Eleken

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO of stealth mode startup

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

UX design and clickable prototype development for MVP

What were your goals for this project?

Build a prototype for the product that we could use for customer validation, testing and getting early feedback.

How did you select Eleken?

We found Eleken through a referral.

Describe the project in detail.

Our engagement started with a free trial that Eleken worked with us on for a few days, which was great to get started with and gave us confidence in working with the team. The designer assigned on our project was incredible, very thorough and committed.

After the free trial, we immediately extended our project working very closely with our designer on a daily basis. We had daily standup calls with the designer, with very close collaboration almost as if we are all one team.

What was the team composition?

For the short project our size, we were working directly with the designer dedicated to us.

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

The designer was able to very quickly learn about what we wanted to build, even though our product was very specific to our domain. She asked the right questions and confidently pushed us until she was crystal clear in her understanding of what needed to be done. The end result was a prototype that was very functional and created a very thoughtful design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good collaboration, with daily standups and collaborative discussions over slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Eleken has designers that are motivated to do a great job. They don't think of this as just any other temporary contract, and you can see their passion and commitment come through in the high quality work they deliver. We will continue to work with them for future work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of an early-stage startup that is focused on helping people navigate the savings needed to buy their homes.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

We had a functioning web prototype that we were looking to develop into an MVP. We hired Eleken to design a fresh user interface and design some new features.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to progress our prototype to an MVP, which involved redesigning the interface and creating a more intuitive user experience based on previous user feedback and changes in our business strategy. The sections worked on included a landing page, onboarding flow, and an interactive dashboard.

How did you select Eleken?

We researched various startup-friendly UI/UX firms listed on the Clutch website, predominately situated near and off-shore. Eleken stood out because of their impressive design portfolio as well as their emphasis on working with early-stage startups.

We then spoke to a shortlisted set of firms that included Eleken. Eleken’s CEO left a positive impression as he seemed to understand our needs as a startup. He then offered us a short trial, which we went ahead with.

This gave us a good sense of how they worked. We also found them to be competitive in their pricing. We decided to move forward with them based on the above.

Describe the project in detail.

First, we discussed the objectives of the project, both from a user and business perspective. We walked them through the flow of our existing prototype. They then independently reviewed our existing designs and findings from our previous user research and tests.

They came back to us with questions to clarify their understanding of our product. Given the breadth of work and the complex nature of our product, we had several calls to explain and clarify the business logic applicable to our product.

The designer assigned to us then began creating basic wireframe concepts for each section of our platform. The designer later introduced visual and aesthetic elements after multiple iterations and feedback sessions.

The designer then created a clickable version of our product to test on select users before it was coded. Following this, further iterations and refinements were done based on collective feedback before the screens were finalised. Mobile-friendly screens were also worked on in conjunction with Web.

What was the team composition?

We liaised with Eleken’s CEO initially and had one designer working with us full time.

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

Whilst our product is not yet live, we are pleased with the overall look and feel of the design and flow. The output is clean, friendly, intuitive, and appropriate for the nature of our business and target consumer.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were in constant communication with the designer. This direct and open form of communication and the designer’s flexibility allowed for a very fluid workflow.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Eleken made a concerted effort to understand our business requirements and the ins and outs of our product. The designer was great to work with! She was thorough and disciplined in her approach to applying best practices and design principles.

She was committed, proactive, and turned around deliverables very quickly. Furthermore, she provided useful suggestions and even challenged us to consider other ideas and approaches.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Although communication was fluid, we could have benefited from a bit more structure in terms of centralised tracking/documentation of key tasks, discussion points and decisions.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder. Our company is a cloud-based freight sourcing platform and we are working on a new platform which is a tender exchange.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

We needed a UI from scratch and that is what we hired Eleken for.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create a fresh and modern User Interface for our platform that makes navigation easy and intuitive for our platform users.

How did you select Eleken?

We scanned the internet for creative web design companies with the right experience in UI design and actually were able to visit with Eleken as our office is also based in Kyiv. We based ourselves on the right connection and feeling when we talked with Eleken and liked the project they have shown us.

Describe the project in detail.

First we talked through the use cases and concept and we created a rough picture of what web pages needed to contain. We brought also some understanding about logistics as this is valuable knowledge to have. We did this in quite a few online sessions. After that we received the first draft designs and decided on the design standard to move forward. Once that was done we worked on iterations based on a lot of calls and direct messaging and finally with corrections, updates, change of functionalities, which happens during the design we came to the final stage of the project.

What was the team composition?

At first 1 UI designer was working full-time with us and then a second UI designer was added as well full-time.

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

We are not live yet but we are convinced the design is the right one and will be innovative for the logistics industry.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very direct and effective. Also, the fact that we speak Russian and Ukrainian helped.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to really listen to us and learn about our business. being open to the changes that we brought. Next to the fact that design skills are top-notch.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Co-founder at Kaiiax.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

We hired Eleken to design our brand new website which is supposed to communicate our value proposition to our target audience.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the website to reflect our brand, communicate our values, and show who we really are as a company. Eleken did a great job doing just that.

