Creative27

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m an entrepreneur developing a mobile app for the fashion design and retail industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creative27?

I needed an app design partner to develop my app’s UX and UI.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to build a mobile app that was community based and targeted specific user demographics.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I considered a total of five developers – three domestic and two international – trying to balance both cost and quality for design and development of UX/UI wireframes.

Describe the project in detail.

C27 was onboarded for iOS UX/UI design – I’m considering Android at the moment. The deliverables were wireframes and an interactive prototype.

What was the team composition?

My main point of contact was the Director of UX/UI Design, who was supported by a project manager and others.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Design is a top priority for us, and how our app looks is equally important as how it works. The C27 team emphasizes a comprehensive, appealing UX/UI experience, paying special attention to both cosmetics and an intuitive UX. At each project milestone, C27 deliverables are consistent with our goals and priorities, which provided us confidence that C27 understood what our design expectations were.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

C27 prioritizes on project management and communication. The CEO was organized, proactive, and transparent throughout the project lifecycle. We greatly appreciated his commitment to establishing expectations and delivering on target and on time. Their turnaround time for questions is typically less than two hours; and he maintains flexibility to work around our busy schedule.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

C27’s ability to identify opportunities and potential risks provides invaluable business advice beyond their simple app development role. Although they also work with Fortune 500 clients, he treats entrepreneurs and start-ups, such as ourselves, with an equal level of respect and attention.

One of their greatest strengths is their ability to translate technical terminology into plain English for non-technical clients like ourselves. They possess a plethora of best practices gleaned from working with clients in a broad spectrum of industries. They’ve been genuinely interested in our mobile app idea from start to finish.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We haven’t noticed any significant issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a casting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Creative27?

We needed help with the entire process from planning and visualization to QA and deployment.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build an engaging mobile and web app to streamline the casting process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I spoke to about five different firms, but right from the start, Creative27’s CEO gave me a great impression. His firm showed a genuine interest in and desire to understand our project.

Describe the project in detail.

They’ve provided a full-suite of services including defining our product, research and discovery –UX and UI design, interactive prototyping, development, and QA. They also helped us with the launch and continue to help with ongoing support.

What was the team composition?

Our main contact was Vasile, the CEO, but there’s also a designated team of designers and developers working on our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched the app yet, as we’re still working out the marketing strategy, but we consider the build to be a complete success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I travel a lot, so meeting times had to be constantly adjusted to fit my schedule, but it has never been a problem. We mostly communicated on Slack, outside of our two, weekly progress meetings. We also used InVision to share all of our design ideas. All of our contact was funneled simply and clearly through one person.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The Creative27 team has amazing experience and knowledge. The speed with which questions or concerns are answered and addressed is amazing. I always feel secure that I’m being advised in the right direction.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of any areas that they could improve at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a mobile marketplace. I am one of the co-founders of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creative27?

We wanted to fine-tune and redefine the UI/UX of our app. We had already built a very basic prototype, and presented it with the intention of Creative27 polishing it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We plan to develop the app for iOS and Android, but Creative27 has only designed our iOS UI/UX. Before starting the project, Creative27 performed a simple competitor analysis, looking at other apps offering similar services to ours, and presenting different approaches to us.

We needed a specialized group that could redesign our app. Our CTO created a very basic prototype, which we presented to Creative27 in order for them to understand the concepts we were going for, the vision we had, and the flow we wanted to achieve. Creative27 took that prototype and rebuilt it, keeping the same underlying vision.

We had one main point of contact from Creative27. I don’t know how many people worked on our project on the backend, but I believe it was between two and three.

The app is a marketplace for service providers which operate in four different lifestyle categories: fitness, food, style, and social. The idea is that the people offering services in any of these four categories can list their profile on our platform, set their own schedule and rates, and market to their existing clientele through different social media platforms, in order to be booked. The app takes care of payments, scheduling, meetup points, communication and everything in-between.

How did you come to work with Creative27?

We did an online search, initially looking for someone who could take care of UI/UX design as well as full development. We saw some of Creative27’s past work and liked it from a design perspective. We had a few phone calls, and their principal showed us the method they use: breaking development into two parts. The first one consists of defining the product, looking at competitors, UI/UXs that have worked in the past, and starting the process from there.

