. We started it all together.

Our clients are very happy with their work. Since we’ve started, we’ve done five projects that each client has been pleased with.

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is excellent at communicating. We use email, text, phone calls, and Zoom. For project management, we use Google Drive. We needed a simple, collaborative platform to share everything with our clients. ActiveColor makes sure to come back with a wireframe we can share with our clients, as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a small, agile, and responsive team. Whenever there are problems, they get on them very quickly. I also liked their style of design, responsive service, and development efficiency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been very happy so far. They’re our number one partner.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their expertise, suggestions, and input. Clients usually have their own visions, but once they get down to the technical level, more things come into play.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have multiple companies, but the primary one is called GSD Creative, a productivity company. I also have an events company that I’ve had for 20 years and a coworking space for women in Nashville, Tennessee. 

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

I needed to develop a website years ago, and now they help me with my businesses and clients. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

ActiveColor did our very first website almost 20 years ago, and they’ve been with me for almost two decades, helping us with every business that we launch. They're not just a part of my company; they're also a part of multiple creative companies that are my clients that I oversee.

The scope depends on what is needed. For example, I have some clients at the very beginning of a new company, and we work with many investors. ActiveColor works on many parts of the branding, such as the logo, visual identity, and content creation. Some clients want to develop apps. 

In the first five years, they’ve built about four or five different websites for companies. Each time we need to overhaul our site, we go to them as well. 

What is the team composition?

Sometimes, there are five or six people. However, my main points of contact are Damjan (Creative Director) and Alex (Lead Web Developer). Then, there’s Anya (Digital Strategist), who also works on some of our clients. There are team members in the background, but I don't need to communicate with them day-to-day or week-to-week. 

How did you come to work with ActiveColor?

I found them on the website of a club called The Edison. At that time, I built my own little website, which was terrible. The club’s website UI and the customer journey were incredible. I wanted to find out who did their website, so I scrolled down to the bottom and saw ActiveColor. I reached out and emailed them. 

The next day, I got an email back, and we got into a call. There were other providers in Nashville, but they were not thorough. ActiveColor asked me a bunch of questions that none of the other companies had asked me — they were very thorough. 

How much have you invested with them?

For my brand, we’ve spent between $100,000–$250,000. However, in terms of the other clients we collaborate on, it’s well over a million dollars. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in January 2001, and it’s ongoing. 

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

When people go to our websites, they say they are beautiful and organized and everything’s easy to find. We’re talking about 10 websites that aren’t just mine but all of the clients. I’m a luxury designer for one of my brands. It’s important that when potential clients reach out or comment, they’ll see how well my site is put together, how it’s always updated, and that speed is good. 

My clients always say I’m keeping up with the times and changes, thanks to ActiveColor. They’re very detail-oriented. They make sure the UX — whether it’s an Android or Apple product — and all the analytics are set up so that customers get the best experience and customer journey. 

The impact is huge. Comparing them to other competitors in the creative space from a design perspective and the performance on the frontend, I know the backend is set up appropriately.

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Asana, but I can usually email them. I know that they use Asana internally because I’m a client under their project management system, but my company uses some CRMs. We also use Zoom, where we always schedule calls to talk. To be very honest, nothing ever falls through the cracks. 

The other thing that had an impact on me is their customer service. If something goes down or not working for whatever reason, we have a response within a few hours. They solve problems very quickly. As far as the ROI goes and what we invest in our digital assets, the service is just priceless. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

ActiveColor members are such good communicators from a customer service perspective. If one of our projects is moving from one person to another, they’re always letting us know, which is great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have a few clients that are married to their designs. Damjan would come in and tell them upfront when it’s not going to work, along with the reasons why. I have to tell him that we need to be a little bit softer. I appreciate the directness and don’t have the time to fluff things up, but every once in a while, some clients need that if they’re a little bit too close to the brand. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If they’re looking for a long-term company that wants projects done the right way, they will embrace the fact that ActiveColor has so much experience. 

Time is short, and we can only take on so many projects as a company. I only want to take 10 clients a year who are going to be in it for the whole year because it brings my team an opportunity to dig in. These apps and sites are not an overnight thing. Therefore, leaning on ActiveColor’s experience is best if it’s a long-term relationship. 

