Caboodle UX/UI Studio

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology & Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. I am the Director of the Clinical Program at a Center in these departments called Neuroscape.

For what projects/services did your company hire Caboodle UX/UI Studio?

We needed Design & prototypes for Parent / Student / Teachers / Case managers for a dashboard for an existing application.

How did you select this vendor?

We had another vendor that failed, and left us hanging after starting the project. Caboodle came in and hit the ground running so that we made our deadline!

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

Chris and Lucy are incredible listeners and were able to take our half-baked thoughts and turn them into beautiful designs They were very efficient in accomplishing our design goals and made small changes that had profound impact on the overall design Their efficiency resulted in a quick turnaround time for updates and ultimately kept costs down for our budget It was truly a pleasure to work with them

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

We worked directly with Chris & Lucy on this one.

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

They were very efficient in accomplishing our design goals and made small changes that had profound impact on the overall design Their efficiency resulted in a quick turnaround time for updates and ultimately kept costs down for our budget It was truly a pleasure to work with them

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Incredible. They were so fast and efficient. The results are fantastic and everyone enjoyed looking at and interacting with this version.

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

Speed and ability to interpret our ideas into actual, thoughtful, beautiful work.

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

none

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing at Reading Rep Theatre, a professional production theater and cultural hub in the center of Reading.

What challenge were you trying to address with Caboodle UX/UI Studio?

We hired Caboodle to create a website in line with the launch of our new brand, business model, and theater space. Our main goal was to have a website that could readily evolve with our continuously growing organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Caboodle created our website from scratch. We had an existing website prior to this engagement, but it was on a different platform so the team built a new one on WordPress. They took charge of the backend development, the CMS integration, and the frontend design, for which we provided our logo, color palette, and whole brand guideline. 

Today, Caboodle hosts and continuously updates our website with new functionalities. 

What is the team composition?

We’re working with the two founders of Caboodle. 

How did you come to work with Caboodle UX/UI Studio?

They were already partnered with Reading Rep Theatre before I joined in. I believe our company originally decided to work with them because we liked their business model and professional working standards. We felt really at home with them. They’re linked to the areas that we currently exist in and they provide wonderful quotes and discounts, which we’ve found helpful seeing as we’re a small organization and a registered charity. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent upwards of £25,000 (approximately $33,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Caboodle started working with us around September 2020. We now have them on a monthly retainer.

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

We’ve had no complaints at all from any person who’s been using the website. Across the board, our website has been thoroughly well-received by audience members. The site itself has become the primary channel through which our audiences interact with us; they’re able to book tickets, learn about new events, and even purchase merchandise there. 

How did Caboodle UX/UI Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Caboodle has been able to fix the problems that arise within the website. We constantly need to update features on it, and their team makes the necessary installations to increase the site’s functionality. We can’t fault them; they deliver on time and within budget and are incredibly flexible with any amendments. Our most recent project had a tight deadline, but they were able to add a whole different element to the site’s build at the very last minute. 

They offer a fantastic one-to-one client service, so we normally communicate over email, phone calls, or video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Caboodle also is incredibly good at what they do, and their products and services are second to none. I’ve worked in marketing for many years, but I’ve never seen such a highly personalized client service like theirs. It’s all bespoke, and they’re very attentive towards their customer. 

They can impact any idea that I have with their creativity and imagination. I always feel supported and inspired to move our website in the right direction.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I know of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Open up as an organization and clearly communicate what you need, where you want to go, and what your long-term plans are. Be receptive to Caboodle’s input as well because their strength is in being able to guide and impact your next steps as an organization. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the associate director of UX at Ipsos Mori — a global research agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Caboodle UX Studio?

We needed to bring our research to life.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We conducted a piece of research and then involved Caboodle in the analysis. They reviewed our analysis to learn about the story we wanted to tell. Based on the analysis, their team developed a format for the report with us using Airtable. They structured the research to ensure the analysis's clarity.  We collaborated with Caboodle on the research's format, and their team helped make each report's story clear. They took the analysis in the database and turned it into visualizations.

We also worked together on a one-off project for a client who needed a prototype and wanted to conduct iterative testing. Caboodle developed a plan to build 15 different variations and ensure the prototype met different markets' regulations. They built a functional prototype and tested it. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with two people from Caboodle. They were the lead UX designers.

How did you come to work with Caboodle UX Studio?

A previous colleague worked with them and therefore recommended them to us. Our approval process was notoriously difficult, so after the success of the first project, it wasn’t worth the pain of trying to sign another design agency. We then continued to use them as our default agency.

How much have you invested with them?

On their ongoing work, we spent probably £20,000–£30,000 (approximately $28,000–$42,000 USD). We spent a similar amount on our one-off project.

What is the status of this engagement?

I joined the company in January 2019, and the relationship already existed. The company likely brought them on board in 2018, and the partnership lasted until 2020.

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

Caboodle shone a light on our research, making the reports much more engaging for our clients. Their designs were slick and exciting. During our partnership, we regularly received nearly perfect scores from clients.

Clients shared the reports with their stakeholders. One client shared that someone approached her for a copy of a report that she presented four months prior to the conversation. She was amazed because that previously never happened.

