ArtyGeek

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an IT and hosting services company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ArtyGeek?

We needed help with mobile app and web platform development. We had other people working on it, but we had an issue.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our iOS and Android app, as well as our web platform. It was all synchronized with Amazon Web Services (AWS). It’s a video platform like YouTube but with a layer added to the screen. The screen is interactive so the user can play with the video and click a certain area to do whatever they want. We had our own designer for the design part.

What is the team composition?

The CEO was involved at the beginning of the project. There was a project manager, an Android expert, an iOS expert, and a backend expert with AWS expertise.

How did you come to work with ArtyGeek?

I chose 3–4 companies on Upwork. ArtyGeek’s proposal most accurately addressed our needs and had a great recommendation for our solution. They were the right price for our project, too.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January until March 2018.

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

The system is working well, but we haven’t commissioned it yet. Working with them was a pain reliever. It was very nice to work with a company that has different experts and a project manager that lead the team.

How did ArtyGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

It was the first time that the project was so smooth. It was easy to communicate, mainly via Slack and email. It was a great experience for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with their understanding of our needs. They recognized our needs quickly and accurately, which was very convenient.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Choose 2–3 companies and compare them. It was an easy decision for us to work with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a cofounder of a relatively new startup. Our company is creating a new kind of mobile travel app that automatically generates a travel diary for consumers who go on trips.

What challenge were you trying to address with ArtyGeek?

ArtyGeek worked as our main subcontracting partner to execute the first version, the MVP level product, for our pilot.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we explained our targets, timelines, and budget, and negotiated an appropriate payment model. As a hybrid model based on Ionic, the app runs on both Android and iOS, and has a server component, as well. Functionally, the program identifies different restaurants, hotels, or tourist sites users visit while on vacation, and proposes adding those entries to an automatically generated travel diary. After your trip, you can either share the entire diary or selected parts of it with your friends via different social media platforms.

During a previous engagement, they’d built an InVision UI demo that was limited to stories and user cases. We'd provided initial wireframes at that time, but the more recent design specs cover a wider scope. The team formulated an appropriate technical implementation strategy, and identified which technologies to use for the backend and frontend. Critically, they determined what purposes various configurations would serve in the long term. Using a collaborative process helped us pinpoint the best way to deliver.

What is the team composition?

Our main contacts were the CTO of the company, who worked on the technical requirements and communications, and our project manager, who monitored the requirements list and distributed tasks to different resources. They had one dedicated UI designer. At select times, we interacted directly with the team members, but that was uncommon.

How did you come to work with ArtyGeek?

We found ArtyGeek via a referral who’d heard good things about their company. Since we were a new company, we didn't want to just pick the first vendor we found. We evaluated 4-5 other developers prior to selecting them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $7,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in November 2017. We’re still finalizing small facets of the MVP, but it's mostly complete.

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

Most of the feedback I can offer is based on how happy we are. They've implemented the work very well. We’ve been able to easily monitor that everything's been completed. There were a few times we changed our mind and dropped a few requirements, but it was our proposal to do so. Since we've been working on an MVP, our policy standard is quite different than it would be for a high quality, commercial product. In terms of expectations, both our internal staff and our friends and colleagues have been very pleased

How did ArtyGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

They're always open to discussions, and we have a great connection. We've had systematic calls, maintained an Excel spreadsheet of our requirements, and used Jira for monitoring bugs. One could always be stricter about following up, but they've done very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing we've loved most about ArtyGeek is their excellent communication. From that point of view, they're one of the best companies we've ever worked with. They made us feel like they really share our goals, and showed consistent dedication to building a great product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given lack of our own past experience in app analytics, it would have been great if they had more expertise on this but on the other hand they were very collaborative on developing this understanding together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Being open and honest with them helps to consistently identify the right solution. Treating them as team members, rather than subcontractors, works really well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-owner of a software platform for determining medical benefits for injured and uninsured patients.

What challenge were you trying to address with ArtyGeek?

We were looking for a company to do UI design for our app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've been using sketch files, which have been easy for us to manage when we put them into the frontend development. They made sure all the CTAs [call-to-action] are in top folds, so their design has been getting good attention. They've used CSS, Bootstrap, and HTML5 for the frontend, which are all good design technologies.

The purpose of the app is to prequalify patients for medical benefits. I gave them different sections of the software, and they handled the application workflow and envelope workflow for mailing old documents.

What is the team composition?

I worked mostly with the owner, a project manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with them?

