Halo Lab

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an online education startup called TutorChase.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Halo Lab?

We hired them for their web design and development services. We wanted to design a new website that was modern and professional-looking. We also wanted it to have a better UX and backend system that integrated with different third-party platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Halo Lab helped us create a new website. They first conducted research to better understand our business and brand identity. After that, they proceeded with designing the website, which had 10 different main pages, using Figma. They then moved on to the development phase, building the site using Next.js.

Their team has already completed the website, and we plan to launch it soon. We will continue to collaborate with them on the future development of our website and technology.

What is the team composition?

The project manager is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Halo Lab?

We found them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in March of 2022, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with the end product and look forward to launching it in a few days.

How did Halo Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been very good and professional in this regard. We usually get on a call with them on weekly basis, and they always provide great suggestions and brand ideas. Also, we have at least one or two meetings where I comment on the design work. We mainly use Slack, video calls, and some pre-recorded videos for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their professionalism and communication skills. Their team is also friendly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We would have loved to speak directly to the developers or designers instead of having to go through the project manager all the time.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you're good and quick at communication because they constantly message you and expect to get your feedback before moving on to the next step.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a tech startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Halo Labs to upgrade our website. When we first launched our product, our website was V1 and due to the lack of cta's, etc, we were seeing a low conversion from website leads. We needed an upgrade to our website to help increase our website lead conversion as well as solidify our presence.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and came across Halo-Labs. The deciding factors included their past projects and price point.

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

We utilized WebFlow and had about a month of design and then a month of development. Nadiia, Marina and the whole team was fantastic to work with and super responsive.

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

We worked with a project manager, Marina, and our sales lead, Nadiia. Both were fantastic and very fun to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching the site, we have already seen a spike in conversions coming from the website.

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

Halo-Labs was extremely timely, as well as great communicators with us,

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

Their value and price ratio was phenomenal. We have worked with other design shops where we have felt we overpaid, that was not the case with Halo-Labs.

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

Nothing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a marketing agency operating in Germany with a focus on software companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Halo Lab?

We needed the complete design for a comparison platform that we are developing.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for web design companies, interviewed interesting partners, and decided to settle with Halo due to a good feeling we had with their offering and expertise.

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

We first discussed the project scope and our plans for the design. In the next step, they created a mood board from which we could pick example websites, color schemes, and elements that we like. Based on our description they began to create a structure for the homepage to agree on the style of the website. We then moved on to the prototypes and kept an agile approach to moving from one page to another until they were all done.

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

For the most part, we worked with one project manager and one designer. However, their internal processes also involved 1-3 more people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are happy with the designs and so far our developers can smoothly implement them. There have been some small questions from our devs here and there, but we could easily reach out to the PM after the project to clear them quickly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very smooth, most of our communication took place via Slack and for bigger topics, we had 1 or 2 calls to discuss more detailed things along the way.

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

I really liked that they came up with their own ideas and solutions to the challenges we faced. We could then compare our own ideas with their solution and agreed on how we are going to do it. Often times companies just blindly follow what the client wants, even if they know it’s maybe not optimal. They questioned things, discussed them with their team, and presented their thoughts on what was best for the project. I think this is super important especially in terms of design, because obviously, they are more knowledgeable than the contractor if it comes to UX etc.

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

I'm used to having more control over the transparency of the work to see what is currently going on. Some kind of time tracking would have been nice. Sometimes I wished that more questions were asked before executing a task, as I felt it was not always 100% clear to them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of a startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I hired Halo Lab for a complete brand redesign and a landing page for marketing/user acquisition.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I researched portfolio work that I liked on dribbble and narrowed it down based on quality and similar work done relative to the aesthetic I was looking for and type of business I am in.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Discovery Phase Compile general information Competitors analysis Moodboard

• Deliverable: Research and Moodboard
• Defining concepts Sketching and Ideas search
• Logo concepts Sketches and Concepts explanation 
• Final logo
• Comparison with other competitors
• Visual preview
• Logo, colors, and typography combination check