We did look at other development shops, but we liked Creative27’s approach of defining the product for us, making sure that there would be no gaps in our thoughts, and the flows we wanted to achieve. No other company had the same approach. Most of them would take on a project with the intent of developing, but it didn’t seem like this was Creative27’s number one priority. They didn’t want to push for a full development right out of the gates, but rather define the product, and make sure that everyone was happy with that process. Then, if everything went smoothly, the next step would be to do the actual development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Creative27 in September 2016. The project was completed in February 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Creative27 provided an InVision prototype that we could load on our phones. We’re using it for display purposes, showing it to investors and to actual development companies with the intention of building a real-life working app.

We had a basic prototype, so Creative27 defined the majority of our user experience. As we continued with the development firm we chose, there were additional screens and flows which had to be accounted for, but around 75% of the work was completed by Creative27.

From a quality perspective, the design was well-received. Everyone we showed it to was impressed by it. A few flows were not thought of, but, given the complexity of our app, Creative27’s work was very high.

How did Creative27 perform from a project management standpoint?

Our contact was on top of everything, from the scheduling of the meetings to letting us know what would be completed each week. The responsiveness was great, with our email being answered within minutes, usually. The main form of communication was GoToMeeting, through which we had screen shares, and saw what Creative27 had been working on. We initially saw wireframes, and, once that step was done, Creative27 started the actual design. Every week, we got to see what updates they completed.

We put very tough guidelines on them, with a very specific budget and timeframe. Towards the end, the schedules weren’t matching up as much as we were hoping, and some parts were not thought about, but I don’t think anyone had had the foresight to think of those. Everything turned out great in the end.

What did you find most impressive about Creative27?

They’re great designers. Going into it, we realized that Creative27 is more of a UI/UX design shop than an actual development one. From what we understood, the majority of their designers are based overseas, and their principal’s expertise is definitely in design. When it comes to the more technical side, there is another team member whom he utilizes.

Are there any areas Creative27 could improve?

From a scheduling standpoint, towards the end, we started feeling that the project was becoming rushed. It may be because of the amount initially quoted to us, and Creative27 may not have realized how much work would be involved. Towards the end, it seemed that they had other projects which had to be started or continued, so it seemed like Creative27 wanted to close our project and get to the next steps. It’s not that they didn’t want to continue with our project, but the initial expectation was a bit different to what ended up happening, from a scheduling standpoint. Instead of four months, the project ended up taking five or six because of all the changes and adjustments which needed to be made.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Creative27?

Not particularly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Howard Mcintosh: Deter Creations is a mobile application development company, and our product name is TiltSwitch.

Clarence Forrester: It's a location-based platform where you have artists, producers, engineers, singers, and songwriters come into a community and communicate. In the community, a lot of times, people are looking to work and collaborate. It's a difficult process because you don't know where everybody is, or everybody's scattered around. We wanted to find common ground to accommodate the desire to work in a great environment. That's how we came about creating TiltSwitch—to have something innovative and ready for the marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creative27?

Howard Mcintosh: We were trying to create a mobile application, and do something that nobody has ever done before.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Howard Mcintosh: We were both very hands-on. Creative27 had a very large involvement inside of our project. We had weekly meetings every Tuesday, going over the wireframes, UI [user interface], functionalities, typography, color schemes, and mood boards. We used Omnigraffle, Hibox, and two other technologies. It’s a native app for iOS alone for now. All they do for us is strictly app development. We have our marketing firm we're going with. Right now, we have in our possession an interactive prototype.

Clarence Forrester: We’re implementing a location-based service and in-app messaging to encourage collaboration. We’re also adding a "who's hot this week” and "who's hot this month," along with a category to show off top performers inside of our app. We haven’t gone through beta or QA testing yet. We've interacted with the interactive prototype for a week, and we’re now going to seek investment from investors.

How did you come to work with Creative27?

Howard Mcintosh: We saw Creative27 while going through other firms. They were the most appealing to us because of the awards (e.g., CES 2016 Innovation Award) they've won in the past. We thought they were the best candidates to bring the app to life.

