DD.NYC®

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Design Elevated, an interior design firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We wanted to start a lifestyle blog regarding architecture, interior design, fashion, travel, entertainment, health, and beauty.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a new blog website for us on WordPress from scratch. We started by going through an initial discovery phase where we explained what we were looking for. Their team gave me three different designs, and we combined them to determine the direction we’re heading now. Currently, they’re implementing all of the graphic design and building the platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with four members of their team, including Anjelika (Managing Director) and Veronica (UX Designer).

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We found them through an online search, and they were one of the top 10 best website designers.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $1,100 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done a good job getting my message out there through my web design. Also, I can tell that Anjelika comes from an artistic background, so they’re very good at bringing that talent to the table. 

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

At the moment, we’re exactly where we thought we’d be, so the budget hasn’t gone crazy. Also, whenever I want to get something changed, they help me with it. They could be a little more on point in terms of schedule because I’m busy with my work, so I don’t have time to supervise everything.

Regarding communication, we use email, Zoom, Google Meet, phone calls, and text messages — I can always get a hold of them, even on the weekends.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that they’re an all-women company. Also, their team has determination and isn’t lazy at all.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d like to have more in-person meetings, but I know that’s not on them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

DigitalDesign.NYC is your best option if you’re looking for a clean and well-design site. Also, do research and look at their work with past clients.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an independent photographer. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

DigitalDesign.NYC designed my new website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The DigitalDesign.NYC team started building my website from the ground up, and they handled everything from design to engineering. They also provided intellectual ideas on how to make the site unique and visually appealing.

At present, we’re almost done with the project. Further, the main purpose of the website is to showcase my work. Meanwhile, one section also talks about the book I wrote, while another section covers my partnership with an NGO that raises funds for orphans who lost their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the site has a multifaceted purpose and not only serves as a portfolio. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with Angelika (Managing Director) and their designers. Once the designers, Angelika, and I are on the same page, their engineers start doing what we need them to do. 

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

I’ve known Angelika and her services for years. As soon as I needed a higher-end website, DigitalDesign.NYC came to mind right away. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on this project in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. I estimate the project to be done in the first week of February 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of DigitalDesign.NYC’s work is well-known. Overall, I’ve got what I’ve paid for; I’ve also known their abilities and technical potentials. 

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is simple and straightforward. We communicate through WhatsApp and Zoom calls. They know from the beginning what I like as they show me different ideas. Overall, the team already knows what I want, so deciding on what the website should look like isn’t a long process. They’re right on the money. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to the other company I used earlier in my career, DigitalDesign.NYC is much more proficient in terms of technical abilities. They can provide anything that I want to do, so it’s been an upscale experience for me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. I have nothing negative to say about their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to develop a website, I highly recommend DigitalDesign.NYC.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for Amidi Group, a multinational investment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We hired DigitalDesign.NYC for a project concerning our residential apartment buildings in Southern California. We were trying to do a soft rebrand and redesign of our existing website for four of our locations. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DigitalDesign.NYC helped us create a new style guide while designing offline materials to complement our website. The team also created other digital marketing assets like email templates.

To elaborate, we were in a time crunch when we started the project. Anjelika (Managing Director) and Lorin (Digital Designer) went over the various aspects of our website’s design. They sent me modifications and animations while letting me choose layouts. 

During my winter break, they worked on our brand book and visual style guide. The team also created 6–8 pieces of offline marketing material, including a brochure and business cards. Moreover, a photographer took some pictures, and they used those pictures to update the website’s design. 

After I returned from my break, I found out that we had a problem with a third-party contractor. That person didn’t work for DigitalDesign.NYC, and he wasn’t producing content that was on the same level as the necessary design. As a result, I ended up in a bind. Angelika then rebuilt the site completely in two weeks. 

From there, I’ve decided to use Angelika and her team to do the hosting and maintenance of our websites. Moving forward, she’s also going to handle our ongoing marketing needs, such as social media post designs and Google Ads. I also plan to use them for some other projects. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Angelika and Lorin. Lorin mainly deals with web design and branding. There are 4–5 other people on the team, including Veronika (UX Designer). 

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

DigitalDesign.NYC was referred by the third-party contractor I hired. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $30,000 in this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in November 2021. To be specific, we completed the design by December 17th, 2021, which was close to our original deadline of December 16th, 2021. However, the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m impressed with DigitalDesign.NYC’s ability to do a rush job. I’m also grateful to Angelika because she’s saved the day by helping me rebuild our website — it wasn’t even her team’s fault that we were running behind schedule. 

Moreover, the quality of their designs is clean. They have a good grasp of our design needs relative to our industry. Their resources check the competition and apply the concepts of good design to our industry. That way, they come up with a nice and clean concept that works for our business. That’s not easy to do, but they’ve done it quickly and efficiently. 