Deliverable: Final logo presentation

• Brand Guidelines
  • Introduction Text
  • Main Logo Preview (horizontal, vertical, minimal)
  • Construction and Safe zones
  • Logo Rules
  • Icon Usage
  • Download Logo Assets (svg, png, pdf): vertical and horizontal logo in color, white, black, an icon.
  • Color Palette
    • Brand Colors
    • Color Shades
    • Usage Proportions
  • Logo Colors Combinations
  • Typography
  • Main Font Preview + Link to Buy
  • Additional Font Preview + Link to Buy
  • Fonts Styles
  • Composition
    • Logo Placement Rules
    • Grid Setup
    • Layout Composition
  • Imagery  
    • Photography or Illustrations Style Examples
    • Pattern (depends on a style) 
    • Icons style example + Buy Set Link
  • Icon building guidance
  • Brand In Use
  • Social Media Covers
  • Figma Templates (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
  • Visual Brand presence: Posters, Billboard, Merch Mockup
  • Landing page up to 6 blocks (without custom illustrations).
  • Development on Webflow with animations

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

1 Project Manager Multiple designers led by 1 senior designer and web developer. I interfaced with 3 total

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

www.thisiswindow.com The landing page received rave reviews at the ultimate Demo Day of our product.

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

We have mulitple meetings a week on Google Meet and communicated daily on slack. The entire project was completed timely on the agreed upon 10 week schedule.

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

In addition to being talented, they were very flexible, professional, and pleasant to work with.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of IGL-Technologies, a software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Halo Lab?

We needed a company that could help us improve the UI/UX and overall look and feel of our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Halo Lab to redesign the UI/UX of our outdated application. The project took two months, and they managed to deliver a whole new UI/UX and a UI kit. Additionally, they redesigned some of the icons we use. 

They used Figma for the designs and Adobe After Effects for the animations.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one full-time designer and four other people from Halo Lab.

How did you come to work with Halo Lab?

I found Halo Lab through Dribbble. We chose them based on the quality of their portfolio. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from March 2022–May 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any metrics yet because we are still implementing the new UI/UX designs, but we definitely think that they will improve the overall user interface of our application and that users will be satisfied with the new look.

How did Halo Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Halo Lab performed well in terms of project management. They led a seamless and hassle-free workflow.

We typically communicated through WhatsApp and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Halo Lab’s efficiency was top-notch. We also appreciated their keen attention to detail and strong understanding of our problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Founder and COO of Playful Pineapple, a revolutionary new Social Network for the 21st Century Swinging Lifestyle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Halo Lab?

We hired Halo to design and create a prototype of our webapp for our Investment Pitch. Halo also helped us with branding and designed our Company Logo.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed between 5-10 UX/UI design companies and Halo impressed us the most. The great quality of their previous work along with their professionalism in our first meeting made our decision easy to make.

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

The team conducted project research to analyse our competitors and created a Moodboard to determine the colour palette, typography and design style. We worked together on our User flow, but at the same time they helped us with our branding and designed our company logo. Halo then created a design concept before working on our Wireframes, then applied our design to complete the UI before tying it all together in a fantastic animated prototype.

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

We worked directly with the Project Manager, who was clear and responsive during the entire process. She would pass on our feedback to the UX/UI designer at Halo who did a fantastic job.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very pleased with the deliverables from the Halo team. We are meeting with investors in the next few weeks, so we hope the UI designs and prototype will help us secure the necessary funding for us to continue with the full web development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was very easy to communicate with and provided us with frequent updates. We communicated mainly via Slack but there was also messages exchanged via email. Everything was delivered on time and we received more than enough warning that there was the possibility we could miss our deadline. In the end we didn't miss a deadline but it was great to have enough warning so we could prepare.