I saw their design work, which was unique and focused on the UI design. We met and  I chose to work with them over other companies, mostly for the design.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017 and it's an ongoing project.

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

Everything they've produced functions well. We've put into production most of the work they've done for us. When you work on the UI design, it can get very busy for a month and then there won't be any work for a week, but they've been very good at bouncing resources to work in this way.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Jira for project management. They're very motivated to get their task closed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design looks good to the eye and is very slick. Most of the time the goals I gave them were not 100% clear, but they worked well together to figure out what exactly was needed. They did complex UI work better than many designers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything, except that it might help to have more narrow specialties for their experts, for example, to have one person who only specializes in PHP and Magento.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're good at understanding your needs, but it's best if you have a plan and know what you want.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a Danish egg production company that has four factories in Sweden and Denmark and we bought a share in a Finnish company so we actually have activities in five production facilities. We have about 500 employees.

My responsibility is all of the systems between the manufacturing machines, all the internal processes, and the users. This primarily revolves around our ERP system, [Microsoft] Dynamics NAVision, and all the apps we create along with all the utilities that integrate data from abroad into our internal systems. It's a fluid role because it has to do with business processes, systems, and people.

What challenge were you trying to address with ArtyGeek?

We were looking for someone to help us with app development. We're in the egg industry and not many software solutions exist in our market because it's a small, niche industry. There are some vendors, but they're small and have no competition but they would need to advance their solutions to be really good. Right now, the offerings are only okay. So we were looking for a partner who could create solutions that will improve our business by making solutions that don't otherwise exist.

How did you come to work with ArtyGeek?

I know a partner in the company because I worked with him 8 or 9 years ago. I asked if he could a simple app for me to begin with and then we added more and more functions and then we integrated with our ERP system and so on. It's not an app you can buy, it's only for our internal use. Now we're going to develop more apps because the first app was presented to the ownership board and the board was very eager to develop more apps.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a lot of field sales people, so the primary purpose of the app is to provide them with an integrated method of displaying all the stores in their respective sales districts on Google Maps. It integrates with the customer data in our ERP. They have a very quick way to view which stores they've visited in the last however many days and which stores they need to visit. It's very easy to see on our map graphics. For each store they go in to, they can see through the ERP integration which products have been sold to that store and what sales opportunities exist. The sales team can easily re-order products, selecting various products and quantities, and it's all sent back to the ERP in an automated fashion so we can batch big orders.

It's very easy to use and it's an offline solution, too, so when a sales person loses 3G/4G connection because there somewhere in say Sweden without coverage, the app will store the order request and then send it as soon as an internet connection is re-established.

How much have you invested with them?

We first started working with ArtyGeek in November last year. Our budget for the whole project is 1 million dollars and we plan to spend $80,000-$90,000 of that with Arty Geek. The total budget is so large because we're going replace all of our current systems. We divided the scope into very small projects so far have only spent less than $10,000 with Arty Geek. We're planning to build four or five apps with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I'm working with ArtyGeek now for that reason. I've been in their offices again recently because I have a philosophy that when you start up a new project, it's very good to sit together for a few days face to face to discuss everything. We'll discuss 80% of the project then I'll go home and we'll continue via e-mail and Skype.

How did ArtyGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

They've performed very well in terms of project management. We've been working using Agile methods. They understand the business very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The understanding between us and their understanding of how to speak in business terms is impressive. Their ability to transform business processes into technical solutions is good. Another thing they're good at is questioning why we want to do something instead of just doing it. From that process, they're able to make better suggestions on how to do something.

It's essential that they have a very high technical understanding, but also a good understanding of our business. They came in not knowing anything about the egg industry but they've come to understand our business very well even though it's different and complicated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One thing they could improve is their English, though so could I. If they want to expand broadly, they don't need perfect English but it can always be improved. They have some people that are really good. Secondly, they could create a communication channel with customers - some kind of tool - where they set a scope and report progress against that and the budget instead of having a dialogue about it all the time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

​At the time of working with ArtyGeek, I was a part of Juniper Networks. I was an engineering manager for the software-defined networking product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ArtyGeek was hired to develop a simple UI prototype for our company. The mockups were intended for all our web dashboards. We had no plans of involving them on the networking side.

How did you come to work with ArtyGeek?

We found ArtyGeek on Upwork and looked at their portfolio. I generally liked their design, which was the main purpose of hiring them. We realized that a full visual design would take a lot of time, so we started with a simple admin team, which was more generic and easier to get going. We gave ArtyGeek a small pilot project and, after a period, I realized that they were doing a good job. We added more members to the team, and ArtyGeek continued the project for 3–4 months.

