Arounda

BACKGROUND

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

• Brand Identity
• Website (UI/UX)
• Website implementation in Webflow
• Icons and illustrations

SOLUTION

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

• Arounda helped us build a brand identity with a logo/logotype from scratch. 
• UI/UX was created for our website based on initial thoughts, mockups. 
• Design of website was delivered, page by page. 
• Illustrations and icons for website and sales collateral were produced with our identity
• Implementation of webdesign on webflow

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

BACKGROUND

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

SOLUTION

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder & CEO of a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A digital identity platform for identity verification and digital customer onboarding that prevents fraud and impersonations - powered by the blockchain!

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Arounda to accomplish?

UX/UI Design

SOLUTION

How did you find Arounda?

Upwork

Why did you select Arounda over others?

• High ratings
• Other

How many teammates from Arounda were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We have a digital onboarding tool, and the requirement is to have a complete design and structuring of the UI and UX components so that the end user can have a quick and easy experience once we integrate our solution with the likes of the Banks, Telcom, and other service providers. We will be adding our software/tool to the application of these service providers, and it will be their digital onboarding solution. Key deliverables: 

• Motion Graphics or interactive graphics that explain to the end user exactly how to perform the required action.
• Transitional motion graphics or interactive designs so the user doesn’t feel the time between the required actions. These can be instructive so the user knows what to expect next.
• Messages and writeups for instructions, errors, etc. 
• Ideas to be implemented by our developers to add or remove in terms of the process so that the UI/UX is not missing any parts.
• Complete UI design so the look is consistent, modern, and makes sense.
• Complete and seamless UX journey so they are never lost in the onboarding process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Competitor Research 
• Complete UX journey 
• Complete UI design 
• Illustrations and animations designed

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

Everything was delivered on time. Communication was always top-notch, and they responded to our ever-changing requirements with complete professionalism throughout the whole engagement.

What was your primary form of communication with Arounda?

Email or Messaging App

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

• Professional attitude
• High-quality design
• Communications
• Sticking to their timelines

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

I can't imagine that, as everything was done well!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

developing open-source software for DeFi applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Arounda to accomplish?

• Creating a comprehensive UI/UX design for our v2

SOLUTION

How did you find Arounda?

Online Search

Why did you select Arounda over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Arounda were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Creating a comprehensive UI/UX design for our v2. Key deliverables included: UX Research Summary, App Flow, Wireframes, Moodboard, UI Concept, UI Design Layouts (Web) and UI Kit (Web)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Throughout the project, the agency proved to be invaluable in helping us create a user-centric web application. Their expertise and guidance were instrumental in making critical decisions that positively impacted the overall user experience. They consistently demonstrated their commitment to creating a product that resonated with our target audience, which should ultimately also lead to improved user satisfaction

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

Arounda demonstrated an extraordinary ability to manage their time effectively and consistently meet all project milestones. We were able to plan our own schedules and dependencies with confidence, knowing that Arounda would deliver as promised.

What was your primary form of communication with Arounda?

Virtual Meeting

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

What truly sets Arounda apart is their attention to detail, commitment to excellence and their ability to think outside the box. They brought a fresh and innovative perspective to our project, constantly pushing boundaries and challenging conventional thinking. Their creativity and originality resulted in solutions that were not only visually appealing but also highly effective in enhancing the user experience. 

They were always willing to adapt to our requirements and readily incorporated our feedback. Their willingness to go the extra mile and their proactive approach to problem-solving made the entire collaboration process seamless and enjoyable.

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

No, we truly enjoyed working with Arounda and have yet to identify any areas that require improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & Lead Developer of Sinta

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Sinta helps businesses build & run exceptional interviews.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Arounda to accomplish?

• UI/UX Design for the Sinta Platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Arounda?

Online Search

Why did you select Arounda over others?

High ratings, Good value for cost, Company values aligned

What was the size of Arounda’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with Arounda?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

We were seeking a talented and experienced UX/UI design team to help us create wireframes and designs for our upcoming web application, Sinta. Sinta is a software platform for interviewing teams that aims to revolutionize the way businesses approach hiring.

The goal is to reduce time spent on hiring cycles and make the process more efficient for both the interviewer and the interviewee. The design team will be working with user stories and existing brand guidelines to create designs that will be used to share with our engineers in building out a beta launch of our tool come April.

User experience is a big focus for us and we were looking for someone who had a background in designing web applications with an artistic background, user experience oriented and is open to feedback.

We are looking for someone who can help us bring Sinta to life and make it an intuitive and user-friendly tool for our users.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Competitive Research
• Wireframes
• Moodboard
• Concept
• UI Layouts
• Styleguide

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

The team I worked with at Arounda was exceptional in their project management, we were in constant communication and they would send daily updates of the work completed. They would also immediately make changes to any improvements our team's mentioned during the process.

