C42D

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and COO of a healthcare services platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We were looking for a branding agency to create a full-circle approach for our brand, including strategy, identity, UX design, and website marketing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D has developed a complete brand identity for us, including our brand name, strategy, communications approach, story, visual identity, logo, photography, and brand guidelines, among other items. The team has been in charge of guiding focus groups.

Additionally, they’ve designed our marketing website, a blog, and marketing and collateral using Figma.

What is the team composition?

We mainly interact with the founder and two project managers from C42D

How did you come to work with C42D?

I found them on Clutch and contacted them to collaborate on this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2022, and our collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

C42D has completed a set of deliverables by the deadline. Their communication skills and timeline management are great, as is their ability to pivot as the project progresses. I’m also happy with the quality of C42D’s work — they’ve delivered everything in a great way.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at project management. We primarily communicate via email, and we also use Slack and Zoom. Since C42D is located in New York, the entire project is remote, and the team has been incredibly accommodating. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

C42D is great at working with startups and helping us create our vision and visual identity. They have an incredible understanding of our audience and challenges. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything has been good, so I have no complaints. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend working with C42D —  you can’t go wrong.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder and CEO of When. We've developed a novel employee benefit that helps workers afford health insurance after an involuntary job loss.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire C42D, and what were your goals?

As a startup in the employee benefit space, we felt it was critical to have a company name and branding that accurately reflected the problem our business was solving. We weren't happy with our existing company name as it potentially created negative connotations for target clients. We needed C42D to help us create a new company name, and develop our brand identity to take to market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of our west coast investors gave us three highly regarded potential brand agencies, C42D being one of them. Our leadership team interviewed all three agencies and we settled on C42D because we felt confident in their ability to hit our timelines and work within our budget.

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

We went through a lengthy discovery process where they learned about our business and the problem we're solving. They spent a lot of time learning about the employee benefit space, how it works, possible competitors, and how we wanted to enter the market.

Their main priority was developing a new company name, and a brand identity that was aligned with our mission. They also identified a domain that worked with our new name, and built our marketing website. The main steps for our project:

1. discovery
2. develop a brand strategy
3. create a new company name
4. create a logo
5. build a brand identity
6. develop the website

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

The CEO and founder, David, was involved in most of our discovery, strategy and naming meetings. Ashley led the efforts on strategy and naming. Christa was the project manager involved in all steps of the project. Alison led the efforts with the logo. TJ led the effort on developing our website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In our opinion the project was an absolute success. Our new company name, logo and brand identity perfectly reflect the image we wanted and needed. Our investors were thrilled with the outcome, and our business partners and clients love our name and branding.

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

I was impressed with their weekly meetings and weekly status documents they sent out (pdf with a project timeline/gantt and where they stood with in the timeline). They ran the meetings effectively, and didn't waste our team's time with unnecessary calls. It was fairly common to have a meeting done ahead of schedule, and we got off the call early, and then receive a follow up meeting with the project status. No complaints with how they ran the project.

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

C42D impressed with a good blend of creativity and project management. I've seen plenty of creative projects that were mismanaged and ran inexplicably past timelines, but C42D was professional in both their management and ability to deliver a truly creative solution for us.

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

The sharing of PDF status documents gets a little messy. I think using a better online project collaboration tool would be beneficial.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO. The Humane Space is an education and wellness company that connects adults to curiosity, lifelong learning and introspection.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire C42D, and what were your goals?

We hired C42D to help us with all aspects of brand development from logo design/development to website design/development to app UI design. They've been a partner to us at every stage of our business development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed a number of companies all across the US. I found their work to be exceptional and their team to be a natural fit for ours.

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

We had a number of discover and brainstorming sessions for their team to understand our business and what we are trying to do. We held multiple strategy sessions and reviews of work on all projects. Final deliverables included a brand guide, logo application, color palette, website design and development, app UI screens and more.

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

I worked primarily with 3 team members, but a total of 8 helped at various stages.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am continually complimented on our logo and brand visuals. I've never heard any negative comments about their work, it's always positive. They took a tough challenge and created something beautiful and functional.

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

We held regular meetings. The project manager was fantastic and kept the projects on track. I found the communication to be much better than with other firms I've worked with in the past. They completed all projects in a timely fashion.

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

I think the creative director was a genius. The work was always original and forward-thinking. I think the project manager was a pleasure to work with. We have an ongoing relationship that I can see continuing for years to come.