Further, looking at other businesses that deal with residential apartment buildings in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, none of them have a website with a design as clean as ours. Our website also captures our brand essence. In other words, we stand out, thanks to the fact that we have a truly unique and high-quality website for all four of our properties in this brand. 

Overall, DigitalDesign.NYC's performance has been impressive. I’m thankful that I’ve got the opportunity to work with Angelika and her team. Since we’re a multinational conglomerate, there are other opportunities for us to work together — this is just the start of a good relationship. 

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

DigitalDesign.NYC doesn’t have a true project management system in place. Rather, we have a group chat on WhatsApp, and we communicate about the project through that. This is nice because it helps the flow of our conversations. There’s a nice group dynamic where everybody can be in the know. Other than WhatsApp, they use also Figma to let me look at templates as they create different versions of designs. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their quality of work and responsiveness distinguish them from other providers. In terms of pricing, they’re quite competitive. Other agencies are quite predatory in this industry; they’ll gouge you if they think your pockets are deep enough. By contrast, there’s no pretentiousness in DigitalDesign.NYC. 

Moreover, Angelika is truly direct; her ability to take criticism is one of her strong points. We can tear apart something she did, and she won’t take it personally. She’ll simply ask how she can do better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Angelika hasn’t done anything that negatively impacts the project; in fact, she’s helped me save it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go into the engagement with an understanding of what you truly want. DigitalDesign.NYC will help you find your vision to the degree that they can, but you should have an idea of the functionality of the website that you want to build — even if you’re not a technical person. Try to convey that idea. If you don’t have such an idea, they can’t help you come up with your business goals. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a performing artist, and I do event services such as family, private, and corporate events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

While I was developing my website through Foursquare, I found that I couldn’t overcome a lot of complications, so I moved over to Wix. In the end, I became frustrated trying to develop a Wix site on my own as well, and frankly, it was preventing me from moving ahead. I then hired DigitalDesign.NYC to help me with my site so that I could grow my business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They expanded and improved our existing website exponentially and resolved all of the technical glitches that we were experiencing. We continue to work together because there may be changes that we still need to implement on the website.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Anjelikur (Managing Director), and she has a team that supports her.

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

Wix helped me find DigitalDesign.NYC through their Wix Marketplace.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a basic website, DigitalDesign.NYC has made our platform visually stunning. Launching a website is so long and tedious, but the team has been able to fix everything. 

As a graphic designer, I’m very picky, but they’ve met all of my expectations. Overall, I’m very happy with the results of our partnership. However, I don’t have any metrics to share since we’ve just recently launched the website.

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Google Calendar to schedule our Zoom meetings, and our process has been working flawlessly. We’ve had some delays, but that’s only because I had some personal stuff to deal with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have strong communication skills, and they understand my business well. On top of that, they really care about our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have nothing to say on areas they could improve. They’re perfect.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

What worked effectively for us was the fact that we made lists on everything that we needed to accomplish. We made sure that we regularly went through the lists to check if we covered everything. As a result, my advice for potential customers is to check every page on their site and take notes to ensure that everything has been completed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business development manager for a computer software company, and I handle sales and new client onboarding as well as partnership with other companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We hired DigitalDesign.NYC to design a video recording app for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DigitalDesign.NYC mostly used Figma to design our app. Their work involved suggesting a lot of UX features such as sliders and video playback controls. While creating the features of the app, the most important thing they considered was our platform’s usability. Our app would be a little bit difficult to explain, but essentially it was a camera app that was capable of recording certain actions of users. After that, users would be able to playback to see their results.

What the team did was to enable the app to work in a variety of phones and resolutions — suggesting UI solutions for both landscape and vertical modes. In the end, they gave us a finalized prototype in Figma — a design file that was for a developer handoff.

We plan to release the app later this year. We continue to work with them because we have a few projects coming up, and there are potential opportunities we’re still trying to figure out.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with three people from DigitalDesign.NYC, including their UI/UX lead designer, owner, and another UI/UX designer.

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We looked for potential partnerships with design companies. IN the end, we were able to chat with DigitalDesign.NYC on LinkedIn.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent north of $30,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have no specific metrics, but the team has a quick turnaround. To be specific, they turn over the initial design as fast as they can — usually they accomplish it within 1–2 weeks.

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive. In fact, they have regular calls with us. We communicate using Skype, Google Meet, and WhatsApp. They’re also very detailed; we have meetings where we discuss even the project's minor details.