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

The process was something to be admired, they have a great idea of how to turn an idea into a visual product. We were also really impressed with the research they did with our competitors to really understand our space & the product we're trying to sell.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

Nothing comes top of mind, please keep doing what you're doing. We were really impressed with working with Arounda and hopefully have a chance to work with them again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a career counseling startup based in Hong Kong.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arounda?

We needed to create some mock-up screens for our new product, an online platform for pitching.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arounda provided UI/UX design services; they created six screens using Figma. We initially had a video call to explain what we needed. Then, they moved quickly and provided us with different options. Arounda gave us a proposal and quotation, and we discussed the budget. They also shared a working file with us so we could view their work and comment on it.

What is the team composition?

We were only in contact with a UI/UX designer. Additionally, a product manager joined our meetings 1–3 times.

How did you come to work with Arounda?

We found them through Upwork. I posted a request, and someone from their sales department contacted me and showcased their previous work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent below $3,000; it was a fixed-price project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2023, and they delivered in two weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The screens have helped people understand what we’re trying to do. Arounda was very professional, and our partnership was good.

How did Arounda perform from a project management standpoint?

They opened a Slack channel, so we could reach them easily every day. We had a checkpoint meeting every few days, so everything ran smoothly and on schedule. Moreover, Arounda was very responsive to our feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood our idea and gave us more feedback than expected. They did more than we asked them to do, which was excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything worked out perfectly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d highly recommend them; Arounda produces excellent quality work. I suggest working closely with them to achieve the best results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO and Co-Founder of Startup Company based in Prague, Czech Republic. We are building Web 3.0 social media platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goal was to create a proper design for our Pitch-deck, White-paper and Website. Also, to build wireframes from scratch for our Mobile app + create an outstanding design.

SOLUTION

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

We chose to work with Arounda because of their proven track record of creating visually stunning and user-friendly designs. Their portfolio impressed us with the diversity and quality of their work.

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

First, we had to define mood boards for each project: White-paper, Pitch-deck, App and Website. Right after, we defined the waterfall process as the best fit for the scale and scope to get the best possible results; as a result, within two months, Arounda, with collaboration with our team, delivered every task, and we got outstanding results for each project.

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

We had a Product Manager and Designer assigned to our projects + we got help from the lead designer and direct communication 24/7 with Chief Partnerships Director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within two months, we received all deliverables on time, and even though our contract was already expired, thanks to the dedication of the Arounda team, they continued to support us for a couple of weeks to implement changes that we had after. We've got outstanding feedback from our Angel Investors and VCs.

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

We had a feeling that Arounda is not just a contract outsourcing team but part of our Startup Company. We had super close communication through Slack, Telegram, Google Hangouts etc. Literally, any app for communication was an option for them too. Thanks to a deep understanding of Agile from their side, we never had an issue changing anything 180 degrees and starting from scratch if needed.

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

Openminded, high empathy, constant availability (sometimes even on weekends), efficiency, will to hear and care.

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

In our opinion, everything was perfect. If we had any issues, they were solved the next day, literally. But, this is the normal part of the work process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an Executive Search boutique firm based in Canada. We specialist in recruiting manufacturing management positions as well as corporate office executives for Consumer Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage Manufacturing and Natural Health Products companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Arounda?

We want to launch a novel recruitment platform to serve our niche marketplace of professionals to better connect them to employers in our industry sector. This web app is meant to go beyond a tradition job board and use some super features, tools, automation, and algorithms to match talent with employers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online and asked our referral networks. Shortlisted them and found their service, team, and responsiveness very reliable and impressive.

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

They were hired for Brainstorm, product concept research, innovation of UX/UI design and wireframes in Figma. Was built to be 'hand-over' ready for Developers who could then create the custom software for the back end.

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

5-7 resources, project manager, product manager, UX/UI design

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Extremely happy and pleased with overall value for service, look, layout, detail, communication. The team was responsive, dedicated, and reliable to deliver on what they said they could.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good via tools like slack and figma. Communication was no issue. Team was very punctual and reliable.

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

Their UI/UX design skills were very impressive. Modern, creative, and best in class plus they were intuitive and 'got what we wanted' without any hand-holding and minimal direction.

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

Nothing stood out - very happy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Paperplanes. We’re an automated direct mail marketing channel. At the moment, we’re a startup with only three people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arounda?

We needed to create a visual proof of concept of our platform so we could look for investment opportunities. We desperately needed UX/UI assistance to build the assets we had in mind so we could have something to show to investors and have as a basis for our development team.