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

I don't think so, no.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My role is Chief Marketing Officer and we offer software that is an easy-to-use patient engagement solution that helps build lasting patient relationships, optimizes staff time and satisfaction, and saves money by transforming patient communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire C42D, and what were your goals?

We hired C42D to help develop a new visual identity for the company. Our old branding was a mash-up between two different products and had not been updated in a long time.

Our goal was to update our visual identity so that it was professional, energetic, and scalable to our different customers (SMB, Mid-Market and Enterprise)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

C42D was recommended by a contractor we were working with. They were reasonably priced and were able to move quickly.

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

The scope of work was to develop a new brand identity that included 3 mood boards.

Complete Brand Identity System Includes:

• Update/ Refine Color Palette
• Logo Color Update
• Brand Mark & Usage Guidelines
• Color Palette Hierarchy & Usage
• Color Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG Level AA)
• Font Selection and Licensing Instructions
• Refresh Icon Style

Library of Graphic Elements:

• Iconography, Pattern, Shapes
• Photography Guidelines
• Notional Examples of Brand in-Use
• Brand Guidelines (PDF) Along with specific brand applications, including PPT template, letterhead, business cards, sales sheet template, etc.

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

4-5 including the CEO, Project Manager, Designer, and Art Director

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in the process of implementing our new brand, so no results yet.

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

Email was the tool used more frequently to communicate. Meetings were scheduled efficiently around pre-agreed upon timelines. They were efficient and stayed on schedule. They were also flexible when we needed a little more time and when we asked for another round of options.

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

They deliver great work and were very efficient. They were reasonable to work with, took feedback well, and provided good recommendations.

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

I don't have any constructive criticism.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of people and culture for a boutique commercial real estate company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

There was a lack of a clear look and feel to our brand, so we decided to hire a company that could help us bring our brand to life.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the engagement by providing C42D with examples of our prior work in real estate advertising. Back then, there was no consistency or cohesion within all of the branding materials across our six properties. After that, we provided them with information about our company’s mission, vision, and values.

C42D then conducted a discovery phase, trend analysis, and competitive research. They also led some workshops to determine the things that we wanted to highlight in our brand. They helped us determine what we were and what we weren't and who our target audience was. 

They then developed a brand house and a new logo for us. They also created our brand book, look and feel guidelines, tone of voice, customer profile messaging, and visual identity.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with David (Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I found C42D through Clutch. We decided to go with them for this project because of their glowing client reviews and comprehensive platform.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2019–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

C42D’s work guided us in providing more professionally outlined reporting for our financial partners. Their work has really gone across the organization, and everything that my department puts out is built out from the work that they did for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

C42D stayed committed to the project, even at times when we may not be as clear as they may have liked. They were always very collaborative and thoughtful in what they brought to the table. I also appreciated their ability to get into the heart of our organization, and there was always a good reason for all of the stylistic choices that they made for our brand.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to be clear about your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior marketing manager in the logistics and shipping industry for a technology provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We wanted to elevate the positioning and design of our brand. We’re a growing startup and were a bit amateurish in our early days, and that branding didn’t reflect who we’d grown into as a company. Our goal was to revamp our design, look and feel, positioning, and technology to not only excite customers about the brand, but also to improve our recruiting. Specifically, we were targeting computer engineers, programmers, and product managers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them direction around what we wanted in terms of the updated positioning and the narrative we wanted, as well as the logo and new design elements. They ran the process other than that, interviewing our team and going deep into understanding our business. They made recommendations after that.

They fully redesigned our website, working from scratch. The site is built on WordPress.

Regarding positioning, they updated our mission statement and vision, outlined our brand values, and created new brand assets (sales decks, design guides, business cards, etc.).

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people mainly: David (Head), who did a lot of the creative thinking around our mission, vision, and strategy, Allison (Designer) who worked on the logo and such, TJ (Developer), who handled the web development, and Krista (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I saw them listed as a best brand agency for startups and reviewed their work, both on Clutch and on other sites. After speaking with David, it felt like they had a good process in place for running this kind of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The benefits will be more clear in the long-term, but our internal company is so excited about the new look. In that past, we didn’t like how our brand looked or our website looked; people were disappointed. It’s the opposite now.

