glueglue

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO and co-founder of Sblam, a web platform built to help people’s well-being and teach how to manage thoughts and emotions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue, and what were your goals?

We involved glueglue to design a fresh new brand identity and to follow our first research activities: defining personas and use cases, Design activities: wireframing, graphic interface design and Development: Back end and Front end of the web platform.

SOLUTION

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

I searched the italian market in order to find the perfect fit for our need.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The creation of the use cases and user flows was where we first began. Within two weeks, we had consolidated the platform's functionality, and we had begun a co-design process to specify the web app's structure in order to better organize the product wireframes. In parallel, we worked on branding, paying particular attention to the graphics that represent the brand.

Our goal was to provide a product that was approachable and fun to use as an illustration for the Journeys and all of the platform's contents. Therefore, based on the visual identity and the previously established criteria, we have begun the UI design phase. The back end and front end teams collaborated during the development phase to build the whole platform, including the specially designed administration area, in just 4 weeks.

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

We worked with 2 UX/UI designers and a Full Stack developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The product is still in launch mode in the US but we are collecting promising feedback from stakeholders. We’ll start soon a launch onto the Italian market. The website is visible here https://www.sblam.life

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We worked with weekly meetings and collaborative tools that allowed us to always be in sync with the team. That was really appreciated and allowed us to speed the whole process.

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

Their empathic and straightforward approach was impressive.

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

Anything specifically that would have helped in this particular project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of Roofus, a dog services marketplace with a mobile application. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with glueglue?

We hired glueglue to develop our mobile application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, glueglue developed our cross-platform mobile application based on our IoT requirements. The app allowed users to find our automated IoT dog houses and scan and open them. Once the mobile app was done, we worked with glueglue's team to develop a web-based app that connects dog sitters and walkers to dog owners. 

Currently, we are working with glueglue to evolve the product they've developed for us. 

What is the team composition?

I work with two teammates from glueglue, including Fabian (Senior Digital Product Designer) and Federico (UX Engineer). 

How did you come to work with glueglue?

I found glueglue on Clutch.co. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around €60,000 (approximately $65,000 USD) with glueglue. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with ​​glueglue began in January 2021, and it's ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a lot of customers through the app, which allowed us to grow into the dog services marketplace. We launched the second phase of the project a few weeks ago, and it's going quite well. 

The success of the partnership cannot be measured easily. However, this is the first time in my career that I've worked with a vendor that acts as a partner. This is more than a transactional partnership — glueglue wants to help us develop the best product possible. We have a fantastic partnership. 

How did glueglue perform from a project management standpoint?

At the beginning of the partnership, we communicated through Google Meet, but we've since moved to a Slack channel. Through Slack, my team and I can connect with the many experts from glueglue. glueglue always ensures that we're up-to-date on the project's progress. Outside of Slack, we occasionally communicate through WhatsApp. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm impressed by glueglue's commitment to the project. They're interested in the project's success — they know if they develop a good project, it's an excellent advertisement for their services. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think glueglue should scale up their team because sometimes they can't deliver projects within shorter timelines.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers with small- to mid-sized projects to hire glueglue and explain the project clearly before beginning a collaboration. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CMO of BHOHB srl, an Italian company that offers innovative solutions and technologies for the health and wellness sectors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We hired Glueglue for the UX / UI design of a web application that allows our network to configure, manage our postural screening services and distribute them to end customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online for the best UX/UI developers in Italy and we found Glueglue on the website sortlist.com

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

The task entrusted to Glueglue consisted in designing the UX and UI of a complex application designed for both business and customer users.

The web application included various tasks: the configuration of services and technologies, the registration of partner users with their relative personal data and, the design of the interface for using the postural screening software, as well as the booking and payment of services by of end users.

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

The vendor's team consisted of 4/5 figures, including UX / UI designers and an internal project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are more than satisfied with the results produced by the Glueglue team which went well beyond our most optimistic expectations. The UX / UI is currently the basis on which the development team is proceeding with the implementation of the application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project was conducted in close collaboration between our project manager and the Glueglue team. The scheduled work was always carried out on time and verified through constant and periodic meetings. It is important to underline that any unforeseen problem and any additional request made by us has been satisfied with great availability even though it is not included in the spending budget.

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

What makes glueglue an exceptional partner lies both in their competence, experience, and professional capacity, as well as in the flexibility and speed in the management of every work process, even when unexpected. Last but not least is that it is a team of nice and very pleasant people.

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

No. Everything was done in a workmanlike manner!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Owner of NOD, which is an online platform for learning English developed by Norma’s Teaching , described by Vanity Fair as the most famous English teacher in Italy

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue, and what were your goals?

We hired glueglue for the following activities: defining personas and use cases, designing the user experience and the user interface of the platform , and for back end and front end development of the first mobile web application. The main goal was to create a playful and user-friendly experience in line with Norma’s distinctive teaching method, all within a 3-month timeframe.