We didn’t have that kind of skill set in our teams, so we needed outside assistance. We brought in Arounda to help us with that vision.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t require extensive research; we knew what we wanted and how to get there. Arounda took the project, as well as some sketches and wireframes. They asked back and forth about how we wanted the platform to look like, and they pretty much ran with it. When we had to make big decisions or choose a path, they got in touch with me and let me know.

What is the team composition?

We had one project manager and two designers. The project manager looked after all the back-and-forth communication between the designers and me. I didn’t see the designers or the people doing the task based on my feedback.

How did you come to work with Arounda?

We found them on Upwork. I interviewed about 3–4 people. We’re a small company, so we had to do some due diligence on it.

Arounda were quite prepared; they seemed to have the best presentation. They were very compatible with us, and we were happy with the output.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent just under $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April—May 2021. Since we’re not going to hire someone to fill that position soon, we’ll keep in touch with them. Arounda has gotten to be a key part of what we do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My business partner isn’t from a tech background, and he had never seen something like this. I had to fight to get this work done and convince him it was worth the money. Halfway through the project, I gave him some screenshots of what Arounda was producing, and then he was completely on board. He understood why we needed to make it, and it was thanks to the quality of their work.

Also, what I really liked about them was that they managed to squeeze in an extra set of features that were outside of the scope we had in mind. Those two things made me very happy.

How did Arounda perform from a project management standpoint?

Arounda had a project manager on their side, and they let me know when they needed input. I’m usually very busy, so I was worried they’d constantly ask me to ratify decisions, but it wasn’t like that. When there was a key point, they came to me with the options and made it very easy to choose. It didn’t take up any of my time.

I spoke to the sales person on the phone, but as soon as we came into the project team, we started to use Slack. They used Sigma, and I was able to leave comments by using that software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from the output, the best thing about them was their ability to work without being micromanaged. I can’t afford to be constantly sorting things out and asking questions, and they took a lot of that heavy lifting off me. On the instances where I did have to make a choice, they made it very simple.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe they could have a more flexible payment method. We paid by the hour, but if it’s the first time, it’s always nice to pay on completion rather than having to take a leap of faith.

With a development agency, the first few weeks there isn't a lot of output coming through. It’d be nice if they had a better payment structure, where maybe we could pay X percent before the first output, and from then on we'd do weekly payments. That’d be a better option, or that would’ve given me a little peace of mind at the start. However, now I trust Arounda, so it’s not a problem.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do as much legwork as you can before you hand it over to them, so you can save money. We did a lot of work upfront; we weren’t paying them to do things that we should know how to do ourselves. We paid for the execution, and we got exactly what we required. In that sense, costs might scale up quickly if you just come to them without any guidance and they have to be more involved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of Enix Ltd, one of the leading independent providers of Web , email and Cloud Hosting services in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Arounda?

Enix Ltd are developing a completely new client experience to greatly improve our product offering, and the ease of use for our customers. We hired Arounda to design the UI and UX for the client facing dashboard. The spec was a modern, clean, responsive design, of which Arounda would conduct research and provide various options of which we could select our preferences and fine tune it for the best end result.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a new client-facing dashboard from the ground up to allow a customer to manage all of the services on their account quickly and easily, the primary goals were:

1. A clean, minimal, modern responsive design
2. A UX that made managing complicated products appear simple
3. A UI that fitted with our existing brands
4. A modular UI that we could quickly and easily create new modules

SOLUTION

How did you select Arounda?

We shortlisted around 5 designers from Dribbble who's portfolios contained the design style we preferred. After some initial discussions it was clear Arounda was the best choice for our requirements based on their portfolio and their understanding of our needs.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we had selected Arounda, they provided several mood boards so we could choose our preferred styles. After fine tuning this we had a style guide ready to go that we could base the rest of the design from. Due to the complex nature of our products, we had specific ideas in house of page layout and application flow, so we provided very rough wireframes to Arounda to create the UI from. This worked very well with them as they took our wireframes and improved on them further, giving us a high quality result which was often near perfect on the first round.

What was the team composition?

I worked with several members of the team, mainly a project manager and the lead designer. Being able to communicate directly with the lead designer made things extremely efficient and effortless. We integrated tightly with Arounda, once we got into the flow, we would provide wireframes, Arounda would design the UI and UX, and pass it back to our in-house developers for coding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in the process of completing integration into our existing systems, we anticipate the project will go live in Q2 2021. However, it is already clear from our internal testing the outcome is going to be superb - the UX compared to our current platform is in a different world.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Arounda's designers sat in the middle of our workflow, between wireframing and coding. Working with Arounda was like having our own in-house designers - we integrated well and communication was effortless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Working with Arounda was like an extension of our company, having an in-house design team to tap into at any moment, and not only can they walk the walk, they can talk the talk too - the end result is equally as impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have any suggestions for improvement, I was extremely happy with the overall process and end result.