DePalma Studios

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a subprime automotive leasing company. We lease vehicles to subprime customers directly, and we provide lease financing to our 60 dealerships across 10 states.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We hired DePalma Studios to design our new dealership’s website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we provided DePalma Studios with a business requirement document, which expressed our general desires of what we wanted out of the website. Then, we worked with them on a series of workshops and collaborative meetings to design all of the site’s pages, interactions, and functionality to create a well-defined UI/UX. Our goal was to have a site where we could lease vehicles online.

During the design process, we provided DePalma Studios with a lot of input into the look and feel we wanted to achieve. We also described our core audience and our goals. Then, they helped us refine and optimize the designs to meet those criteria.

After that process, they provided us with very detailed design documents on a Miro board. It included designs of how each page would look on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, as well as designs of the collapsable and actionable elements mapped out within the pages. The final deliverable was the designs on Figma so that it was easier for the developers to implement them on the new site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around seven people from DePalma Studios. Their team included Floyd (CEO), Sushmitha (COO), Matthew (Principal Product Designer), Sean (Senior UX Designer), two logo designers, and an additional designer working in the background.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

We had a previous relationship with DePalma Studios. We worked with them on another project for a design impact workshop.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $78,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2022.

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

The internal and external feedback on the designs created by DePalma Studios has been very positive. People have told us that the new design looks tremendously better than our previous website.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

DePalma Studios used Asana for project management. They also used Miro, which we could use to leave notes and comments on tasks as a sort of asynchronous communication, although it wasn’t used specifically for project management. Additionally, we communicated via Microsoft Teams, through which we would have multiple meetings per week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

DePalma Studios’ secret for their great designs was Matthew. It was great working with him because he was very creative and communicative. For example, he made design decisions based on our conversations, and he then walked us through those decisions, explaining in detail the reasoning and benefits behind them.

Other companies are very creative, but they can provide the logic behind their creative decisions. However, DePalma Studios was very logical and creative at the same time, which was a unique trait.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We were very happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Your project will be very successful as long as you stay very engaged and be very open. Try to establish a good dialogue with DePalma Studios to express your needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the chief information technology officer at a financial company in the healthcare industry. 

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We hired DePalma Studios to refresh our provider and member portals' UX/UI. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

This engagement with DePalma Studios had three phases. First, we documented our existing portal designs and features. Then, DePalma Studios conducted interviews with our internal team and came up with recommendations about our design approach. They defined our user personas and workflow and dataflow diagrams using Miro. All of that information informed the portal designs DePalma Studios created.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager, a product manager, a UI developer, an executive sponsor, and two UI designers. 

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

I connected with DePalma Studios' CEO in 2014, and I'd been trying to work with them for several years. Finally, I was able to bring them in to do this UI project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $40,000–$43,000 with DePalma Studios. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with DePalma Studios was from July–November 2021. 

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

DePalma Studios did a great job on the project. We couldn't visualize the features we needed because we'd grown so much over the past 17 years — no one knew the ins and outs of the system. However, DePalma Studios determined what features were useful for us to keep and how to consolidate them. That documentation from DePalma Studios was highly valuable for a company our size. 

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

DePalma Studios delivered on time and within budget — they accommodated our needs even if they needed to spend extra time on one feature. They focused on delivering the work we needed, not their final payment. Typically, we communicated with DePalma Studios via a Slack channel and email; we also had weekly Zoom calls to discuss project status.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

DePalma Studios' professionalism and focus on delivering documentation sets them apart from their competitors. Also, their project and delivery timeline consistently matched ours. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for DePalma Studios to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to know exactly what they want from an engagement with DePalma Studios. If customers can thoroughly describe the problems they want to be addressed, ​​DePalma Studios can deliver what they need. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the chief information officer of a subprime auto leasing and financing company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a huge shift in the automotive industry towards online sales, and we wanted to tap into that marketplace. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially engaged DePalma Studios to do a design impact workshop. So, they held a 3–4 week process, conducting interviews with various stakeholders and the senior leadership team to understand our company. DePalma Studios also provided feedback on logo designs and other digital branding elements another vendor was developing for us as part of that process. They ensured our branding materials reflected our empathetic approach to the industry — they provided dozens of designs for us to choose from. 