We’ve gone to a few events with this new brand, and it pops out to people. It’s clear now that we’re a very technological company. Our brand matches where we’re at as a company, which makes us feel modern, cutting-edge, and important.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. Their team tracks everything in a timeline and gave clear deadlines for everything. If we were slow, they would alert us, never dropping the ball.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design work was top-notch. Some agencies don’t do a great job, but C42D put together a high-quality design.

Additionally, they worked with us to get the job done, rather than making excuses for why they couldn’t do something according to our timelines. We told them the deadline was the end of December even though it was looking like it wouldn’t be ready until January, but rather than give me reasons it couldn’t happen they worked to align with our goals.

Finally, they managed the project well, giving updates every week and being upfront about things being delayed or pushed back. This was very helpful with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The logo took us a longer time to get right, but I think that was more about us being picky than about anything they did.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’re in good hands. Be clear with what you want. It’s worth making sure that you feel extremely good about what they’re producing. My team did a good job of nickel and diming every piece of the positioning statement, design, and logo. You’re making a large time and money investment, so these small actions are worthwhile. Ensure everything is exactly to your liking.

Also, make sure you hit your deadlines for them. We had to push those deadlines back a few times.

Lastly, try to limit the number of people involved in decisions. We had five people interacting there, but that was even too much. We streamlined the process come deadline time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Long View Talent Group. We do executive coaching, leadership development, and talent strategy. I launched the company five years ago when I wrote a book. I was still an active CEO in a big advertising corporation, but I retired at the end of 2020.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

I did many things in 2021, and I just wanted to establish the company’s corporate entity. I had a name, but I needed a logo and a reassurance website. The site needed to communicate specific values about the company. I’d already done some work on the look, but it needed to be reworked, refined, and extended into the website, as well as templates, business cards, and so on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing we did with C42D was a mood board. We gave them a background, and they returned with three alternative mood boards. In general, they were all on the mark, but we just locked in with one in particular. It set the tone, and they created a brand guideline book out of it.

Once we agreed to it, they designed the actual website, which we did in a staging site. Then, we moved into production and were ready by December 30th, 2021. As a subsequent project, we engaged them to build a corporate website for the executive coaching part of my business. We’re about to go live with that.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Christa (Project Manager); she was outstanding. TJ (Associate Designer) was the leading designer.

How much have you invested with them?

I initially gave them a budget. We spent $15,000, and there were no overages. The second project was even less expensive because it leveraged much of what the team had done on the first site.

What is the status of this engagement?

I briefed them at the beginning of November to launch before the end of December 2021. We went live in January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback has been universally positive. I started with 3–4 testimonials, and when I sent the site around, I got three more. It was reassuring to see that the site was simple, mobile-friendly, and professional. Since then, other good names have recommended my company, which was the first immediate outcome. The site has been a way to establish my credibility and get testimonials.

Secondly, I’ve used the site to reassure prospective clients that we’re a recognized, quality company — it’s helped me convert 3–4 prospects into paying customers in just one quarter. Considering I only need 10 customers a year to be comfortable, it’s a large retainer in contrast per customer. I don't need thousands of leads or a high Google ranking because the site plays a specific role, and it’s doing so exceptionally well.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was outstanding, and it was thanks to Christa. If we wanted to do a meeting, we’d discuss it back and forth to schedule it. Overall, we never really had an issue. One time, there was a piece of copy from an old version, but everybody caught it, and it wasn’t published.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their value for money was extremely good for this project. We got an excellent project for a good value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything; I had an excellent experience. In fact, I renewed our engagement, and I’ve even recommended them to other colleagues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Tell them everything you think and feel and be clear about your boundaries, especially on what’s negotiable and what isn’t. We did it, and it was beneficial because we got in sync since the first meeting. When they came back with mood boards, not all of them were on the mark. However, one in particular was, and it came back better than if they’d just done what I wanted. It was an insightful interpretation with some innovations, so their mood board process was excellent. 

Additionally, you have to be responsive and specific as a client. It’ll pay the real dividends.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company called Inecta. We offer an ERP system specifically for the food and beverage industry. We’re a Microsoft Gold Partner, and we’ve been in business for 20 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We shifted from serving multiple industries to focusing on the food and beverage industry, so we needed to rebrand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D helped us create a new look and feel for our company. They designed a brand new logo, color scheme, font, and so on.

We first had a discovery call where we went through our needs with the team. The plan was to create a cohesive branding, and the team created a two-month plan to help us accomplish this.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, two designers, and David (Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with C42D?