How much have you invested with Creative27?

Howard Mcintosh: It’s been around $25,000. We have a remainder of $100,000 for the actual functionality of the app, so the total cost will be $120,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

Howard Mcintosh: We started February 5th, 2017. Last week we received the actual interactive prototype that we can bring to investors. Development of the app is ongoing. The completion of the entire app itself, with the wireframes and everything else completed, will be in another two and a half months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clarence Forrester: We were just delighted to work with Creative27 on this. In the beginning stages, we were seeking out an agency, and they stood out. Their work was very clean and professional. They just had a different look about the way their projects came out. We wanted to team up and work with Creative27 to bring our vision to life. Not only did they do that but they exceeded that, and we're more than grateful for that. We've been looking forward to the future expanding, building, and adding on to what we have already created.

How did Creative27 perform from a project management standpoint?

Clarence Forrester: Creative27 has been on time and punctual. We used Hibox for communication and project management. If we did have any questions, they were right on top of it and made the adjustment right away. We didn't have to wait for anything. On our end, that's how we like to work as well; we're very punctual and get the job done. Teaming up and finding someone that can actually mirror those same attributes were very beneficial to the entire project.

What did you find most impressive about Creative27?

Clarence Forrester: Their graphic work, their punctuality, their willingness to take it on as their own and bring it to the market, and show off for us a little bit; has all been impressive. They're doing a great job at that, and we're positive that we're going to be able to create a leverage where we can get an award, as they’ve done plenty of times in the past.

Are there any areas Creative27 could improve?

Clarence Forrester: Honestly, I have nothing to suggest. Creative27 is one of the top leading digital agencies in California, and I think that's for a reason. They've been very helpful on any problem, and we definitely want to work with them in the future on any other projects.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Creative27?

Clarence Forrester: If you have an idea, jump on it as soon as possible. You’ve got the right team to bring it to life for you and will get you out of your comfort zone and procrastination.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work on content partnerships and live social media marketing for a multinational conglomerate focused on consumer electronics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creative27?

We needed help creating the UI [user interface] and UX [user experience] design for a new tablet, phone, and TV application which we were developing. It was intended for people watching Netflix-type content, but also for linear television.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We put product requirements together on our side and delivered them to Creative27's team, who created a new UI. We did have an in-house design but wanted to add more functionalities to it, while simplifying the user experience at the same time. This is where Creative27 really helped us, reducing the amount of screen necessary for onboarding and cramming more features at the right time. We have also worked with Creative27 on a product video. Everything was channeled through Vasile Tiplea, their product director. I don't know how many people worked on our project.

Creative27 didn't provide any marketing services for us, although I do know that this is something they offer. We didn't need this at the time since we had those resources in-house.

Our internal team did the development.

How did you come to work with Creative27?

Creative27's founder was my art director at a previous company. When I joined my current group, I brought Creative27 along. We considered other companies, but I knew that Vasile and his team would be the right fit for our needs.

How much have you invested with Creative27?

The cost of Creative27's work was around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Creative27 in October 2012. The project duration was at least six months, ending in September 2013. We kept in touch for on-and-off maintenance work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Creative27's work was great. We initially engaged on a one-on-one basis with Vasile Tiplea for some creative work for marketing. The relationship kept growing, and more departments kept leveraging their services. The quality of the work was always spot on, and Creative27's communication was effective as well.

How did Creative27 perform from a project management standpoint?

Creative27 has always tried to get as much information upfront as possible and were good at asking the right questions. They challenged us to provide this information ahead of time. After we had agreed on a direction, Creative27 started the work and gave us constant status updates. If I ever have a need for this type of project, I will definitely hire Creative27 again.

What did you find most impressive about Creative27?

The ease of collaboration was what I found most impressive. Beyond just hiring Creative27 for my company, I knew Vasile Tiplea as a person, since he was my creative director. The reason for continuing to work with him was his ability to define the scope of projects and flexibility in reorienting the work. The quality of Creative27's work and their delivery time were also remarkable.

Are there any areas Creative27 could improve?