Once that process was complete, DePalma Studios refreshed our website to facilitate online purchases. We had to explain many of our industry nuances to their team since we're a subprime company. That, coupled with an initial RFP we supplied, became the basis for DePalma Studios' site design. Once the design is finished, we'll begin implementation, and DePalma Studios will handle a few months of maintenance and significant design changes.

What is the team composition?

We work with 6–7 teammates, but the core team comprises 3–4 team members, including the senior designer. 

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

Our VP of application development worked with their CEO many years ago. So, when we looked to upgrade our website, we looked to them. We sent an RFP to about 20 companies, but not everyone responded. In the end, after vetting 15 companies who responded to our RFP, we hired DePalma Studios because of the recommendation and their portfolio.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested under $200,000 with DePalma Studios — both phases of the project have cost around $70,000 each. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with DePalma Studios began in August 2021, and it's ongoing. 

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

Since we're still in the design phase, I don't have any KPIs to provide. The logo hasn't been put out publicly yet — we're waiting on the final design from their lead designer. So far, DePalma Studios has exceeded expectations; our CEO and in-house team are pleased with their work so far. 

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

DePalma Studios has done extremely well managing the project. Their team is very organized and diligent in updating our shared Asana board. We also utilize Google Drive and Microsoft Teams for communication and document sharing. The entire process is very iterative and, even during the design phase, DePalma Studios is following agile methodologies. We meet weekly with DePalma Studios with several designers, but once we move into development, we'll meet with the developers instead. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

DePalma Studios is great at distilling large amounts of complex information into an intelligent and thoughtful design. Overall, their design aesthetic is excellent, and they have a really strong sense of style. Their work is on par with the most famous design companies for a fraction of the cost. DePalma Studios also turns around projects quickly but doesn't sacrifice quality for speed. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think DePalma Studios should expand their design team — I haven't worked with anyone as good as their lead designer yet.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to go to the table with a general sense of what they're looking for and communicate openly with DePalma Studios.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations at a software development shop. We put together backend data file security technology.  

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We needed help visualizing what a modern-day implementation of our backend processes would look like.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, DePalma Studios took in all the information about what we do. I gave them a basic box of what we could integrate in as a frontend for cloud providers. We gave them white papers and a copy of our software.

The team put together the minimum number of steps that would be required for our customers. Using our branding and color palette, they produced a prototype for what our system would look like for customers in InVision.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two project managers and three people working on the mockup.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

Our team used them before on a different part of our company. We were pleased with their work then and decided to work with them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place in December 2020. It took exactly a month.

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

We were very happy with the prototype. The look and feel integrate extremely well into our website. The team delivered the prototype exactly when they said they would.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly meetings as needed. If anything, their project management was too good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team didn’t take any shortcuts during the requirements process. They were very disciplined in making sure that they had all the requirements correct before they started to get everything done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. DePalma Studios really went the extra mile.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them work through the process. Their processes are good. Let them do their work; you won’t have to push them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company called Kallaco. Our organization is a software company that provides health care analytics and services to colleges, universities, and businesses across the US.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We needed to upgrade our software solution, making it more user-friendly and adding more features. Although we had a great development team, it wasn’t as experienced in UI/UX design as the project required. We brought DePalma on board.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked DePalma to focus on our end-user web portal and the end-user mobile app. Their team studied our users and user personas, looking at both platforms’ UXs on a computer and on a mobile phone. We relied on them for a lot of the strategic thought around the experiences. They gave feedback on the experiences and how users would approach our application suite. Their team focused on the UX, user design, and application screens.

We wanted to move from a paper-based test ordering process to a fully digital process. That required a lot of sequences and steps in the application, which could be complicated for a user. Their team focused on making that experience smooth for desktop and mobile users. They made sure that we would have a successful order placed each time by our users. The app’s available for both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

On a regular basis, we worked with four people from DePalma, including a project manager and development resources. The CEO of DePalma was involved in our early meetings and checked in along the way. We worked with another person to ensure our agreement was met.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

I worked on a project with DePalma about 5–6 years ago and had a good experience with them. It was a skunk-work project that didn’t make it to reality, but they did a lot of work with us on it. I liked their approach and focus on UX design. They had a lot of knowledge about how to build products that would work well across different platforms. Based on that experience, I wanted to engage them more. When this opportunity popped up, I reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $40,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this project around June 2020, and it ended. We’re now looking into the next phase of the project. We have another administration portal and may ask them to overhaul its UI/UX.