How did you select Eleken?

We've worked with Eleken before so when the time has come to update our website we immediately knew who we wanted to work with.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a few calls with Eleken to discuss what we wanted. They shared some really good ideas as well. After a few days, they prepared 5 different versions of the home page which we had a thorough discussion over.

After this call, we realized we needed to change the messaging. We rewrote the content for the home page and shared it with Eleken. When their design team showed us their new mockup, it was just exactly what we needed. No one could've done better!

What was the team composition?

We worked with Eleken CEO and one of their designers.

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

We are happy about our new website design. It stands out and differentiates us in the industry. It drives our messaging home.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was perfect. They work very fast, they are receptive to feedback, they listen very carefully. They are professionals.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The design talent stands out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of any.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of the CRM for freelancers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

Eleken helped me to design the product. The CRM helps freelancers to track and manage customer relationships as well as make financial projections.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to create a lightweight simple UI and easy to use UX of the SaaS CRM app for the particular niche.

How did you select this vendor?

I already worked with them on my other project a couple of years ago. Don’t remember how I founded them back then.

Describe the project in detail.

It’s a lightweight SaaS CRM for freelancers (designers, writers, developers etc.). There are many CRMs on the market but they are all heavy and uneasy to start with. We wanted to create something simple and specific for the niche where individuals can track their sales pipeline and make projections on finances. I am very happy with the results.

What was the team composition?

I worked with 2 incredible UI/UX designers directly.

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

Actually the guys really helped me to realize what is important and worth to focus on and what’s not. It really helped me not only in the design perspective but in business in general. Right now we're in the development phase of the product and I can’t wait to see it live.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I really like the way we worked together. I communicated directly with designers, no middle man.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were always on time and exceeded my expectations. They also helped me with the business standpoint like market research and competitor analysis.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing to add here at this point.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CTO of Gridle. It's a Client Experience Platform for Agencies & Freelancers. Agencies can manage their Sales Pipeline, Sales Documents, Customers, and Invoices.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

We worked with Eleken for the UI/UX revamp of our existing SAAS application based on our user feedback.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a better-designed product with intuitive flows and easy to use.

How did you select this vendor?

We found Eleken on Clutch only. We evaluated and talked to around 15-20 agencies and the finally decided to go ahead with them.

Describe the project in detail.

We are building a SAAS application which can be used by agencies and freelancers for managing their clients and leads. Our users are spread across the world from countries like the USA, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. 

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with a brilliant UI/UX designer.

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

We showed the design to some of our users and they were really excited to look at the designs. All of them said that they can't wait to start using the new revamped version.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Though there is a difference in timezone, culture, and languages, still we had the smoothest collaboration with them. I always felt like they are our extended team. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team is really great at what they do. They give rapid and quality results. We really enjoyed working with Eleken on our SASS application. They are committed and dedicated people. Their understanding of user experience, customer mindset, and best practices are excellent. We really loved the speed at which they deliver designs and iterated based on feedback. Like your extended team, they will not waste time in unnecessary things and will not even let you do that. We wish for their awesome growth and looking forward to working again with them. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, they are really professional team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a social consumer app in the App Store. We allow people to create short, micro-podcasts to share with their network.

What challenge were you trying to address with Eleken?

We had contacted them before and we exploring a separate storytelling app. Our team needed upwards of 75 templates to be designed to make our product competitive. We hired them to get those templates done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project needed templates that were outside the scope of traditional app design. For instance, they needed to have detailed, beautiful backgrounds with patterns and gradients. The idea was to beautify the templates similar to how one would present themself on a visual social media platform. While my co-founder and I have experience designing app components, we have less expertise in the more artistic realm of design. 

They took our artistic design needs and formatting requirements and designed the templates for them. We started with a general outline, and they took the project from there. The final app is for iOS. 

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with a manager, a lead designer, and an additional contributing designer.

How did you come to work with Eleken?

We found them on a web platform while searching for design help for an initial version of our MVP. Ever since we’ve kept up a working relationship with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2020 and wrapped up in a few weeks.

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

In our most recent project, we’re still in the testing phase and haven’t launched yet. Qualitatively, those who have seen the templates have really enjoyed them. 

How did Eleken perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been responsive over Slack, email, and Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s hard to beat the quality they offer for the price that they charge. They can create strong work at half the cost of similar design firms. For that reason, they’re great for startups that are on a tight budget.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d love for them to think about our projects with the entire scope in mind, not only for longer-term collaborations but for short-terms ones too.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder at Venue Genie. My job was to create a team to help me build an easy to use platform for event planners to find venues to plan their events.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

I had the idea in my mind to create the Airbnb of Event Space. I was looking for an agency that can help me create the perfect UX/UI for my clients.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a website design that was easy to use and also beautifully designed, which can be scaled easily. Event Planning is a very sensitive industry and finding the right partnership was very important.

How did you select this vendor?

I searched online within different platforms such as upwork, behance, and dribbble. We narrowed down our candidates to the top 10 UI/UX from all 3 platforms. We then interviewed them all until we were left with the top 3. The top 3 was very hard to decide on, but the customer service, attention to detail and the personal care Eleken's team had after our first interview we knew it was the best agency to work with.

