Fireart Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a digital design firm. We do a variety of UI/UX work for websites and mobile apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FireArt Studio?

We had more clients than we could handle, so we needed to outsource a few projects. Finding someone within our price point that could do great work was important to us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them to do a variety of work on four or five different projects. This includes UI/UX work for mobile apps, illustrations for a website, concept work for an animation, and website design. Their overall design style is fun, playful, sleek, and utilizes bright colors.

When we get a project that fits their style but we’re too busy complete it, we’ll bring in FireArt to supplement our resources and utilize their specific skill set. Other times, we’ll create a design in-house and have FireArt develop a different version so that we can present clients with multiple options. Once they accept a project, they assign designers best suited for the job. They’ll update me throughout the process and send sketches or concepts for revision. I send back my suggestions and they complete the project.

What is the team composition?

They have a team of people who specialize in different things, so it depends on the scope of the individual project. Due to the variety of work we’ve requested, I’ve interacted with four or five different people in the organization. They usually assign a project manager that communicates with me directly. I’ve also worked closely with the designers when necessary.

How did you come to work with FireArt Studio?

I found them on Dribbble. Compared to other agencies I’ve found on there, FireArt’s strength is their reliability and responsiveness. They’re very timely and always eager to jump into projects and get rolling on stuff right away.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $10,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They're familiar with the industry and different styles so they can interpret nuances within design assignments. They deliver every project I send them within expectations. My clients always love the work they do.

How did FireArt Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything they did was great and communication was excellent. They set up a Slack channel so we could talk to the project manager and the designers themselves, which was extremely helpful. In addition to Slack, we’d communicate via email and Skype. Jumping of Skype call with the project manager and speaking face-to-face is useful because emails can be easily mistranslated.

Outsourcing work to a different time zone is always a challenge. However, I was able to hold most meetings during regular work hours because they did everything they could to accommodate time zone changes. It’s a different process than working with someone locally, but definitely worth the trade-off.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They approach each project with the professionalism and efficiency of a large studio. I always get the sense that while they’re a multifaceted team, they know how to work together and execute a project, so everyone is happy with the result. They offer a high-end client experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing from my experience could really be improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work in mobile marketing at Toggl, a SaaS [software-as-a-service] company that offers time-tracking applications for desktop, web, and mobile. Our headquarters are in Tallinn, Estonia, but most of our team members work remotely, all over the world. Our products include Toggl, Teamweek, Hundred5, and Superday. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FireArt Studio?

While doing a major overhaul of our Toggl mobile time-tracking app, we decided to try a different strategy using a landing page that represents features and offers a value proposition to users. Our vision required high-quality design and animation and a clean UX. Because our designers were working on different projects at the time, we decided to hire a design agency to take on this project and deliver a quality design within a specific timeframe, allowing our marketing campaigns to go ahead as planned.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a unique landing page that distinguished our brand from other apps and solutions. We wanted to be able to display features on a phone mockup in a way that would stand out and drive more traffic to the page, thereby encouraging more people to download and try the app.

Our deadline for the design part of this project was rigid, as the in-house developers were already busy with other projects at our company. We needed our outside design team to react quickly, understand our feedback, and redesign based on our objectives.

Also, once we hired FireArt, they pointed out that the page needed to be designed in a way that would allow simple updates in the future. This mostly involved updating content and revising small parts of the page design while maintaining the same flow and overall look. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our team thoroughly researched vendors on Behance and Dribbble. After selecting five agencies that met our criteria, we started negotiations. We’d worked with FireArt before on a smaller project in which they designed several pages for our out-of-office remote work guide. Even though we really liked their work on that project, we wanted to give each agency a fair chance since our five options had great portfolios. After 10 days of negotiations, we narrowed our selection to three agencies before proceeding with FireArt after an extensive interview. They offered the best mix of availability and price, along with a detailed and informative proposal.

Their developers also offered to assist with the project, in case our development team wasn’t available to finish in time. This backup option combined with our positive experience collaborating with them in the past made FireArt the best fit for our important, deadline-driven project.

Describe the project in detail.

After we finalized our agreement, FireArt immediately started designing the wireframes and initial sketches based on our initial email. The next day, we received the first draft, which showed us that the whole project was moving in the right direction. As we continued the work, we maintained day-to-day communication via Slack. Every day, FireArt sent new designs and updates based on our brief, feedback, and their own ideas.

After two weeks, the design part of the landing page was done, and they started working on the animations, which were finished a week after we approved the design. During both the design and the animation process, FireArt was open to making changes and improvising certain aspects of the project when our team didn’t have ideas for promoting and showcasing certain features of the app. This assistance allowed us to finish the whole project before our official deadline and even gave us extra time to tackle bonus tasks.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager at FireArt who acted as our main point of contact and coordinator. The team included a UX designer, a character designer, and an animator. Each of these people had contributed to projects listed on FireArt’s Dribbble page, which we’d used as a reference of what we wanted to see in our project. Having the same people in charge of our project was fantastic. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because we’ve had to delay the site’s launch due to the upcoming launch of our new app, we still can't share the link. So, we don’t have specific results of actual site traffic from the new landing page itself. However, we did use FireArt’s animations to advertise the new app through Facebook, and users are really reacting positively to these elements, resulting in a fairly low price per click.

