Habitat Design Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and COO of a startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Habitat Creative Company?

Our goal was to create a new brand identity and visual design for our startup. We also wanted to take what we’d done in product design and elevate it to align with the new brand. Finally, we wanted to improve UI/UX elements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Habitat Creative Company provided branding and product design services. We initially had a call with the managing director. Afterward, we introduced ourselves and asked any questions we had. Ultimately, the engagement started with a brief; we confirmed it, signed the contract, and met the creative team. They told us the project plan and milestones for the entire engagement.

Many of the insights were previously validated by us.

What is the team composition?

We had four main points of contact: an account manager, a creative director, a product designer, and a motion designer.

How did you come to work with Habitat Creative Company?

They were a referral, but we also used Clutch to verify their other work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April–May 2024. We completed the project a week ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s still early in terms of quantitative KPIs. However, we’ve shared the project with some of our super users, and they look happy with the direction of the product. 

Another indicator of Habitat Creative Company’s work quality is that we’ve taken their design to our internal engineering and product development team, and they’re pretty happy.

How did Habitat Creative Company perform from a project management standpoint?

They were on time and within budget, so we were entirely on track. We had regular weekly meetings, and they were clear upfront about the project's cost, who would be involved, and why that was the estimate for the budget.

We mainly communicated through Slack; we were part of a Slack channel. We also met through Google Meet, shared materials through Figma, and used Notion for the project plan.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

My shout-out is to Alina (Art Director); she was our creative director. She was amazing and professional. Alina tried to understand our target audience in healthcare and had terrific ideas. Additionally, she knew how to communicate verbally, written, and visually.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Habitat Creative Company was smooth and had good deliverables compared to other agencies. They took feedback early and ensured the designs were translatable to actual development work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One of the things we discussed was copywriting. They should have the capability to add a copywriter to the team, especially since they work with clients from different countries. Language and many insights are very local. Adding people with copywriting skills would take them to the next level as a creative agency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should share your expectations upfront and spend a lot of time on the brief. Especially in specialized industries, let them know the functionality of what you’re building and the emotional aspect of your audience. The more time you invest in the brief, the better they’ll understand the world you’re building and help you lead a more creative and nuanced result.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO of Dots

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Dots is a powerful SaaS platform, combined with a world-class logistics network, allows organizations to quickly and easily buy, ship, support, and retrieve equipment anywhere in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Habitat Creative Company to accomplish?

• Designing the SaaS webapp
• Designing marketing martials and branding
• Designing the website and landing pages

SOLUTION

How did you find Habitat Creative Company?

Referral

Why did you select Habitat Creative Company over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Habitat Creative Company were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Initial Consultation and Planning: Initially Habitat organized meetings and workshops to map out requirements, goals, and vision for the SaaS tool from scratch. Later they conducted user and competitor research. We had a very in-depth discovery phase. 
• SaaS Web app Design: UX/UI design for the IT asset management SaaS tool. Started with user flows and various frameworks to wireframe the logic and the functionality of various flows in the dashboard. After this, the design phase began. Iterative agile design process with feedback loops and monthly sprints. 
• Website Design: Started with the visually appealing landing page that reflects brand identity. Animations were also covered by Habitat. As the product grows - adding new pages to the brand. 
• Branding: Habitat team created us logo, brand palette, and marketing materials for the brand. They cover all types of marketing materials and digital assets that we might need. 
• Development and Implementation: Habitat team collaborated with the dev team and guided them through the whole dashboard. Also, they performed QA. 

Key Deliverables: 

• Figma designs for the SaaS web app. 
• Dropbox folder with brand assets. 
• A fully functional website with a custom design. 
• Branded marketing materials in digital and ready-to-print formats. Prototypes, wireframes, and design documentation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

User Engagement Metrics: 

• Increase in user interactions such as clicks, downloads, and form submissions on the website and SaaS tool. 
• Decrease in bounce rates, indicating improved engagement and retention of visitors. 
• Conversion Rates: Improvement in conversion rates for desired actions, such as signing up for the SaaS tool, requesting a demo, or contacting the company through the website. 
• Tracking project timelines and comparing them to initial estimates to ensure timely delivery of design solutions. 
• Assessing the project's adherence to budget constraints and cost-effectiveness in achieving the desired outcomes. 