SOLUTION

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

We found glueglue among other interesting companies on Clutch, then asked for a quote and arranged dedicated conference calls to better select our partner.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The main steps of our project can be summarized as follows: We first defined the use cases and user flows for the web application, to get a better idea of the big picture and define improvements from the get-go. At the same time we conducted surveys and one to one interviews to better define the personas.

We entered the design phase with a co design session focused on the wireframe definition of the application. After defining the main structure for the final user and the content managers, glueglue designed an interactive prototype to simulate the overall experience before the development phase. After that, they developed a high performance digital product based on an architecture able to serve thousands of connections at the same time.

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

We worked with 2 UX/UI designers, a Front End and a Back End developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have thousands of active users that share very positive feedback about their overall experience on the platform.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We worked together with glueglue’s team following the Agile method, with weekly updates/meetings to respect the tight schedule. We used InVision to stay in sync with the team and see the progress of the product thanks to interactive prototypes.

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

Their strategic process and approach, their ability to understand problems and communicate to us with honesty and transparency were impressive.

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

I would have liked to have more time at the beginning of the project to conduct more research on our target, but that was not an issue for the project's success.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director of FMS Tax & Law firm, we are 15 lawyers offering consultancies in different areas of interest.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We hired them to design our new corporate website, with the main goal of designing something disruptive for our sector. Law firms suffer from very strict regulamentations and controls in Italy, our country. We wanted to introduce a brand new digital showcase in order to enable new connections and leads coming from the web.

SOLUTION

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

They were recommended from a contact of ours who already worked with them in the past.

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

After a first kickoff briefing, glueglue started with the research phase, collecting interesting and inspiring examples from our sector and other relevant ones. We had a meeting in which we defined the visual positioning we were more happy with, an informal but professional look and feel that gave the idea of professionalism, innovation and agility at the same time. The website prototyping started with the wireframing phase, when we were able to navigate a prototype to simulate the main user flows. After a couple of meetings they started designing the graphic components of the user interface, completing a full interactive prototype we could easily navigate. They also took care of a photo shooting at our headquarters in order to represent the authenticity of our business at its best.

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

We worked with 2 UX/UI designers, a Web developer and a photographer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to our brand new website and blogging platform we kicked off a new way to collect new business opportunities.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was agile and straightforward, we used tools such as Google Meet, InVision and sometimes phone calls to check the project progress and share fast feedback.

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

They have the ability to understand and solve problems. The way they actively share new ideas bringing value to the project.

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

Nothing that comes to mind, we were very happy with our choice and we are still working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Owner and co-founder of Terapico, a SaaS that aims to simplify the therapy monitoring for physicians.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We involved glueglue to design a fresh new brand identity and to redesign the user experience and the user interface of an already existing prototype of our medical software. They also took care of the Front End development and design system repository. We felt the need to rebuild our software from scratch in order to elevate the experience and define a unique positioning in the Italian market and hired glueglue with this goal.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We started from a web search to select potential partners. We then asked a few quotes and evaluate them with the whole team.

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

We started with the branding phase, through which glueglue’s team gathered 3 interesting directions we could go for depending on the positioning we would have liked to define. After selecting the desired mood they sketched 10-20 logo concepts sharing the progress at every step and discussing with us our options. Once the concept was selected they crafted the proposal with online / offline mockup examples.

We then started with the wireframing phase defining the new structure of the product. In this phase they reviewed the architecture and main hierarchy of the elements defining a modular and scalable approach. They shared a full interactive InVision prototype to simulate the selected use cases. Once the wireframe was defined they went on designing the whole design system and User Interface design.

After that they started developing the Front End of every component and the main layout sharing a well organized repository to enable our Back end developers to link it to the applications main logics.

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

We worked with 2 UX/UI designers and a Front end developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product is still in the beta mode but we are already collecting very promising feedback from stakeholders.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked with tools like InVision, FreeHand and other collaborative tools that allowed us to always be in sync with the team and share our feedback almost in real-time.

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

We were impressed with their collaborative approach and problem-solving capabilities.

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

We could have spent more time at the beginning of the project in order to better define our specific needs for the Front End development we hired glueglue for, but that was not a real issue since we found a solution together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Apical, an online travel platform startup. We’re a SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with glueglue?

We had an internal designer that left the company before completing the project. We only had a couple of months left to design before our deadline. We needed additional help to speed up the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We collaborated on the design of the user experience and user interface of the platform. They’re working on two environments. One is a dashboard which is the backend for the companies. On the other side is the booking engine which is for end-users. It’s a web application. We didn’t start from scratch but the final outcome is very different from where we started with them.

The most complex part was designing the dashboard. Our approach is based on combining different services with one, single experience. If you’re the end-user, you can pick up different packages, select an accommodation, add activities, choose transportation, and sign up for travel insurance. The frontend is developed in vue.js.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact was the CEO. We also worked with his partner and a designer,  

How did you come to work with glueglue?

We found them when their CEO was involved in another project before he founded glueglue. He knew an engineer working in my company. We trusted glueglue because of this. Out of the different companies we looked at, they were the only ones able to provide us the solution in a short time frame.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €14,000 (approximately $17,125 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with them. They have the ability to work really fast which is what we needed. We’re now testing and getting feedback. So far, the majority of what we did together is correct. I like the outcome, and I like the way we worked together.