We’ve also used FireArt’s designs and animations for two email campaigns and plan to launch more to re-engage some of our mobile users. This gave us incredible results, including a 60% open rate for both campaigns and an amazing 20% click-through rate. Additionally, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from users who’ve contacted our customer support. We expect to promote the page made by FireArt heavily during the next year, which will boost our site traffic and app downloads.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All four team members communicated constantly and provided punctual updates and comments. We collaborated over Slack and received weekly reports that showcased FireArt’s progress and the tasks remaining. We never had a problem communicating with FireArt. Because of our relaxed interactions, we could easily explain any changes we wanted and provide guidelines if needed. All in all, great communication paved the way for a great workflow, which resulted in a prompt delivery.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was amazed by how quickly they created the early sketches and pushed from the first draft to final deliverables in just two weeks. I can’t emphasize enough how important our deadline was and how much FireArt’s ideas helped us communicate certain features of our new app.

Since we don’t have many in-house designers, we do hire vendors from time to time. However, this collaboration with FireArt was truly an amazing experience. We’d like to hire them for future campaigns, especially because they’re expanding into areas like coding and development.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I honestly can't think of any issues. Their development team could be more involved in our future projects. FireArt is an amazing one-stop shop for web design and development. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a branding consultant/creative director and I work directly with C-suite executives, providing consulting on how they should strategize their branding and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FireArt Studio?

They helped create the visual identity of Curvature, a technology brand. At the time, Curvature was in the midst of a merger with another company called SMS.

What were your goals for this project?

The challenge was to redesign the Curvature brand so that it incorporated visual elements from the SMS brand. The purpose of this was for both companies to feel an equal part of the merger.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked with FireArt Studio before; we found them through our network. They are very talented designers.

Describe the project in detail.

Our process was fairly simple —we kicked off by briefing them on the project and they delivered a wide range of ideas for the first round. Subsequent to that, we did four rounds of back and forth with the client until we landed on a final brand identity. FireArt Studio did a great job of not only delivering core ideas but also showing how the ideas would be applied to marketing materials.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager support us, plus a team of designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the brand identity was completed, they helped design the look and feel of the Curvature website. The client was incredibly happy with all of the work that was submitted.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was excellent; we communicated daily via email and Skype, as well as calls or video conferences when necessary. Bottom line, they are a pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re excellent designers and illustrators—they really get it. There's not a lot of great design talent in our industry, so FireArt Studio is a rare find.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only challenge we had was the time zone differences, but in all honesty, that mostly played to our benefit since we'd have completed work show up in our box at the beginning of the day. It all worked out great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Skodel, which provides an online assessment platform that allows schools to create and manage all of their assessments online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FireArt Studio?

We are a software-as-a-service [SaaS] provider, so we had to build multiple dashboards, including personal profile dashboards and data dashboards. A lot of our data needed be translated into plain English, which had to be reflected in the designs of the dashboards. Once the product elements were complete, we asked FireArt to manage the design and implementation of our front-facing website.

What were your goals for this project?

The platform needed to have an amazing UI/UX. We operate in a data-heavy space, and we wanted provide big data in manageable chunks, adding a touch of beauty so that our users could digest the info in a much more enjoyable manner.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found FireArt on Dribbble and noticed they’d done some work for a major Australian company, Atlassian. Although FireArt has a substantial presence, they’re also nimble, and their design displays some startup qualities.

Describe the project in detail.

FireArt started with a blank canvas. We wanted them to build a website for us and design the UI for our software offering. They handled design, icons, colors, graphics, user flow, and all related tasks.

Explain how the solution addressed your business challenge.

Originally, we struggled to find a design firm that supported our developer and was easy to work with. FireArt revolutionized our site development, which had been stagnant for 8 months prior to our engagement. When FireArt took over, our developer was motivated, and our project actually got off the ground.

What was the team composition?

FireArt handled all of the design and website development for the front-facing part. Our developer implemented various designs and supported FireArt by working on the actual product. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

We showed the screens to 20 principals and 40 teachers in our space, and they were simply stunned at how brilliantly the site was designed. Also, our developer said that FireArt’s designs were fantastic to work with.

How effective was the project management?

FireArt was incredibly responsive via email and would always go the extra mile to make sure we were happy. We continue to work with them today.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Without a doubt, we’re thrilled with the quality of their design.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

If you want amazing design and high-quality development, look no further. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Product Officer

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We have an education platform for K12 that teaches soft skills

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Fireart Studio to accomplish?