I've worked with other creatives which sometimes came up with mind-blowing results based on very little direction from us but also delivered completely wrong designs. Creative27's team prefers to have as much information as possible upfront. Vasile drives the process and the scope of the project. That may have changed, but they were not known for the free-flow of the collaboration at the time. This is not necessarily a negative comment; it was simply the experience I had with them. A little bit of craziness was missing, like giving them carte blanche and a budget to come up with a completely different design.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Creative27?

There is an opportunity for pushing the envelope with Creative27. They're very good at filling clients' requests, but they need to be pushed a bit in order to go outside of the boundaries. I've worked with other agencies who were better in this regard. There needs to be a balance between the artistic and creative aspects, and the integration with APIs and other technicalities, so there is a limit regarding how creative we can be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Carunify

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Carunify is an Internet marketplace platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Creative27 to accomplish?

• Mobile App Development for internet marketplace platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Creative27?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Creative27 over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Creative27 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Creative27 developed a mobile app for us starting with a thorough study of user requirements and ending with the creation and development of a strong and eye catching user interface, the scope of the work included developing features like forums and groups for community engagement, they also created a communication channel integration to link users with dealers and service providers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen a significant increase in app downloads and user transactions, additionally our user experience has been enhanced

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

Their project manager was on point, he kept us informed of potential issues and also ensured that the whole project went on smoothly

What was your primary form of communication with Creative27?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were highly organized and committed to making sure that we were progressing with the project and that the entire project was a success

Are there any areas for improvement or something Creative27 could have done differently?

Although they were issues that came up but they handled the issues professionally

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Company Owner of Loyalty and Rewards

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Advertising and Marketing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Creative27 to accomplish?

• Mobile App Development for Loyalty Rewards Company

SOLUTION

How did you find Creative27?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Creative27 over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Creative27 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We explained our goal and our project. They first comprehend our needs and desires. They instantly offered recommendations on how we may develop it based on our needs. Following all on the debate,they got to work on its right way. The quickly provided essential deliverables (wall, users, admins, profiles, etc).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the project, we received 2 awards : Sabanci Altinyaka and the Brandon Hall Award. This app continues to be the most helpful one in our organization. Creative27 created an app that exceeded our expectations.

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

Without a doubt, they are using agile project management techniques, and their turnaround times have surpassed expectations

What was your primary form of communication with Creative27?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Creative27 is a company with true ethics. They produced work of extraordinarily high calibre and fulfilled all deadlines with remarkable communicaion skills. We were thrilled with the outcome; their candid advice was priceless.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Creative27 could have done differently?

I'm not sure what I can say, but they don't need to improve on anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of OurCalling

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Non-Profit Organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Creative27 to accomplish?

• Mobile App Development

SOLUTION

How did you find Creative27?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Creative27 over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Creative27 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We wanted Creative 27 to create an native app for android and ios devices using existing data and designs, it uses location features, and they delivered a high quality product on time and at cost effective rates

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app has garnered users all over the world, it remains popular with our core audience, we are also looking to push a new version through the app's store review process

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

They excel at communication and meeting deadlines, they were highly professional, responsive, and available and we appreciate that

What was your primary form of communication with Creative27?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Aside from building outstanding apps, they are highly flexible and creative, there is no challenge that they cannot handle.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Creative27 could have done differently?

We are highly satisfied with our collaboration with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co Founder of Pugnacious, llc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Marketing Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Creative27 to accomplish?

• Mobile App Development for Marketing Service Company

SOLUTION

How did you find Creative27?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Creative27 over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Creative27 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We encoutered a major challenge which was the user experience. During Customer Validation, we found out that while people appreciated the functinality, they were highly dissatisfied with the user Interface. That's when we turned to Creative27, seeking to create an app that is both intuitive and visually appealing for users and they did absolutely well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Positive feedback has been received since the development of the app began and everything is absolutely amazing.

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

They frequently finish projects ahead of time and reliably satisfy deadlines

What was your primary form of communication with Creative27?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They consistently deliver on time, have fantastic communication, and produce designs that are simply amazing.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Creative27 could have done differently?

Nothing of such