When we presented our reports to new clients, they found them impressive. Caboodle's work was a helpful business development tool.  

How did Caboodle UX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated through emails and phone calls. That was always smooth. Caboodle always gave us realistic timelines and delivered on time. They also told us when their team needed more time. That was fantastic because I always felt that I was in the loop.

I can’t think of a single time when I had to revise the cost of a project. By the time we worked on the larger project, we had reached a point when we could accurately predict costs.

As we worked together almost every month, we figured out the best way to collaborate. They made a lot of suggestions, which was helpful. Their team was proactive in telling us how we could improve, which helped us deliver more meaningful reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their open-mindedness was most impressive to me. Their team was willing to try different ideas and suggest different methods to us. They didn’t just follow our process. Rather, they iterated and improved on it. They felt like partners rather than just suppliers. We had a good back and forth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

By the time I left, I couldn’t think of any area for improvement. The more we worked together, the smoother the process became.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I found it helpful to not be too specific about the process by the end of my time with them. Leave space for Caboodle to make suggestions. In the beginning, I was more prescriptive. By the end, I mostly presented ideas and allowed them to make suggestions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former UX Research Director of Ipsos MORI. They’re a global market research company known for their polling data. I worked there until March 2020, and my last project with them was also with Caboodle.

What challenge were you trying to address with Caboodle UX Studio?

We were running a $350,000 global project for which we needed some design and prototype support from Caboodle.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The deliverable was a prototype application that they designed off of a specification from our client. We then did research off the back of the prototype. The goal was to test our client’s various designs to see how they worked in real life. The apps weren’t connected to any database or anything but they were fully functional that we put in front of users for them to test. Caboodle designed and built the prototypes.

We’d used them in the past, and they were very used to being flexible — iterating on the fly. This skill was very important in this case. We knew our first prototype wasn’t going to be perfect, so we staggered our research so Caboodle could update the prototype along the way between research sessions. This helped us end up with the perfect prototype to test.

The second part of their role was to create a website that stored the design principles and guidelines the client landed on. The client originally wanted the guidelines in a PDF but Caboodle suggested using a website to solve issues the client had had previously. They took a lot more control of that phase of the project. We stood back once the research had been done.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people, Chris (Co-Founder) and Lucy (Co-Founder). Tom (Developer) did a lot of the building work. Most of my communication was with Lucy and Chris, both of whom came to the workshops we ran.

How did you come to work with Caboodle UX Studio?

Our boss was quite keen to use them, and I’d known of them through a friend. We tried them out initially a few years previously and they were very good, so we kept using them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly £75,000–£80,000 ($98,500–$105,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them on the prototyping project from August 2019 until March 2020. They’re continuing the project now, however, though I am no longer with the company.

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

They were very flexible, as well as keen to try new things, which we really valued. By the time we were choosing a partner to build out the prototype we knew they’d already given us some really useful ideas, like using a new table to help with analysis. They’d also helped us design new ways of writing reports. In fact, a lot of ways we found to be innovative as a team were at least seeded, if not supported, by Caboodle. They helped us push ourselves, which pleases our clients.

This project was a bit more standard, to be honest. What they excelled at in this effort was creating a prototype that was identical to the designs. There were no blips or bugs. What we signed off on came back to us pixel-perfect; it worked exactly how we wanted it to work. Their management and QA work made our experience seamless. Our client was very demanding, and Caboodle helped that process go very easily.

How did Caboodle UX Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Along with coming to our workshops, they came to some of our research sessions. They were very skilled at slotting into our team. I never had any problems keeping in touch with them. I run a tight ship and there were no blockers from them. It all went smoothly on that front. Our clients were delighted with Caboodle as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We only gave them one week to update the prototypes based on the first round of research and they took it in stride, meeting the deadline. They’re agile, and you can tell that they care about the work. They also have the brains and the guts to back it up. It makes for a really easy working partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Possibly, by default, when they’re preparing pitches for work, they should offer to get involved because I had to suggest it a lot. It may be good if they offered it more to other clients because they’re good at it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I used to be a designer as well, and I know you can get clients that are very prescriptive. Caboodle would cope with a client like that very well, but we flourished when we allowed them to help with our strategies. Give them freedom and don’t be too prescriptive.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a freelance producer and director in the creative industries.

For what projects/services did your company hire Caboodle UX Studio?

I wanted to create a new portfolio site to highlight previous work and raise awareness of upcoming projects.

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

After reviewing several proposals, I selected Caboodle because of their experience, professionalism and reliability.

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

After a series of meetings to discuss the project and requirements, the Caboodle team created a brand book and prototype to propose ideas. After discussion and approval, they created the site and we went through two rounds of notes. It was fast and efficient, and the results high-quality.

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

I worked with two people.

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

They created a modern, functional website that has impressed colleagues, partners and investors. Site traffic has increased 80%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were very good communicators and it was easy to discuss ideas. They always delivered on time.

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

I was most impressed by their creative skills and technical knowledge, their ability to clearly communicate ideas and concepts and their reliability.

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

No areas for improvement - the whole process and outcome was excellent.