How much have you invested with ArtyGeek?

I have moved on to a new position so I don’t have access to this information. I believe that the cost was between $8,000 and $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration lasted for a few months. The contract ended in July 2017.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The code quality is good. We haven’t required a lot of iterations after the initial review. I see ArtyGeek as a good frontend development team overall, at least the members who worked with us.

They performed well, but it was only a quick pilot project. I moved on before it ended, so I can’t mention any metrics. The work was delivered this month, and it may or may not be used, so it’s very difficult to comment.

How did ArtyGeek perform from a project management standpoint?

I liked working with their team. They are disciplined and deliver things on time. ArtyGeek has been working on this type of project for quite some time, and they have developed skills through which they can quickly get to a requirement and make sure it gets delivered on time.

One of the best parts of the engagement was project management. ArtyGeek is a good team for frontend development but, when it comes to visual design and creating a user experience, I didn’t get a chance to work with the right people.

What did you find most impressive about ArtyGeek?

The code quality was good, as was the project management. I have been working with teams and individual contractors for quite some time, and have preferred the latter. My experience with ArtyGeek was very good and, following it, I have started to consider working with other small design agencies.

Are there any areas ArtyGeek could improve?

I found them to be weaker on the UX and visual design side. There is a lot of room for improvement here. This was the original reason for hiring ArtyGeek, but we couldn’t spend so much time on the project. I wasn’t very confident that they could deliver the kinds of results we were looking for in a short span of time. Their overall portfolio is very good, though, and I can only speak for the designer we worked with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Negina, which provides online music lessons for the Israeli and German markets.

What challenge were you trying to address with Arty Geek?

I needed help with creating an HTML JavaScript tool involving animation of a piano based on XML files. In 2015, this project was quite innovative based on what Arty Geek did with HTML5.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to create a tool that works within a browser—on Chrome, Firefox, Mozilla, Safari, etc.—that can play a lot of music notes simultaneously with no gaps or no noticeable delays and without using Flash. Back then, we used Flash, but browsers stopped supporting that, and we needed to move to HTML5. Most companies we approached didn’t even want to dive into it because there weren’t many libraries of Open Source resources that we could use to create it. Arty Geek had to do extensive exploration. They were positive they could do it. Most other companies said it was too early to create this tool in HTML5. Arty Geek went through a month or so of exploration at their expense just to prove to me that they could do it. They created a very simple prototype that actually did what I wanted, then they moved on to creating the entire tool, which was quite complex.

The piano tool actually shows you how to play a specific tune. Let’s say you want to play Hey Jude by The Beatles. You see a piano in front of you, and when you press play, you can see which keys are being depressed. You can make the playback slow or fast, and you can show the name of the note on the keys. You can isolate the right or left hand if you want. You can see the actual notes on the screen while the song is being played, so it’s actually learning by imitation.

The tool is designed for people who don’t know how to play piano and don’t want to go through the struggle of learning notation, which takes years. We offer that as well, but it’s not a key focus. [In comparison,] [t]here are tons of YouTube videos that show you how to play songs. The backend is quite complex because it has to combine a lot of different files, including XML files, media files, and music notation files that need to be synced within the browser and not in a native app, which is very easy to do because it would rely on the power of the device.

How did you come to work with Arty Geek?

I work with freelancers from all over the world. I have family in Ukraine in the same city where Arty Geek is located. On a family vacation, I had some business meetings with local companies and tried to find partners for this project. I chose Arty Geek because they were so sure they could create the tool. I also looked at their reviews on Upwork, which were fantastic.

How much have you invested with Arty Geek?

We have spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October of 2015, and the project was completed in March of 2017. We’re still in touch.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

The product is used by 4,000–5,000 people every day, and it’s very stable and works as it should. Before this, we had a Flash tool that didn’t work on mobile devices. Obviously, once we implanted this new tool in our website, we saw growth as mobile users became potential clients. We had an increase of about 70% in revenue because of this.

How did Arty Geek perform from a project management standpoint?

I only have good things to say about them. The starting phase was exploratory because they wanted to verify for themselves and show me that they could build the tool. After that, they gave me estimations about each phase. They broke down the project into several phases so that we could measure the achievements, and I paid them according to that structure. I didn’t have a strict timeline for them because the work was quite innovative and it’s hard to tell how much time it would take to solve an issue that nobody else has before.