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

They successfully delivered the first project. At every meeting, their team clearly showed the deliverables’ progress. They hit the timelines that were set in the original project plan. If we asked for a feature that was outside the project scope, they were quick to show the impact that our requests would have on the overall timeframe. That made the project really successful. There were no surprises along the way.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

The initial budget was $45,000, and we came under it. There were no surprises with the budget. We used Asana, and they did a great job using it. We also developed specific spreadsheets to show exactly where the project stood. They also sent a project deck throughout the course of the engagement to show how their team was meeting the project plan.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Two qualities make them stand out from other providers. Their project lead was superb. She had a handle on the project, the development team, and the designers. We felt confident that she understood our vision and could translate it to her team.

The quality of their design and UX team was top notch too. They created professional and high-quality designs. We didn’t have to ask for many changes along the way because they understood what we sought.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I felt that they did a great job. One concern is that they’re highly-priced. I don’t mind paying their prices because they deliver premium products. However, I’m asking myself if their prices could prevent us from doing more expanded work with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly describe to them what you want. They’ll listen and help expand the project’s vision.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company that will be used in career fairs at universities.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

They developed a mobile app and a web app for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a web app and a mobile app is for Android and iOS.  In the ideation stage, we were able to mess around with everything from different color schemes and logos to various web functions.

Then every two weeks, they sent us the app in a testing environment. We were able to go through the app to see if it was working as we wanted. Then we recorded any bugs we found in an Excel sheet. Using our feedback, they fixed any problems we found. We did that for about three months before we launched.

The app lets each student and recruiter that attends a career fair can make a profile. The student’s profile generates a QR code that can be scanned by the recruiters. Once the recruiter meets with a student, they can take notes, rate the student on a scale of 1–5, and view their resume. After the career fair, companies can easily export all of their scanned students on our web app so they can include the information on an applicant tracking system.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager based in Nashville, Tennessee. We also had 2–3 developers working on the project overseas.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

We shopped around and met with a few companies. We chose DePalma Studios because they seemed like a good fit. They had an entire team working with us and they were very involved. We really appreciated how they communicated with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in February 2020. Although the app is complete, we will continue to work with them when career fairs resume after COVID-19.

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

We launched the app once we were certain that the app is perfect. Although they guided us in the right direction, they left major decisions up to us. We were really able to decide on what we wanted to do, and in the end, we received a product we’re really happy with. Unfortunately, our apps aren’t being used much because career fairs aren’t happening due to COVID-19.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We met with our project manager every week, and she kept us updated on what was going on. Usually, the developers attended as well. We always knew when there was a problem or if something good happened. They were in touch with us regularly.

They worked hard to meet our deadline, but the project took a little longer than we expected because we were focused on fixing certain bugs. Still, we knew about when they would finish up.

They also knew that we were a startup and didn’t have a ton of funding, so they worked with us to determine the price of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the different technologies they used. We were able to see the changes they made in real-time and we were able to leave notes. The best part about working with them was that everything was very transparent. They worked with us to make it perfect.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We came into the project knowing what we wanted, and that helped us get a jump on the development. Clients should be prepared with an idea of what feature and color schemes they’re looking for. That will help the discovery phase move quickly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder & CEO of a mobile payment platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We needed a mobile app developed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

DePalma Studios was responsible for the UX/UI development for our custom mobile application. Now, they’re working on the development phase, which includes a backend web component.

What is the team composition?

Initially, Floyd (Principal) was the primary contact. On a daily basis, we interact with Sushmitha (Head of Engagement), the project lead. 

There are 5-7 additional people on the team, which varies in size depending on the current needs of the project. There’s a scrum master, project manager, UI/UX, API experts, QA testers, and backend developers involved.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

I was looking for a company that was strong in UI/UX design. Through recommendations, I interviewed several companies, and decided the DePalma Studios team was the best fit to help accomplish my goals.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000 - $410,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around July 2020, and the project is ongoing.

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

We finished the UX/UI phase, and just completed 5 of approximately 12 sprints in this phase, putting us roughly halfway through the project. I was ecstatic with the results from the UI/UX development phase. 

