Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
The overarching goal of the redesign was to foster "product love" in our existing users. It is still early days since the roll out was only a couple weeks ago but initial feedback is positive.
Our new logo and visual identity have been received high praise from our existing users, with positive comments pouring in through support channels and in person/phone conversations. These are customers that used the product but did not love the product. Now their teams are excited to use the app and are proud to show and recommend the product to others, and they are using "Coast" as a verb ("Coast me").
The secondary goals of the website launch and new logo were to help with hiring, partnerships and investors. We have seen a direct increase in inbound interest in join the team (no small feat when it comes hiring engineers in a very competitive market), and inbound investor interest (not to mention our current investors a very happy).
The real test will be when we start charging for the product, and start focusing on growth, but initial readings are positive.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
We used our own messaging product "Coast" to communicate about the project which was helpful in that they got to see the product in action, and we just think it's a better way to communicate. We were pleased that they were so ready to jump into a new workflow with us.
Scheduling was very well organized, Shannon, the project manager was really good managing expectations, getting the right people in the room, and making everyone's busy schedules work together. We used google calendar and google docs for scheduling and feedback.
There was a really positive response to how we gave feedback. I took extreme care in making sure our feedback was constructive and direct, gathering together thoughts from many members of our team and other design experts. We had a clear vision and as a designer myself I know that unclear, indirect feedback can delay the process, cause confusion and create unnecessary work.
The EB team was then able to take that feedback and run with it, clearly processing it themselves and then coming back with work that got closer and closer to our vision with every iteration.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
I was most impressed by the quality of work that came out of this team. They guided us through a creative process that allowed us to have reactions to a variety of directions, which spurred conversation and real strategic thinking.
They pushed us beyond our comfort zone to think beyond the limited ideas we had before we worked with them. They painted a vision that spanned many years into the future, that showed how our brand could continue to grow and evolve while maintaining an elegant simplicity indicative of world class design.
They were not afraid to work through the nitty gritty details of what we actually needed right now, all the way through the grandiose architecting of what we could be 10 years from now. They executed this on a tight timeline and I was very impressed with what they were able to produce within that timespan.
Every single member of this talented team was open, articulate and warm. I could not have asked for a better experience.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Not that I can think of. There was a point where we had to get realigned on deliverables (easily resolved through a single conversation) and in the end we were very happy with the results. Our team had such a positive experience working with Emotive Brand and we look forward to working together on projects in the future.
By conducting market research, Emotive Brand developed an effective strategy that gained media attention, increased traffic to the website, and led to a successful event. They were flexible and adjusted their management strategy to meet project needs. They were passionate and dedicated partners.