I was very happy with the way they reported their progress. They’re very easy to reach, and they answer questions. They were also very communicative about asking for help. After working with a lot of freelancers and companies around the world, I find that people often just do what they think is best and send over something completely different than what was described.

What did you find most impressive about Arty Geek?

They stay up-to-date with new technology, and it’s quite unique. Their employees are constantly learning new technologies like Angular. For my project, that was crucial. They also have great communication skills, which I didn’t expect when outsourcing to another country. Arty Geek always listens, and they provided a contact person so that I didn’t have to speak with the entire division.

Are there any areas Arty Geek could improve?

We’ve finished what we defined, and now we have a long set of corrections and things to change because of my inaccurate specifications. I don’t think they’re fit to do little projects. If I need another 10 hours of working on the tool, they may not be the best option. So, I continue to develop the product in-house. I would like to do the final touches with them, but they’re focused more on larger-scope projects. I could wait until I have enough changes to offer them a project. Maintenance over time is not cost-effective for them if there are limited hours per month. That’s something that could be improved.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company focuses on publication and editorial work, with the goal of transforming health through information technology. We work with IT and healthcare partners for this purpose. I am the senior manager of products and user experience design.

What challenge were you trying to address with Arty Geek?

We required help with digital media and user experience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve helped us with website design and development. Our first project was an interactive microsite with endless scrolling. Most recently, they helped us with an interactive e-book series. For a high engagement experience, the e-book content was exposed by clicking on different areas.

Arty Geek has used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for our projects. They’ve also used a product called Tumult Hype for our interactive e-books. Throughout the design process, they have been using the Adobe Dreamweaver suite.

How did you come to work with Arty Geek?

A coworker had worked with them and recommended them. I reached out to Arty Geek. They were a right fit, price-wise, so I gave them our first contract. They did a great job, so we kept working with them.

How much have you invested with Arty Geek?

The cost of their work has been $10,000–$50,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Arty Geek around 3 years ago.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Arty Geek has done a great job. They have created 11 e-books for us, which will definitely have measurable goals tied to them. We will gather data on this later on.

Clients love Arty Geek’s work. Arty Geek’s visual design is eye-catching, both for illustrations and web design. The quality of their work continues to improve. The more clients they have, the better they will become.

How did Arty Geek perform from a project management standpoint?

Our contact on their end has been a superhero. He has kept tasks in line, hit deadlines, and adjusted when they could not be hit. This happened because we were not giving them content in time, so I wouldn’t put it on Arty Geek.

We have a standard setup for communication. Their team puts together a project outline and send an invoice based on that. There could be some improvement in this regard, but it’s acceptable.

What did you find most impressive about Arty Geek?

Project management and communication are 2 things they do well. Whenever there was a question, Arty Geek didn’t hesitate to reach out. They’ve been very responsive. Despite the 9-hour time difference, they work based on our schedule.

Are there any areas Arty Geek could improve?

Arty Geek could improve the invoicing process, which is an operations item. I have no complaints about their design and development output.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Oscaro is a leading multinational automotive online retailer with more than $300 million in revenue worldwide. Our mission is to empower the DIY community both online and offline, and our culture is to do it with a friendly attitude. We combine over a million OE Quality parts from premium parts manufacturers with exceptional customer service.

I’m the lead engineer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Arty Geek?

We needed someone to help us with our web design. Our website wasn’t what we wanted for the US market. It wasn’t as sleek and responsive as our competitors’ websites. We wanted to increase our conversion rate.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did some mockups and started working with Arty Geek on the first one. We realized it wasn’t what we were looking for, so we did a second mockup which was much closer to our objectives. The interface was very easy to use and it was a clean website. We use third-party plug-ins for specific features of the website. The framework is custom and has specific features for the auto industry. That makes the site more complex. The site can easily break just by changing the layout if you don’t pay attention. We have hundreds of thousands of products on the site.

Since we were happy with their work, we did a second project in 2016. That was a redesign of two pages on the website, including the product page which is one of the most important pages of our website. They also enhanced the brand page.

How did you come to work with Arty Geek?

We found them through Upwork. They sent a quote and we hired them. Arty Geek was a good option because they had multiple resources to help on the project. It’s easier to get professional quality when you’re dealing with a company instead of an individual.

How much have you invested with Arty Geek?