ROI and Business Impact: 
Calculating the return on investment (ROI) from the project based on factors such as increased sales, cost savings, and improved operational efficiency. The overall impact of the design solutions - business objectives achievement, such as revenue growth, customer acquisition, and competitive advantage. 
Ever since we started working together, I’ve seen the impact firsthand. People love what they do—the designs, the whole approach—it really resonates. After launching our last project, we saw some serious growth. It’s clear their work doesn’t just look good; it really speaks to my audience and gets results.

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

They delivered the project on time and made sure my needs were fully satisfied. They take a proactive approach to satisfy the needs of the product and the marketing team.

What was your primary form of communication with Habitat Creative Company?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their receptiveness and positivity endure even amidst our myriad requests. Moreover, the results consistently exceed expectations. When we sought customized designs, they promptly delivered them within a mere hour, marking an exceptionally impressive moment. 
Three things really make them stand out. First, they take the time to really get what I’m about, which shows in the work they do for me—it’s always spot on. Second, you’re amazing to talk to; I never feel like just another client on their list. And third, their creative ideas are just next level. They always got something up their sleeve that surprises me and makes my projects pop in ways I hadn’t imagined.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Habitat Creative Company could have done differently?

Nothing in particular

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Vendo.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Vendo lets you start your own multi-brand marketplace to unlock eCommerce revenue bottled up in your website, newsletter, and social by selling quality products from domestic brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Habitat Creative Company to accomplish?

• New branding and logo
• New website
• New marketing materials

SOLUTION

How did you find Habitat Creative Company?

Referral

Why did you select Habitat Creative Company over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Habitat Creative Company were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Figma layouts and other design assets for: 

• competitive research report 
• branding feelscapes
• branding proposals
• final branding assets 
• website designs 
• marketing material designs
• animations

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A full design and marketing package: 

• new branding 
• new website
• new marketing materials 

As a result, we've noticed a visible credibility boost, which translated into higher numbers of customer onboarding to our SaaS product with higher conversion rates.

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

Habitat Creative Company is our trusted and valued extended design team: 

• They had a multi-step process for delivering business value but were flexible and considerate of our timelines.
• They are comprehensive: research, branding, design, and animations.
• They are fully integrated with our team: Slack, Figma, and weekly calls.
• They have quick turnaround times for initial designs and iterations.

What was your primary form of communication with Habitat Creative Company?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• They handle designer-to-dev handover, implementation reviews, and feedback.
• They are creative but business result-oriented in their work.
• They pick up our briefs and run with them, proposing multiple solutions.
• They never go AWOL when team members go on well-deserved vacations.
• Thanks to their modular design system, any substituting is easy.
• They continuously deliver excellence in improving Vendo UX, so you may rest assured your marketplace look & feel is in good hands.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Habitat Creative Company could have done differently?

We should have more team building get togethers in person, like we've had in September 2023!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a fast growing venture-backed fintech business based in New York. I am the co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Habitat Creative Company?

We initially hired Habitat to help us design landing pages. They have been amazing and their role quickly grew to cover design for all of our growth assets including our website, all landing pages, emails, ads, and any other marketing/growth collateral as well as several critical in-product / onboarding flows.

SOLUTION

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

We conducted a rigorous evaluation process of several vendors on Clutch and another similar website. After initial evaluation, we conducted a test design project with the top 3 or 4 companies. Habitat provided the most creative and cleanest designs and was by far the best to work with in that test project, so we went with them and have never looked back.