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

Their UX/UI and general design skills were very impressive, but they also had a very good operational process which was executed perfectly. They were very patient but also receptive to our queries and comments, which they would take the time to analyse and respond with considered and evidence backed feedback.

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

As an experienced programme manager, I find comfort in knowing and understanding the steps of a process so maybe knowing the project milestones and stages would be good, but it is by no means a criticism, more of a personal preference.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a development platform that helps companies build social features, particularly chats and calls, into their own applications quickly and easily. We target startups and growing companies in North America that are developing online communities, healthcare apps, and online marketplaces. We also help their development teams speed up the process of building the chat features.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Halo Lab?

We were trying to increase our conversion rate, and as part of that, we wanted to focus on youth acquisition. We had developed our current website in-house, and it had been up for over a year. Since we launched the website, we cleaned up our messaging and refined our value proposition. Thus, we wanted to redo our website to better communicate with our buyer personas, like CTOs, directors of product, and technical decision-makers. Thus, we hired Halo Lab to help us create a modern, expressive, and easy-to-understand site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Halo Lab helped us redesign and redevelop our website. We worked closely together during the design process. Halo Lab showed us different versions of what our website would look like, and we picked one of those options. Then, we provided them with feedback to tweak some aspects of the design to meet our requirements. After that, they were in charge of the development process until completion.

What is the team composition?

We had two main points of contact from Halo Lab: an account manager and a product manager. Additionally, they had developers working behind the scenes, so we didn’t communicate with them.

How did you come to work with Halo Lab?

Halo Lab reached out to my co-founder via LinkedIn even before we decided to redo our website. Once we decided to start looking for a contractor for this project, we reached out to different companies, including those who had reached out to us in the past, and evaluated our different options.

Ultimately, we decided to go with Halo Lab because their team seemed to have high technical expertise, and it felt like they knew what they were doing. Additionally, during our call with the account manager, this person proved to be very friendly; we had a warm discussion. I also looked at their website, portfolio, and client reviews, and I was convinced that they were the perfect fit.

Still, given that they were from Ukraine and were dealing with the Russian Invasion, we hesitated a little bit because we didn’t know where the situation would go. However, they reassured us that their team was remote and had processes in place to handle any possible scenario.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contacted Halo Lab in March 2022, started working together in early April 2022, and the project was completed within three weeks. Now, we’re ready to go live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new website will help us project a more premium experience for our customers — a product manager friend even told us that our website looked like a million-dollar site. On this site, we were able to add our messaging and style to project this premium experience. We wanted a site that reflected who we were better, and Halo Lab successfully achieved that.

How did Halo Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

The deadline by which Halo Lab delivered the site was exceptional, considering the situation they were going through. Throughout the development process, the product manager was very helpful and communicative. Although some things got a bit delayed during this process, we didn’t care about them because we wanted them to be done well.

Halo Lab’s overall communication was very good, too. They set expectations very well, and they were very transparent about everything. We added them to our Slack channel, and we collaborated on Figma for the design.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Halo Lab was very collaborative; it was great interacting with their team. They were a very warm group of people, and they were very involved in the process. They also had great creative ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our site presented minor technical issues that I ultimately fixed because I’m the technical founder of my company, so it wasn’t a big deal. Those issues would’ve been avoided if I had had the opportunity to talk to Halo Lab’s developers. However, those were expected issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with your requirements and provide specific details about your branding.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the UX Strategist for WTFast, we have software solutions for Gaming related to gaming connections

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Halo Lab?

We needed a very sharp designer for several projects at the time, the main idea was to have a 24h working team sort to speak, we at wtfast worked from the day on UX and at night Halo would deliver UI designs and some other graphic design needed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were hired by our last Product Manager, I had no part on this, however they have an amazing portfolio!