• Help design the UI/UX
• Complete the full development of the platform
• Continue optimizing and expanding on feature set

SOLUTION

How did you find Fireart Studio?

Online Search

Why did you select Fireart Studio over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Fireart Studio were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

They had to help us design and develop the platform that would house all the content and have assessment and data analytics functions. It was a complex app for students, teachers and admin. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Usable platform that looked exactly like the designs
• Responsive to different devices
• Fast

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

They didn't always deliver on time but they made up for it. They have very high integrity and even gave us 2 free months when they didn't deliver. 

But they are very responsive, very fast. Great work team!

What was your primary form of communication with Fireart Studio?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their skill, honesty and integrity. They work together like they are your team.

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

Not always accurate with estimates. Codes sometimes have bugs that we need to go fix after

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing of CFI Financial Group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A global online trading broker providing access to international financial markets. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Fireart Studio to accomplish?

• Revamp current website with a modern UX/UI

SOLUTION

How did you find Fireart Studio?

Referral

Why did you select Fireart Studio over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Fireart Studio were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We wanted to revamp our old website into something completely new and modern design that represents CFI's brand position. We briefed Fireart's team on this project and created the proper wireframes and the actual design. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Receiving a complete revamped website that represents our brand. 
• Responsive design that works on mobile and other devices. 
• Getting a full UI/UX kit for the new website. 

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

They were very professional and delivered the project on time. Their response rate was amazing! 

What was your primary form of communication with Fireart Studio?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their creativity, project management, and professionalism in delivering what's needed. 

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

I did not encounter any areas of improvement as they were very professional and responsive. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder & CEO. We help business automate their accounting & finance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fireart Studio?

Website design

What were your goals for this project?

To help us build our brand online

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After interviewing over 10 design studios we decided to go with Fireart. We felt that they were ahead of everyone else. The quality of their work speaks for itself.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped us launch our online presence. Fireart provided us with a full end to end solution that included design & coding. The attention to detail that the Fireart team provided was outstanding. Also the team at Fireart was great to work with and the communication was great.

What was the team composition?

Designer, Coder, Project Manager, illustrator.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We love our online presence. The team at Fireart turned our dreams into reality.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had a project manager who helped coordinate the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality, reliability and the easy communication.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We enjoyed working with Fireart - please don't change one bit.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a fintech firm and I do research and marketing including coordinating special projects like branding and web design

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fireart Studio?

We hired Fireart to develop our branding and design a [complex] website introducing our products and services

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a fresh, clean, and modern look for our branding that set us apart but also feels professional

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched design sites, looked at past work, and read reviews

Describe the project in detail.

Our project included logo development, color selection, fonts, and a branding guide for our firm, as well as design for 10 web pages

What was the team composition?

We worked with our project manager but the team included designers as well

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still working to implement the design, but we are all very pleased with the results of the project and the responsiveness of the Fireart team. They listened to our concerns and suggestions and revised to create a beautiful finished product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicated frequently via email and Fireart always delivered as promised. They would take a few days to make major changes and were always in communication if there would be a delay. They were also incredibly patient as we considered a new design or update.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Timely responses, speedy work, and innovative designs

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. Fireart did a great job with our project!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

SWISS FIN LAB Ltd is a Zürich and Vienna based company that develops products in the areas of Fin- and LegalTech. I am CEO and co-founder of SWISS FIN LAB.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fireart Studio?

We hired Fireart Studio to develop a video explaining the new personal data regulation (EU GDPR) and how data portability benefits individuals and enables new services and business models.

What were your goals for this project?

Explain the new regulation and raise awareness for innovative solutions to tackle this challenge.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for a vendor that was aligned with our design philosophy and demonstrated through past projects that they can deliver a corporate identity that is in line with our needs for these projects. In addition, we were looking for responsiveness and well-run project management.

Describe the project in detail.

Develop a 90 second video that explains the new personal data regulation and its benefits to individuals. We jointly defined the script and storyline. Fireart Studio delivered the storybook, sketches, illustrations, animations and voice-over.

What was the team composition?

Fireart is well organised. We had one gatekeeper who managed the entire flow of information for us and was very responsive and organised. In the background, several people were involved for the different aspects of the video.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very satisfied with the outcome and we received very good feedback for the video. Our initial expectations were more than met.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good as Fireart allocated us a project manager who took care of everything.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quality of UX/UI design, illustrations and animations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Cannot think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder of a motion design, film, and animation studio. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Fireart Studio?

We needed to create illustrations for one of our largest clients.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a modern and high-quality style.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them on Behance and loved the variety of styles they offered.

Describe the project in detail.

They delivered illustrations that represented positive behavior when working from home, as well as the undesirable habits working from home can produce.

What was the team composition?

We worked with two project managers and one illustrator.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have metrics, but our client was more than happy with the result.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were quick and efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their quality of work and ability to understand our feedback was outstanding.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I saw.