Everything we’ve seen so far indicates that DePalma Studios is building out all the functionality we requested. The true test will be users of the app — the target audience. However, I couldn’t be happier so far.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They are doing great. We communicate via phone, text, and email. We have Slack and do Zoom calls. We have sprint calls every two weeks. 

During the UI/UX phase, we did Zoom calls twice per week. They also use several project management tools. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

DePalma Studios is very process-driven. They pay attention to detail and emphasize the frontend design and requirements gathering phases. I’ve been impressed with the entire management of this initiative, and the tools they use. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I asked them to help come up with some initial branding designs for the company. It was a bit of a struggle, and while they were close to the mark, I ultimately went another direction. It’s not really what they do, but it would’ve been nice to get everything from one company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering at Keypoint Intelligence. We conduct tests and provide data to manufacturers and sales representatives in the copier, printer, and scanner industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We wanted to create a new sales engagement product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

DePalma helps us to design our e-commerce platform for sales representatives to us as a daily sales tool. We gave them basic requirements, and they did the entire design for us from wireframes to the final version.

As a big project, it’s split into multiple phases. We’re now in the middle of phase two.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from DePalma.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

I found them through a general internet search. Originally, we weren’t certain if we would hire a firm or an individual engineer. I came across one of DePalma’s blogs which talked about the differences between an individual designer and a design firm. I liked what I read, so we contacted them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$60,000 on the project so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first phase of this project occurred between March–April 2020. We started the second phase in June 2020 and plan to finish it next week.

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

Their team’s fast, and the quality of their work’s good. We haven’t had any complaints. They’re excellent.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack, and their team uses a virtual whiteboard where we’re able to view their work offline. We have two meetings per week via Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s easy to work with them because they’re a great team of people. When we have discussions, they’re open to our ideas. If we disagree, their team doesn’t just force their opinion on us but explains their position. It’s been a collaborative effort.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints about our experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a chance.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital for an advertising agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

We needed a full audit of our current website. It needed an evaluation to give insight into how it should be redesigned and restructured.

What was the scope of their involvement?

DePalma Studios provided a full audit, including an evaluation, a Google Analytics audit, and a competitor analysis. They did a comprehensive review, providing insight into digital strategy. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three teammates on this particular project.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

They did some work for our other office, who recommended them for this project. I was looking for work similar to the project they did with that office.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2019 – May 2020.

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

It’s too early to see the impact. However, we will take the information they provided for the internal redesign and restructure of the website. They did a good job, and we’re pleased. We would work with DePalma Studios again on future projects.

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

The team did very well. We had weekly meetings and were in constant communication. We used Slack and Miro boards.

What did you find most impressive about them?

DePalma Studios’ process was very good, and they asked a lot of questions. I liked that they sent recaps, as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The final declarations needed some language editing done. Their findings were good, but it was written by someone on the team whose native language wasn’t English, so it was hard to interpret the conclusions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be specific about your goals for the project. Give DePalma Studios access to tools like Google Analytics to allow them to do better work for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a payment platform startup. Within the payment platform, we also do inventory management for products based on the vendor and employee tracking based on sales.

What challenge were you trying to address with DePalma Studios?

I wanted to come up with a storybook wireframe to be able to then sit with my angel investors and go through it with them. 

I also wanted to be able to give them a good visual of the customer journey and the mobile app, which would give them a good feel of what we were offering and what they would be investing in.

What was the scope of their involvement?

DePalma Studios worked with us to develop wireframes for the React Native mobile app. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with four teammates.

How did you come to work with DePalma Studios?

I found them online and they seemed like they were a good fit. After talking to their VP, I submitted what I wanted to achieve. DePalma Studios seemed to be a team I could work with because they were so accommodating.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2018–March 2019.

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

The work was exactly what we asked for, and I was proud to present the work to our investors. 

How did DePalma Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. They were very attentive and their project manager did a great job. I traveled to their offices in Nashville and met them personally. DePalma Studios was extremely accommodating. We communicated via slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team was very communicative, keeping me abreast of what was going on and any changes they made. Since this was a creative process, there was a lot of back and forth communication, which I certainly appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that stands out particularly, and they did a good job. I had do have one nitpicky comment which is that there were some misspelled words on the UX screen. There was definitely a language barrier with some of the UX developers. If I had to pick anything, that would be the only one. Other than that, it was a really good experience. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them, communicate a lot, and definitely do a site visit.