A website is never done. An app is never done. Facebook is making a million changes every week; WordPress is constantly changing. Every platform that we build on is constantly making changes. Asking how long the project will take is not how it works. Investing in monthly support would be best for them, and their engagement with ActiveColor. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of marketing for Lawry's Restaurant Inc. The company is family-owned and it’s been in business for almost 100 years. We have six fine dining restaurants in the country, and our most iconic brand is Lawry's The Prime Rib. Aside from that, our company owns other fine dining restaurants as well as a couple of gastropubs, and a casual concept restaurant called Lawrey's Carvery.

The company has restaurants under the Lawry's name and other fine dining restaurants that don't have the name. Also, we have six international and four domestic prime rib restaurants.

What challenge were you trying to address with ActiveColor?

We have a design company that we’ve partnered with for website development. However, we were looking for another agency to revamp our website since our previous partner was too expensive for us. We needed a team that could produce high-quality work at a cost-effective price for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ActiveColor revamped our website. The team was tasked to bring in our two platforms — mobile and a desktop — under one umbrella. They currently handle maintenance and other small projects on our backend.

What is the team composition?

We directly work with the owner and we also contact two team members on a daily basis. There are also two more members who work on the technical and development tasks.

How did you come to work with ActiveColor?

We screened 4–5 different companies that specialized in the restaurant industry and had creative abilities. We wanted a local team here in the Los Angeles area so we could work with them face-to-face to have a stronger relationship.

Another criterion was the balance between technical and creative skills. We wanted to work with someone who could deliver that to us.

During the decision-making process, it came down between 2–3 companies because we came across agencies that had technical abilities but lacked the outside-the-box thinking skills. Ultimately, we went with ActiveColor because they were really open to working with us. We felt that they wanted to collaborate with us as opposed to just making recommendations.

They weren’t the cheapest nor the most expensive agency, but they fit right in our particular budget. The price came in right where we needed it to be.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve already invested almost $50,000. The initial quote was $39,000 but due to the things that we wanted to add to the website, the cost went up.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing engagement began in July 2018. They currently handle maintenance and work on little projects that we can’t do on the backend.

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

ActiveColor successfully brought our two sites under one umbrella which helped make managing our sites more efficient for us. In terms of Google presence, our old website wasn’t delivering for us and we were struggling with our SEO and visibility. The team helped us with what we needed in SEO.

They allow us to track our website traffic — the number of visitors and the activities on the site. I can’t give the exact metrics or comparison from the old website but the number of online reservations has substantially grown since the project began. Overall, our business is generally performing strongly across the board.

How did ActiveColor perform from a project management standpoint?

ActiveColor is excellent in communicating — this is something important to us. They've been responsive even before and after we signed the contract. Our teams communicate through email, phone calls, texts, and quite often we have in-person meetings when needed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is open to all types of communication and is highly responsive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they could work on making websites ADA compliant. This was from our initial brief and it wasn’t the top priority so perhaps that’s why we may have lost sight of this. It would be helpful if they could’ve shared how they made the ADA complaint. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a busy cookie shop in the center of Amsterdam.

For what projects/services did your company hire ActiveColor?

Our website was made before we opened our store, so it could use an update. Plus we wanted to add a webshop to the site.

I searched online to find a website that I really liked and I found a mesmerizing one, theneverlands.com. I was so blown away by the design that I asked the developpers for our own project.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to make a magical and warm website. It turned out to be everything I hoped for.

How did you select ActiveColor?

I searched online to find a website that I really liked and I found a mesmerizing one, theneverlands.com. I was so blown away by the design that I asked the developpers for our own project.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a Zoom call with the Creative Director to discuss the wishes, possibilities, costs and intentions. After the start of the project we had weekly Zoom calls with the Creative Director, Design & Art Director, Lead Full Stack Developer and the Illustrator.

What was the team composition?

Design: Creative Director, Design & Art Director, Lead Full Stack Developer, Illustrator. Commissioning party: Store manager and me (owner).

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

We get a lot of compliments on our new website. The webshop fits in perfectly. It took away a lot of inefficient work for us, since the ordering proces is now automatized.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

You didn't really noticed that all our time zones were very different, everybody was flexible and involved. Respons times were very quick.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The end result. It's a one of a kind. You'll not find it anywhere else.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Launch day was a bumpy ride, but hey, isn't it always?