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

We contracted Habitat to manage own all of our marketing design. They have become a core part of our team and we have a relationship like with any of our internal employees. Habitat manages all designs for our website, our landing pages, all our emails, and also some of our in product UI designs. We prioritize a backlog of work together in Asana at the beginning of each week, and then have two quick check-ins during the week. The primary tool we use for design with Habitat is Figma and they are absolute rockstars.

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

We work with several resources from the Habitat team. There is a project manager who helps coordinate everything, there are several UI and UX designers based on our needs, as well an animation designer. Our primary contacts are the project manager and one key designer. Whenever they need specialists - for example illustrators - they have additional people on their team that they can pull in.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Habitat has been amazing. We have worked with several designers in the past and nobody even comes close to the level of quality and ease of working we get with the Habitat team. We completely revamped our website and brand identity and our website and landing page conversion has improved significantly. It's completely day and night to what we had before.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between "our team" and "their team" is so effective that even the wording of this question seems off to me - that is because it does not feel like "their team" and "our team" at all. We are truly just one integrated team. They really understand the priorities that we're working on, we have a seamless process to prioritize tasks and get work done. The team members from Habitat always have creative ideas to share and input on what is most important, which really helps as we are not designers ourselves.

The process is super smooth - once the tasks are defined and priorities are set, the work just comes flying back and always looking good. The time zone difference also helps. Whenever we have urgent tasks we just prioritize them on the backlog in the afternoon US time, and we wake up in the morning and it's done and beautiful as always - like magic!

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

The enthusiasm, commitment, creativity and work ethic that everybody on the Habitat team brings to the table is next level. Finding good people is the hardest and most important part of building a succesful company. Before we found Habitat, we worked with several different designers and it was never easy. Then we found Habitat and the magic started. We are extremely lucky to have worked with them and would highly recommend them to anybody.

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

There is really nothing I would change. As I'm sure it's clear from my review by now, the Habitat team is top tier!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and Director at STORE 5a. We buy and sell luxury jewelry, watches, and handbags both online and in-store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Habitat?

Almost seven years ago, we started selling luxury goods online. Since then, our online sales have grown, and our company has expanded into three physical stores. We needed a website that better complimented the luxury feel and experience that we were known for providing in our stores. We turned to Habitat to help design a more intuitive website, enhance the customer experience, and perfect our branding.

SOLUTION

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

Initially, we had reached out to people within our network to see if our peers had any good recommendations. After several disappointing interviews, we began searching for what we needed on Clutch. After narrowing down the skillset and budget parameters, we found Habitat and several others. After meeting with all of them, we quickly realized that the team at Habitat understand precisely what our needs were and how to achieve them.

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

We began by providing them with an RFP for the work that needed to be done. Soon after, we joined a call with their team to discuss more of the details of the job. A few days later, they came back with a full proposal and pricing. Once approved, they began work almost immediately. During the first few weeks, there were several calls to ensure that the visuals were matching the look and feel that we were after. Once that was locked in, they began building out each page. Before each portion of the site was completed, they would share working prototypes using Figma. Here we could add notes or approve the work. All and all, they made the entire process very simple!

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

We worked consistently with 4 of their team members. Each one was eager to help, very knowledgeable, and quick to communicate with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has stayed within the time scope and price range originally quoted. We have not had the designs developed or implemented yet, so we do not have results to share, however, we feel very positive about what they have provided!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely. We used mostly two channels of communication. The first was sending Figma files through slack. This was very helpful because we had all of our conversations in one place and any adjustments that needed to be made could be recorded in Figma. Secondly, for any major updates or conversations, we would hope on a video call with several members of their team.

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

The designs they built were extremely tasteful and contemporary. They were fast in their work and communication.

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

To be honest, I don't have any critiques. I would work with them again and recommend them to others.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of an early-stage fintech startup in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Habitat?

We don’t have an internal design team and needed help with the UI/UX of our web app, so we turned to Habitat.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Habitat is working with us on designing our web app, focusing primarily on the user interface and the user journey. We’ve provided the team with sketches of what the product should look like, and they’re now building off of those ideas. The final deliverables are Figma designs and prototypes that our tech team can test and implement. 