We also talk about industry best practices that we could apply to the project. Then, we give them our feedback on Figma. Overall, they ensure that their work fits into our vision.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re the fastest design team that we’ve worked with. Their design skills are also good because we only do very minimal adjustments to their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t really know what areas they could improve because we’re quite happy with their outputs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare clear requirements for DigitalDesign.NYC and have good documentation with them. When you come to them with something ready, they can quickly get back to you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of American Dental Ratings, a website that features dentists.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

I needed to develop apps, so I partnered with DigitalDesign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DigitalDesign has helped me design apps that capture leads online. A lot of these apps look like a chatbot. They’re intelligent in that when users ask questions, the bots answer. Depending on the answers, end users see different screens that capture the process — these are leads, which are then saved to our databases. No two bots are the same, and each product is tested over and over. These bots don’t necessarily generate leads; they simply filter them. 

What is the team composition?

I work with two people from DigitalDesign’s team. I don’t want to work with a bunch of people because it gets confusing. 

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

DigitalDesign was referred to me by another design company in San Diego. 

How much have you invested with them?

For one project, we’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000. Some projects cost higher, while others cost lower. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re mostly concerned about whether the apps are developed to specification, and DigitalDesign’s work quality is great. Their resources are great designers. 

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

DigitalDesign’s project management is great. I deal with only two individuals, and by the time the apps get to me, everything is sorted out and presented well. The products are often delivered on time, and if something goes wrong, they notify me 24 hours ahead of time. We’ve experienced a delay once, but that’s been another party’s fault and not theirs. To communicate, we use Zoom. We sometimes also use Google Meet. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their timeline management is impressive. DigitalDesign gives us a target end date, and they finish their tasks before that deadline. In other words, they’re realistic about timelines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, DigitalDesign can be picky when it comes to design, and I’m not as picky as them — I care more about the operational side of things. Meanwhile, their team changes and updates things to a point where their client doesn’t even care about it. That being said, the quality of their work is superb. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve referred DigitalDesign to individuals in the past, and each of those people is different. As a result, I usually don’t tell them anything about how to prepare for their engagement. However, I do say that DigitalDesign is a good team that can assist them in their projects. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Partner of Canto West Village, a newly founded Italian wine bar and restaurant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DigitalDesign.NYC?

We hired DigitalDesign for design work pertaining to the website and other digital media outlets.

SOLUTION

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

We looked at other group and individuals solutions to our digital design needs. Ultimately we decided that DigitalDesign.NYC understood our needs immediately and were the most innovative from a design standpoint. They offered a comprehensive suite of services through the lifecycle of the project

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

After an introductory meeting and a follow up, DigitalDesign was able to provide a few options that they thought would work for us. This ultimately allowed us hone in on our desires and really focus on getting the end product perfect.

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

In total we worked with 5 team members which included a project manager, designers, and Anjelika Kour.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They took our vision and brought it to life. While we are still in the pre-opening phase, I have no doubt this project will solidify our digital presence for this restaurant and many more to come.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very effective and efficient. There was constant communication and deadlines were met consistently.

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

I was very impressed by their depth of knowledge and understanding of our needs as a business.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO of a action video camera company called ShotKam.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DigitalDesign.NYC?

We hired Anjelika's team to design a new UI/UX for our Android and iOS mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched multiple sites and narrowed down our search to the top 5, then did multiple stages of interviews. Clutch was where we ended up finding out top two possibilities, then we went with Digital Design.NYC. We are now proceeding with web development with this team because we are so pleased.

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

Their team did a ton of independent research on our industry, asked questions about the personnas of our consumers, and thoroughly interviewed both myself and the CEO to understand our vision and needs. We worked with Marcella, Veronika, and Anjelika who each brought value to the table. Veronika is extremely detailed and passionate about the user interphase. Marcella is great with design. Anjelika kept the project moving on pace and was a wealth of knowledge on what could and could not be done with varying interphases. She was present every step of the way and worked AROUND THE CLOCK on our project. She never made excuses, but got things done on time. I've worked with plenty of vendors to know how rare that is.

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

We worked with the project manager Anjelika, designer Marcella, and UX expert Veronika.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team has designed an app that is easy-to-navigate, multi-lingual, and Apple-esque in style. By December 2021, our new app called "ShotKam" will be in the App Store so whoever is reading this can experience their work. To be honest, I was hesitant initially to hire this design team as some of the other companies had a bigger portfolio, but I couldn't be happier with our results. They have a reasonably priced and excellent service. I hope we can work alongside this team for the next decade.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communicating and execution; always on time. We had weekly Zoom meetings to see the progress and discuss questions, then we communicating on What's App if there was anything urgent.

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

As we were wrapping up the design, they did one-on-one test presentations with 5 of our customers! They tested one in Cyprus to see for any language barriers, two in the UK who are in our industry to get feedback on usability, then the rest to ensure that all ages would feel comfortable with the flow. I totally didn't expect this UX testing, but SO appreciated it!