We found them on Clutch. We interviewed five agencies before we decided on C42D. They just had that finesse we needed, and we were confident they could make us look and feel like an established company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000–$30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from December 2020–March 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything they delivered looked great — it was a massive change for our brand, but everyone loved the new look.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was really solid — they stuck to the timeline, which was great. At some point, our side caused a delay because we were busy, but C42D was always on time.

In terms of communication, they gave us weekly reports on their progress. They also asked for feedback during those meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of C42D’s work was fantastic. They delivered in a timely fashion, too. We were so happy with the team that we engaged with them on other projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it went exceptionally well. We were delighted with their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give yourself enough time to work closely with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a venture capital firm that focuses on real estate technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We didn’t have a coherent branding strategy so we searched for a firm that could take our ethos and craft a brand around it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D combined all the ingredients related to who we were and what we were doing into a big funnel. We gave their team sketches and ideas to get started, but we wanted them to drive the ship. After that, they distilled everything into specific messages to produce our brand story and brand identity. Their work also involved designing our logo, website, and other materials.

What is the team composition?

We were working with seven people from C42D, including people responsible for website design, team communication, creative deliverables, and more. 

How did you come to work with C42D?

I did a pretty exhaustive search and I found out that one of our portfolio companies had used the services of C42D. In the end, we loved their branding work, and we liked their team — it was important that we liked the people we were going to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2020–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received positive feedback from individuals who were familiar with our previous branding — they said they liked our new branding. The team was excellent at incorporating our ideas though we were pretty adamant that the ideas should come from them because we weren’t creative people. Overall, C42D did a really good job.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

C42D did very well from a project management perspective. We communicated through Zoom, and they sent us PowerPoint presentations every week. On top of that, the team kept us informed about their progress, and we had a fairly straightforward rebranding process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills were impressive. I think we would’ve gotten great work from a number of firms, but the most important thing for us was how we were working with the team. For example, our engagement was over a long time ago, but we could still reach out to their team if we need additional help.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were times when we were underwhelmed by the creative material they produced. During those times, they were fairly adamant about their position so we had an element of tension. Perhaps, they just wanted their clients to agree with their work, but in our case, we weren’t just going to say yes because we wanted to understand the why of what they were producing.

In the venture capital world, that would be something called deal fatigue — since they were working on a project for so long, they might’ve wanted to quickly finish the project. Despite that, our overall experience was still great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you intend to work with C42D and you want to have optimal outcomes, you need to spend time with them and engage with their team. They’re not just going to do your work for you; there’s an element of work that comes from the client as well as from their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief strategy officer at InMarket, and we’re a real-time digital marketing and measurement platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We hired C42D to bring our InMarket story to life through video production and web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D helped produce explainer videos and revamp our entire website. The new website not only includes product content, but also insights and resources for clients. This is to help them learn more about trends in the market and industry. The team created interactive videos and testimonials from clients who talked about their experiences and how they’ve benefited from engaging with our solutions.

We used a couple of their tools to help provide the background around the InMarket story and value proposition. They were very helpful in conveying the tone and voice of the brand, as well as how it was presented.

We’re currently working on some new projects and additional web development enhancements.

What is the team composition?

For this project, we worked with their web development team, account management and strategy team, David (Founder & CEO), and Christa (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I was introduced to David a few years ago through a mutual contact.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent under $200,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We keep track of all our metrics and have seen a 25% increase in web traffic on the website, and several thousand views on each of our video testimonials. Apart from that, we’ve also gotten a lot of positive qualitative feedback from both clients, prospects, and other constituents across the InMarket family.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is extremely responsive and collaborative. During the web development phase, we had ongoing check-ins for timelines and updates. They were extremely good at keeping us abreast of all the work and progress and as a result, we were extremely pleased with the responsiveness, as well as the quality of their deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with the level of quality they bring to every project — it’s been refreshing and it has exceeded all of our expectations. Along with that, we also found that their work doesn’t really require a lot of revisions, and it’s been instrumental in keeping us on track in terms of timelines and deadlines.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would say the consistency on billing could be done a little better, so it’s just a matter of understanding, and being able to provide a better system for managing the billing process on the projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest aligning on the strategic direction and vision for what you’re trying to create. When you have that, you can work together in a very strong way to complete projects.