What is the team composition?

We’re working with 3–5 people from their team.

How did you come to work with Habitat?

Clutch’s website was a big part of our search process. I shortlisted a few options and looked into their past works, customer reviews, and understanding of the work during our initial calls. Based on that, I chose Habitat.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2021, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of Habitat’s work is very good. They’re collaborative, able to get our vision right, and create designs that are easy for our frontend developers to implement. 

How did Habitat perform from a project management standpoint?

Habitat is very timely. They deliver on time and within budget, and they’re really good at estimating and being upfront. The process is very transparent, and it’s been a really good experience working with them.

Most of our communication is done via Slack, but we got through briefs on documents or in a mirror view on Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What we like about Habitat is how good they are at understanding our needs and requirements. They’re very skilled at bringing ideas to life and creating an interface that is in line with our expectations. They’re very engaged and really enjoy working on the project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve. I’m very happy to continue working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have conversations with them about how the process is going to work and how you can prepare your requirements. They’re flexible and work according to what you need.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the product manager at a company that permit the shipping of goods via road transportation via an online platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Habitat?

We wanted to recreate our platform by starting with our carrier side. To provide a complete self-sufficient platform that will provide more values to improve our partnership with our carriers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Habitat posted an ad in the building app, as one of the employees is working in the same building as us.

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

Their team started with a discovery phase, to understand our users and their needs. They then provided a user flow overview based on their research and our documentation. The next step was to agree on the general feeling of the platform. They provided multiple options for the home page which permitted us to select the type of feeling and look we wanted to provide our customers.

Then they started the design process, with having weekly checks for the feedback. Before starting each section, we would be allowed to provide all the necessary information as to permit them to completely understand what the section should do.

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

My team worked directly with thei UX/UI designers and with their project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently developing the platform and we already rehired the company to design the shipper side of our platform.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had to find a bit of a workflow at first, but the last 2 months went very smoothly.

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

They understand very quickly what was expected from them without having much knowledge from the logistics market. Their designs connected perfectly with what we wanted, and the collaboration was very pleasant.

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

This is something that can be blamed on both sides, but we could have had a more structured process for the feedback and preparation of each screen at the beginning. This was fixed during the collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior product marketing manager for AngelList Venture, the largest platform for startup investing globally. We do two things; on the fund management side, we enable fund managers to run funds on AngelList, and we take care of all their back-office services like LP management, closings, taxing, and accounting. On the investment side, we bring investment opportunities to high-net-worth individuals and accredited investors across the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Habitat?

We used to have multiple lines of business that we were trying to separate them, so we needed a website and Habitat helped us design it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team had an empty canvas, so they designed everything from scratch using WebFlow –wireframes, UI, UX, and hover states. Habitat did everything that had to do with the website from start to finish. Over time, when they proved their capabilities, other parts of our company were intrigued by their work. They wanted Habitat to get involved in several products of our company, from all of our website marketing, presentations, and social media. They ended up becoming an extended design arm for the whole company.

They’ve mainly focused on the design since they don’t have a developer side on their business, but they recommended a couple of website development agencies that we ended up working with.

What is the team composition?

At first, our main points of contact were Victor (Founder & Head of Design) and Helen (Head of Operations). We only interact with the designers when we’re working on something specific.

How did you come to work with Habitat?

We were looking for a new agency on Dribbble. We saw their work and thought it looked interesting. We spoke to a couple of other agencies, but after we spoke to Habitat, we thought they could help us get where we needed to go.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d say we’ve spent around $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since July 2020, and it’s an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re having a great experience with them. The main metric that we would use is that we don’t let a lot of agencies touch our core product, and despite that, the rest of the team wanted to work with Habitat, which we think is a huge endorsement. They also pushed our team to go through different design systems to bring our brand closer together between signed-in and signed-out states. 