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

Confidential

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

1 designer full time 1 project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were please with all the designs provided and we still are to this day, they are a really sharp team and their designers amazing. We managed to release 2 products and update 2 more in a very good time frame.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It wasn't perfect but it was very good and efficient, it is true that having different timezones may affect communication, they were always responded to our need (under acceptable hours of course hehe)

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

Their design was fast and their skills very good! A mix that usually companies don't have, they were fast and delivered high-quality designs

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

Not big deal but maybe getting designers on other timezones, clients may have others needs and what not

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a health technology company. We are developing a solution to disrupt digital health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Finding pixel perfect UI developers was challenging, Halo Lab have the right skills and attitude when it comes to UI development. The staff are very professional and skilled for the task on hand.

SOLUTION

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

We interviewed 3 shortlisted companies and put them through a test task, Halo Lab's team was able to deliver the test task in a timely manner. We were impressed with the pixel perfect UI development that their staff delivered.

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

The project is an ongoing one and through daily calls and sprint planning we brief the team for the work on hand.

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

We have 1 project manager, 3 UI developers and 1 QA Tester engaged on our project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project is still under development.

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

We have daily-standup with the project managers and the team and make use of Microsoft DevOps to manage the project.

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

All team members from Halo Lab have shown great skills and commitment to the project which we highly appreciate.

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

Being a multi-platform application getting the UI working on different devices has been challenging, however with further testing and bug fixing we are close to having the application work well across different devices.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Dotcal, a scheduling platform similar to HubSpot.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Halo Lab?

We’d worked with other designers in the past, but we weren’t happy with the templates for our booking pages. We reached out to Halo Lab for a small contract and kept extending that contract.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with template designs, but Halo Lab also helped us redesign the admin panel of our website and social media. If we asked them for a template design for a booking page, they’d rethink what a booking page could be. Then, they moved on to the UX wireframes and UI.

The booking page was a core part of our product, and we offered different UI templates to choose from.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from Halo Lab: two UX/UI designers, one project manager, and one business manager. We talked to the project manager every day, and we spoke to the business manager about contracts and other administrative issues.

How did you come to work with Halo Lab?

We knew the aesthetic we wanted as a company, so we reached out to many design firms. We came across Halo Lab on Dribbble and let their designs speak for themselves. The other design firm we considered was pretty good, but Halo Lab nailed the template designs. Since that’s the core differentiator of our company, we needed to nail it.

We gave Halo Lab a chance, and we immediately knew they were the ones we wanted to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $6,000 per month with them, and we worked together for three months.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Halo Lab in mid-December 2021, and the engagement stopped in mid-March 2022. We’ve paused the work to implement everything. I fully expect us to continue working with them in the future, probably in the next couple of months. However, we’re overloaded with their designs right now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ll launch in about a month, so we don’t have metrics to share yet. However, it was super refreshing to work with them. We’ve never had a design firm output such a high volume of high-quality work. Halo Lab made every single design in our app — they basically redesigned our whole application, except for the homepage. We thought our admin pages and dashboard were good until they redesigned them. Now, they’re just much better.

How did Halo Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They gave us designs and iterations every single day. It was amazing how fast they could work. We’d worked with designers that were honestly five times slower or even worse. We talked to them on Slack every day, and they gave us what they’d worked on the night before. We’re in San Francisco, and they’re in Ukraine, so they worked while we slept, and we’d wake up to new designs. We’d also go over everything in Figma.

Additionally, we had calls with them two days a week, on Monday and Friday, and shared looms back and forth if we needed. Overall, the quality of their work paired with how much they gave us. Halo Lab set a new bar for us, and we were very happy with them. They never missed a deadline, but most importantly, they gave us a higher quality product than what we expected to get. They went above and beyond, delivering more than expected.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The combination of quality and speed of work was unparalleled. We’d never seen anything like it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be prepared to provide feedback quickly because Halo Lab works fast. Also, not talking to them every day would probably waste time. They work on a contract basis, so the minimum someone can book them for is one month. Therefore, it’s best to give them feedback and communicate in real-time. We dedicated someone on our team to talk to them, and I think we got the most out of the engagement.