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

No, nothing stands out as needing to improve. I thoroughly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an account manager for 3V Agency. We’re a digital advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DigitalDesign.NYC?

We needed DigitalDesign to build our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially shared all of our ideas with DigitalDesign, and then their team shared sketches of what they could do. Following the first meeting, we gave them content and graphics for our brand. They then gave us the initial version of the website's design. We gave them approval, and then their team started to build the website. After 2–3 rounds of edits, they finished the website and translated it into three different languages: Spanish, English, and Italian. Their team later worked on building a mobile version of the platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Anjelika (Founder) and several members of her team. Two people on her team managed the website’s design and development.

How did you come to work with DigitalDesign.NYC?

I met Angelika 4–5 years ago while living in New York City.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $15,000 in this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2019, and the project lasted about a year because we made changes to the website and built a mobile version. We’re still in touch with them if we need any help.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website works, including the mobile version. It’s usually hard to make animations and graphics for mobile sites but their content fits across all of the different devices. We’re happy with the website.

We’re satisfied with all of our projects with DigitalDesign. It’s always a pleasure working with them, and we’re still working together. We’ll be collaborating for a long time.

How did DigitalDesign.NYC perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team always meets deadlines. We work well together, so we’re satisfied from this point of view too. They’re a great partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re experts. We needed unique graphics and animations, and DigitalDesign made them. Their team includes people from all around the world, so they have different perspectives, expertise, and skills. They’re really creative, and I appreciate that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything’s good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend DigitalDesign for website design and development work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

One of the world's leading innovation and transformation consultancy that specializes in strategy, technology and innovation. Employing over 3500 experienced consultants, the company has over 20 offices spread across 7 countries globally. I was employed as a Principal Management Consultant at the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DigitalDesign.NYC?

We hired DigitalDesign.NYC for assisting with the development of prototypes and UI design for scenario planning of Electric Grids. The products were used to for showcasing predicted failures in critical electricity distribution assets under various real-world use cases. This effort was used for supporting numerous business development conversations as well as to support our thought leadership initiatives.

What were your goals for this project?

To develop a high-quality visual design that would serve as a prototype of the final product To develop high-quality visual aids that would support conversations with customers around developing market entry strategies such as battery storage, distributed solar and electric buses based on Grid Load.

SOLUTION

How did you select DigitalDesign.NYC?

We selected DigitalDesign.NYC based on a multi-level selection process, starting with a request for proposal followed by 2 rounds of pitching sessions, where the team from DigitalDesign showcased their talent and capabilities by proactively sharing wireframes and other success stories that we could draw best practices from. The contract was awarded after commercial discussions.

Describe the project in detail.

We hired DigitalDesign.NYC for assisting with the development of prototypes and UI design for scenario planning of Electric Grids. The products were used to for showcasing predicted failures in critical electricity distribution assets under various real-world use cases.

The project was delivered in 3 incremental sprints - each of 2 weeks duration. The end product was tested and hosted on our on-prem servers. DigitalDesign.NYC supported us by providing us resourcing and cost efficiency by using their local & offshore teams on this project.

However, they did provide us with an on-shore lead who served as our single point of contact for all daily interactions, including, but not limited to, design & requirements gathering sessions and all project & commercials management activities.

What was the team composition?

1 onshore lead / PM 1 onshore design lead developer 2 offshore developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At the end of the 3 sprints, we had a fully functional proto-type design that we could use to support a number of consulting discussions with potential customers.

This gave our team a distinct competitive advantage in showcasing our a tailored approach to market strategy, not a generic methodology that is offered by most of the other consulting firms today. We were able to secure 2 new logos for the organization as a result of utilizing a working proto type.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their onshore Project Manager was extremely methodical and had a strong eye for detail. This individual served as a single point of contact for us making all communications seamless and was able to quickly resolve any issues that were identified during the project.

We had twice-daily calls to review progress and plan for the current and subsequent sprint cycles. We typically used WebEx for all meetings and Jira for progress tracking.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was most impressed by the spirit of partnership that was demonstrated by the DigitalDesign.NYC team. They worked as our partner at every step, from setting up your programme through to making sure that the benefits that were planned for got delivered within time and budget.

As an organization that has it's roots deeply embedded in working with & as a digital start-up itself, they have a highly competent team of designers & developers who truly know how to design a successful digital experience, from probing users’ unmet needs to building a minimum viable product and iterating it based on user feedback.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, we were extremely satisfied with our engagement. The only room for improvement that could potentially increase the speed of operations for any future, longer-term projects could be to open up a direct channel of communication with the offshore developers without any need for translators.

Although we understand that this could also increase costs and given our tight schedules, the current delivery model was best suited for our needs.