Describe the project in detail.

There were a few stages in the project.

1 - branding the website

2 - the user experience

3 - designing the website in a way we can add different services easily as we grow.

From one meeting to the next the Elken team understood more and more my vision and with their experience and expertise was able to create what our team at Venue Genie call the perfect platform.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of myself, users to give feedback of their user experience and a consultant that made sure we are heading in the right direction. On my end it was me, on their end they had 1 project manager, 1 senior designer and also 1 senior illustrator designer.

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

The UI/UX work was so amazing that we found it very easy to sign up and add venues to our website. Users came in and used the website much quicker than anticipated. Most of the time when a design is done a lot of changes are made during and after the launch. As you can tell on our website nothing has changed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Since using this agency was one of the first things on my to-do list when building this start-up, I found it super easy to communicate and didn't have to worry once on any missed information. We used communication tools such as slack, skype and invision. It was perfectly executed. Thank you Ilya.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I loved how experienced the team was and also how fast they worked. We had amazing chemistry that we would go back and forth very smoothly and the talent in that agency is absolutely amazing wow! In my entire start-up process, I think I enjoyed working with them the most.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The answer is no. Why do I say that because the Eleken team have studied very well what clients look for in order to make sure the client is always happy and make sure the client aims for success.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a marketing entrepreneur, but I often work on self-initiated side projects like the one I hired Eleken for.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

Eleken was hired to design my Habit app. It's a simple mobile application that helps people set daily goals, track their habits and have healthier lifestyles.

What were your goals for this project?

I needed to create a great user experience so people using the app would feel motivated to complete their goals and achieve positive outcomes. This is why I created the app in the first place.

How did you select this vendor?

I worked with Eleken before, we collaborated on another project. I like their work style, their deep expertise in design, and their commitment to achieving excellence in everything they do.

Describe the project in detail.

I shared my rough wireframes with them to show what I wanted the app to be like. They gave some great feedback on the screen layout and user flow, and we started the project. They had a very productive research phase during which they discovered what my audience would like to have in the app and how my competitors implemented similar ideas. They did a few iterations on the wireframes and created a nice interactive prototype. I tested it with a few people I know and got great feedback! Now the app is still in the development phase, but we're looking forward to releasing it soon.

What was the team composition?

I worked with one designer from Eleken.

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

They have done incredibly high-quality work so far. The app's design looks great and inspiring - just like I wanted it to be. I learned a lot while collaborating with Eleken. They bring a valuable product design experience to the table. So far everybody who tried using the prototype is happy with it and wants to use it when we release the app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicated on Slack every other day and had regular calls with design updates. The workflow was pretty smooth, we worked iteration by iteration in a rhythmic manner.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have a very deep and profound understanding of user experience and a great sense of beauty and taste. Every design argument they make is based on science. I am really impressed by their quality of work and their design leadership.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of any.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CMO of a digital marketing company. We collaborate with other companies and guide them with all aspects related to SEO, growth, and content marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Eleken?

TextMagic is a business SMS company that has been providing services globally since 2001. We want to launch a new product line that will also change the architecture of the site. The challenge was to refresh a stale design, make it look more modern, while keeping the identity of the old site, its navigational structure, and its current SERP rankings. Furthermore, the new design had to feel familiar for returning customers, but also attractive enough for new clients.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to find the best way to integrate the new tools into the site's current architecture and refresh the design, without making major changes that would negatively impact our users, conversion rates, and SEO.

How did you select this vendor?

From previous projects and through recommendations.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected this vendor, we had a few calls regarding our project. We discussed the current website, its products, and architecture. We also discussed the new tools that are being made and how they would be implemented on the current website. I shared a sitemap, research, landing page content, and several mockups with the Eleken team. After that, we began the ideation and wire framing phase. In total, we created two design versions for the website: one that is extremely close to the current design in terms of colors, typography, and icons. For this we created multiple pages. We also created a more modern and updated design for the website that included all the design blocks we would need.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a designer and a project manager. I only discussed with the designer, who was extremely responsive and receptive to my feedback.

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

Both design versions were well received by our team. We have not implemented them on the live site yet, but the design version that is closer to our current design was also delivered with a "style guide." Although the changes aren't major, we consider that as a huge plus because we can make site-wide adjustments to the design without having to manually update every type of page and without negatively impacting our current SEO performance and conversion rates. Furthermore, both designs that were submitted were designed in the same design style as our tools, so they will provide a cohesive experience to our users.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The designer assigned to this project was easy to communicate with and extremely effective. We scheduled calls easily, the designer had a very good understanding of the project, and provided updates extremely fast.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their knowledge of our company and their ability to adapt to our requirements.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement, so I would add that, in my opinion, the best companies do nothing at random when it comes to design and branding. Every design choice has a purpose and no shape is randomly added.

Since I am not a designer, I cannot envision some elements, and I would have loved to understand the reason behind some of the design choices. That being said, we are very satisfied with the final result.