Backpack Interactive

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of SciQuiry, an education tech company focused on the STEM learning of K-12 students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Backpack Interactive?

I needed help with branding our company, so I turned to Backpack Interactive.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I sought Backpack Interactive’s expertise to help me come up with a name, logo, and color palette for my startup. I also asked them to develop a landing page as part of the contract.

What is the team composition?

I was in touch with the CEO and one lead designer.

How did you come to work with Backpack Interactive?

I looked online for a company that specifically worked in the tech space. Backpack Interactive was one such company. Their website was nice and their portfolio featured big names in the tech industry. I sent them an email asking if they could take on a small project for startup and they agreed.

How much have you invested with them?

The whole project cost $17,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from January–March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the landing page that Backpack Interactive developed. It was very basic. Even the branding and designs, once they were presented to me, didn't strike me as the work of an experienced or professional artist. I was disappointed and thought maybe they were handing off all of the work to the intern who they brought mid-way into the project

I did email their CEO about the matter. I expected more because their website itself looked really nice. I was told that the simplistic design was apt for the type of startup that I was running, even though it was not what we had discussed in the beginning. 

What did Backpack Interactive do to address the challenges?

I tried sending the landing page to my friends and to other designers just to gather their feedback. Across the board, the comments I received were negative. The color palette, too, was very neutral. 

Besides the fact the whole process took so long, I was also having trouble getting ahold of their team. I would email them to schedule a Zoom call, only to have them postpone at the last minute. At that point, I called the CEO and explained that we just weren’t on the same page. I decided to call that partnership quits. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to assign more experienced artists to projects like this.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do a lot of research prior to hiring Backpack Interactive. My mistake was that I should have asked for a list of their customers and called those customers directly instead of relying solely on their portfolio.