How did glueglue perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really committed. They worked through August and September without taking any breaks. They were always available to fix anything. We completed the design and started testing with real clients. We found out some of the solutions in terms of user experience weren’t optimal. We turned back to them asking for corrections and they were always available. The communication was great and everything was well planned. 

We had a couple of meetings per week using InVision. It was easy working with them. We also used email and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like the way they’re organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They jumped into a project that was complex without having specific knowledge of the industry. It involved a lot of conversation at the beginning but that’s normal.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a great company. I recommend working with them. When you have a complex project like the one we had, it’s very important to make everything crystal clear from the very beginning. It takes a little longer to analyze the project but when you’re aligned with your expectations and their expectations, they can handle the project without any problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of an online market place for taking and teaching Pilates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We hired glueglue for designing and building the web site and preparing a plan for content creation.

What were your goals for this project?

This is a start up project my goal was and still is to become a leader in Italy within the niche of an online movement community .

SOLUTION

How did you select glueglue?

I chose glueglue based on word of mouth. I did not consider other vendors.

Describe the project in detail.

The overall scope for the project was an initial MVP and guidlines for an online marketing plan in order to decide whether there is a market for this kind of service in Italy. My role in the project was to decide the design and basic features and to create content. The vendor was responsible for design and functionality.

What was the team composition?

I don¨t know how many people was involved behind the scenes but I had contact to 4 different people. And these were the same people during the whole period.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have received positive feedback on the web design. Glueglue have initiated a FB ongoing promotion, which increases the visibility slightly every day. However, the design and functionality by themselves does not do the work.

 I was hoping that we would have had more success in the beginning, but have realised that the success only comes with focused marketing/content creation from here and onwards.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was flawless. We used google docs and glueglue had another couple of tools for sharing their design and scheduling with me.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I find Glueglue to be very transparent and authentic. They were critical and objective and in the same time positive and optimistic about the project in a way that made them trustworthy. I had the idea that they would not have accepted the project if they did not believe in it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot think of any.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for De Lama, we manufacture high-quality sterilizers and drying equipment and supply all related validation services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We hired glueglue to redesign and improve our existing corporate website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to the site to take on a new, modern style while remaining recognizable. Our goal was to make both minor and major improvements that would positively impact the mobile experience for users.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We hired glueglue in the past and we were impressed with their professionalism and the final product.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

glueglue developed our original site many years ago, but we hired them to update the platform. To do this, they implemented a new layout to display our products. Their team put a 3D video on the site that would work on mobile devices, as well. Additionally, they helped improve our blog on the platform.

What was the team composition?

We had a main point of contact who supplied a team for our site design needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our customers have been very appreciative of the new design. Thanks in part to the redesign, we’ve seen an increase of visitors by 100% within one year.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They used Asana so we could keep track of the long requirements list. They had an organized workflow. We were easily able to give them our thoughts and comments throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Even though we’re in a niche market, they were highly focused and responsive to our needs. They reacted effectively to everything during the process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Although every company has room to improve, there’s nothing I can think of for glueglue to do better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the product manager for Dreamin101, an e-commerce site that’s a new branch of Minardi Piume srl. In my role, I’m responsible for the design and production of our duvet, sheet, and blanket lines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire glueglue?

We wanted to further promote and develop our platform because our online store’s conversions were below average. Glueglue joined the project to review our e-commerce site and revamp the UX/UI.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main objective was to improve conversions from our platform by reviewing the overall UX/UI. We also sought to transform the platform into a usable site that would better communicate our value proposition to users.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A mutual colleague referred us to glueglue, so we scheduled a brief call. They immediately started reviewing some of our pages and found major flaws that prevented users from buying items.

Describe the project in detail.

After our first call, we met at our office, and they interviewed us extensively to really understand the difference between buying a duvet offline versus online. The questions focused on our general business strategy, competitors, and final customers.

They then inspected our site and presented a PDF with the identified usability flaws. The document listed hundreds of risks divided into nine main areas, including trust and credibility, writing and content quality, and page layout and visuals. Thanks to their assessment, we had a better idea of where to change our general design and how to improve conversions in overall. We also realized that our previous homepage didn’t invite users to discover our products and needed to update it.

Afterward, glueglue’s team completely redesigned the UI, creating mock-ups without color to concentrate on our main message and functionalities. They shared an interactive prototype through InVision, which allowed us to browse the site and collect initial feedback from potential customers before proceeding to development. The final platform included an updated color scheme, new fonts, icon sets, and improved functionalities.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a UX designer and a UI designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After a few months, we’ve increased our conversion rates and sales by 300%. There are still some improvements to be made, but we’re happy with the results so far.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective. They used InVision to facilitate the feedback process, allowing us to see the designs at different stages before committing to development.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their layout suggestions for our main product presentation helped improve our conversion rates. By giving the customer the option of choosing from three duvets instead of two, we learned that some people were willing to spend more to get the highest-quality product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, nothing comes to mind.