From a quantitative perspective, it’s hard to quantify from a monetary standpoint how a design can help to reach goals, but they saved us time to do all this internally. There’s no chance we could’ve done this website in a  seven to nine week-span, and they did it in a very cost-efficient way. I’d say they saved us tens of thousands of dollars timewise. Additionally, Habitat is based in Ukraine, so we think that if we were to do the same work with a US-based agency, it probably would’ve cost us way more money for the quality.

How did Habitat perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been incredibly flexible, patient, and communicative. They let us know what’s coming up and what should be done by then. Helen runs a tight ship, so whenever we need something at the last minute, they’re able to accommodate and get us where we need to go.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and speed were the most impressive. I’ve worked with many agencies, both internationally and within the US, and I’ve never worked with someone as flexible and fast as Habitat. We’re getting everything we want and more.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing is that we wished they had more designers. If we become bigger, we’ll probably have more work for them. Sometimes the time zone difference can be challenging, but it also works to our advantage.  If something comes up late from our end, we send them to them overnight, and we’d wake up to something ready. But, other than that, they’ve been great.

Any advice for potential customers?

Don’t shy away, and be open with your feedback. Their team is very receptive and open to that. If you have many projects with them, tell them which one is your number one priority, and they’ll prioritize.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

PauseAble is a mental wellness company. We develop products to help people relax, recharge and form a habit for meditation practice by using our Pause App. I am Founder and CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Habitat?

We needed UI/UX and visual design competences

What were your goals for this project?

Launch Pause as a Subscription service and continuously improving.

SOLUTION

How did you select Habitat?

Posted the job online. And got a confident and heartfelt application from Viktor Habitat founder. We already knew they are good.

Describe the project in detail.

Turning Pause App from a one-time payment app to a subscription service. We needed continuous support in UX and Visual when adding new features, optimizing UX...etc

What was the team composition?

From Habitat: UX/UI designer, project manager, graphic designer, motion designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched Pause as a subscription service on schedule. Habitat has played an important role.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

VERY effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

1. They can provide high-quality updates daily. That allows rapid iteration
2. They really care about the client's needs. Every phone call has been effective, positive and there is a human touch in their communication, in phone calls, and in slack chats.
3. They are confident and able to see beyond isolated tasks. They always get back with multiple options, and sometimes provide surprisingly good solutions. Those situations make their contribution truly valuable.
4. They find different ways to improve communication. For instance, they started using Loom to present designs, it shows they care about the quality of communication. That is gold for remote collaboration.
5. They are skillful at what they do. And have open minds.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing came to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a product design lead at a fast-growing startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Habitat?

We hired Habitat for marketing website design and overall branding. In the beginning, we didn't have enough resources for branding so needed consultation

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to make the marketing website more informational and have a solid and united branding throughout channels and the product.

SOLUTION

How did you select Habitat?

We worked with another agency for product UIs. For marketing materials, we worked with Habitat. They made 4-5 options to see what would fit us in like 2-3 hours. And in the first meeting, Victor would write down everything the CEO and I were saying. They were proactive

Describe the project in detail.

First I asked for 2-3 style scapes to see if they understand our branding well. We picked up one option and developed the concept. The concept has a lot of illustrations. After the first concept was almost ready to go live we found out that the concept with illustrations is not aligned with our company mission. So we collaborated from scratch. There have been hundreds and thousands of iterations.

What was the team composition?

Victor assigned us, 2 designers and 1 motion designer. But they have a lot more designers that could fit other side tasks (e.g. custom icon design).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've got a lot of good feedback from clients, designers and journalists. One of the best comments was "Your website is so sexy that attracts amazing talents" Obviously we have more and more traffic over time.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Habitat shares progress every day. We work in Trello and Slack. And I'm in touch with Victor all the time so we could make decisions as we go. Lots of small decisions are made every day.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They always listen and stay positive even though we ask for so many things at once. Also, the outcome is very satisfactory. When we asked for customized icons, they finished the design within 1 hour. This was the most impressive moment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think the effort to understand your clients' product better would make Habitat more professional.