We have spent between $5,000 and $7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015. The first project was done in five weeks. The second project was completed in December 2016.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We are happy with their work. When we did the redesign, the first objective was not so much to increase the traffic. It was more to increase the conversion rate. The conversion rate has improved by 20%. Some pages are converting more than others. Visitors are coming back to the website even on mobile. Before the redesign, the site wouldn’t work on tablets and smartphones. Consequently, we’ve been able to extend our audience, which is also driving the conversion rate.

How did Arty Geek perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very responsive in addressing issues. They delivered on time with the expected quality.

What did you find most impressive about Arty Geek?

Their main strength is that they’re able to face any technical challenge. They gave us a quote for the website design and then realized it was more complex than they first thought. People working on the project were flexible and their communication was good. They are able to think about the project and add more resources if needed.

Are there any areas Arty Geek could improve?

They could communicate more. When they delivered the product, it was almost perfect. But on the technical side, they made some choices that was not the optimal way to do it. Since they didn’t share their technical interpretation with me, it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. They were good at taking my feedback and made some iterations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder and CEO of a company that provides software development services similar to those of Arty Geek.

What challenge were you trying to address with Arty Geek?

We have worked with them on a subcontracting basis for two projects. One of them was an Android cryptocurrency solution, and the other was the outsourcing of an iOS game app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first project was for an end-to-end solution for an XDR wallet. It was a blockchain platform for peer-to-peer exchanges of cryptocurrency. It was written in Ruby on Rails by our team, but we needed to develop an Android application with backend integration, which was done by Arty Geek. They also developed and supported a native iOS game on behalf of a German client.

Our own product owner was in charge of the Scrum and delivery process. We have used one or two iOS and Android developers and a project manager from Arty Geek’s side. We paid them on a time-and-materials basis.

How did you come to work with Arty Geek?

We found them through a recommendation from someone on the Ukrainian market around 1½ years ago.

How much have you invested with Arty Geek?

The cost of Arty Geek’s work has been around $30,000 so far. The cost of one software developer is $3,700 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Arty Geek in September 2016. We continue to use their iOS development services for a project which was started in November. The contract has been extended until June 2017.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I am not aware of details of the Android project around quality assurance, acceptance, and delivery, but I know that the final customer was satisfied. There were some bugs, but Arty Geek fixed them and only billed us for project management — not the QA and the bug-fixing process itself.

I’ve been overall satisfied with Arty Geek over both of our projects. I would definitely work with Arty Geek again.

How did Arty Geek perform from a project management standpoint?

Their account and project managers are very responsive. They provided hour-by-hour estimates in the beginning, which were completely accurate. However, we had a strange situation with invoicing at one point.

For the second project, we worked with the client directly for project management, task setting, and briefings. Arty Geek handled HR details, invoicing, and so on. They worked on a dedicated, outsourced team model.

What did you find most impressive about Arty Geek?

There are many firms that feel the need to ping the client each day and ask questions just to be visible. Arty Geek hasn’t done this; they only appear when it’s really needed. They ask questions and do the work. It’s a self-guided process which doesn’t require micromanagement on our part.

Are there any areas Arty Geek could improve?

We tried to involve them in one more project, but couldn’t do so because of the level of UI/UX expertise on Arty Geek’s end. The product owner was not satisfied with the look of their applications, but that was just the opinion of one person.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company that buys and sells domain names. I also build websites that I can monetize in some way.

What challenge were you trying to address with Arty Geek?

I needed a website design for a new project. I was looking for a nice layout and skin.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was talking with the head of Arty Geek, and I showed him the design I had. He told me that the design I had was bad and that he could make it better. In 2 or 3 days, he came back with a design that was better than what I had. Then, they also did a site build. He proposed a mockup of the design for free. I was not looking for programming because they didn’t have the type of programmers I needed. Arty Geek just did design work for me and made the site build in CSS and HTML. They have to showcase it on their own server to make sure it works in all browsers. We’ve built multiple projects together, involving mobile-responsive sites. I was using Django and still am, but Arty Geek doesn’t have developers for that. I was striving to get designs that are simple and easy to use. The sites are content-based, travel-related, or graphic design-related for downloading free graphic files.

How did you come to work with Arty Geek?

I found them on Elance.

How much have you invested with Arty Geek?

I’ve spent a few thousand dollars with them over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in December of 2014, and the work is ongoing. We are currently working on a project that allows journalists to publish content daily. 

What did you find most impressive about Arty Geek?

Their designs were really good. I was already doing designs but decided to work with them after seeing their skills.

Are there any areas Arty Geek could improve?

It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with them on a daily basis, so I don’t remember precise details. I’m sure they’re completely different now.