UX/UI Design, Custom Mobile Apps, Web Development
Our product design studio works with innovative companies to build apps, design systems, prototypes, and custom software tools.
Offerings Include:
- Prototyping
- UX Design
- Digital Product Design
- Web Design and Development
- SaaS Software
- Digital Strategy
- Mobile App Design and Development
- Online Marketplaces
- UI Design
- Design Systems
- Digital Transformation
- Design Sprints
Helm focuses on the critical touch point between people and software — interactive screens. We partner with companies to create memorable experiences that solve problems and delight. We are accomplished Designers, Engineers, and Product people known for the rigor and sensitivity of our outcomes.
We help companies innovate and bring ideas to life. The team at Helm truly enjoys making technology easier to use. Together, with you, we make applications that people care about and continue to bond with.
Focus
Portfolio
43North, ACV Auctions, Lloyd Taco Trucks & Products, ThinkTech Solutions, Shea's Performing Arts Center, Produce Peddlers, AirExpert, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Seneca Holdings
ThinkTech Solutions
Bringing an edTech product business to life through a suite of innovative apps.
The founders of ThinkTech approached the team at Helm to help bring their teaching product to life. As professionals working in education, they hold an intimate understanding of problems that are facing schools. Technology in the classroom is relatively new and often misused or not as effective as it could be. Existing applications kept students heads-down and not interacting with one another. We needed to enhance the in-classroom experience and provide insight to teachers in real time.
Our team built a series of applications for teachers to engage students with. Through these, teachers are able to create unique learning games for students. Students can log into a live sessions and complete sorting or quiz-like exercises. Teachers can run interactive exercises, at any time, with their entire class! Students using laptops or tablets can work through exercises together, providing the results data back to the teacher.
We helped ThinkTech apply cutting-edge techniques like accountable talk and self reflection. Students can engage, interact, and quickly see how they’re doing compared to others in their class. As we continue rolling out the application to school districts across New York, we’re adjusting and designing new features, consulting on digital strategy, and developing new innovative applications with them.
With each enhancement, student learning is becoming transparent and interactive. Teachers are now agile and able to adjust their teaching based on real-time data.
Shea's Performing Arts Center
Shea’s Performing Arts Center is a Buffalo landmark and cultural icon for the region. The Shea’s Performing Arts Center website gets traffic above 40 thousand visitors each month.
Shea’s approached Helm to design and build a brand new website that reflects the current state of the institution and the present digital landscape. We are working with stakeholders to provide a simple and contemporary ticket purchasing user experience, as well as providing up-to-date information about the shows, exhibitions, programs, and events.
We’ve built custom payment forms, volunteer sign ups and solved for each unique problem the theater has presented us. As we help grow the theater’s community, we will build interactive experiences for their patrons and internal tools for their administrative team.
Lloyd Taco Trucks & Catering
We are helping Lloyd bringing tacos to the masses - with an integrated calendar application.
The lloyd team presented us with a problem, they were growing too fast. The food service company had reached a milestone and added a 4th food truck to its fleet. However, managing and updating the locations of these trucks had become a real operational problem.⠀
We learned that they needed a way to allow multiple employees and managers to be able to seamlessly update when and where trucks would be serving their delicious tacos, as this can change rapidly for them.
Our solution was to build a web application powered by 4 separate Google Calendars. This allows an employee to update a truck location from their phone and the app immediately displays that change in a calendar on the company website. Cheers to tacos!⠀
43North
We have been working with 43North for the past 4 years building, managing, and iterating on the application process for companies that apply to the business competition.
Our digital tools have helped 43north collect and vet thousands of company applications ultimately providing $20 million dollars (and counting) to Buffalo Startup companies.⠀
Helm also recently launched a new website for 43north. Redesigning the original website to meet the organization’s new goals and strategies around providing richer content.
Produce Peddlers
Helm designed and launched a revolutionary marketplace that connects farmers to restauranteurs. Restaurants want to serve local, fresh produce. Farmers want to sell their produce and reduce waste. Farms can list the produce that they have, along with details like harvest dates and photos. Restaurants can easily shop and purchase online to have that produce delivered right to their door.
ACV Auctions
From creating a minimum viable product to selling thousands of cars each month.
Helped raise over $300M
Reviews
the project
Website Re-Design for Historical Institution
"We considered a lot of great organizations, but if I could do it all over again, I would still pick Helm."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the communication and content coordinator for a nonprofit historical institution. We are our state's premier historical organization and we have been around since 1862. Our archives, exhibits, and collections are all reflective of the state history.
My job as the communications and content coordinator is essentially the marketing, PR, and social media person.
What challenge were you trying to address with Helm Experience & Design?
We needed to do a website redesign. Our previous one was dated and didn’t do what the museum needed it to in any regard. It did not represent the exhibits appropriately, it did not represent our events appropriately and it was not user friendly at all.
The biggest thing was that we needed a communication tool that was user-friendly and would appropriately represent our collection.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Helm built a customized WordPress stack that has plugins, some made from scratch and some existing plugins that were customized to our needs. For example, they added a search bar as well as a customized, branded calendar for our research library.
Aside from building the actual site, Helm is also on board for any technical problems.
What is the team composition?
I primarily worked with our project manager. I also worked with Nicholas (Co-Founder) who was like an assisting project manager as well on the site.
When it came to certain phases of the project, we had a few other staff members that helped us. When we were in the earlier aesthetic phases, we had one additional person to help us from a graphic design viewpoint.
We also worked with someone for the more technical pieces, like linking the website with PayPal and things like that. In total there were five or six people that I saw in person and interacted with more than once.
How did you come to work with Helm Experience & Design?
Once we got the funding for the site, we did a full RFP process leading up to the project and we hired an external communications consultant to help with interviewing our top choices. It was between Helm and three other organizations. I believe Helm was sourced from our communications consultant, who knew of them but hadn’t worked with them before.
Helm had a very intense interest in our organization beyond just the website. They did their research on us as an institution — they knew about our collection and even came on a tour of the museum. I appreciated that additional initiative and I think that chemistry wise, they worked a lot better with our institution.
How much have you invested in them?
I believe the cost was around $38,000. They also host our website, and we have a support contract with them which is $250 per month.
What is the status of this engagement?
We entered a contract in August 2019, but we were doing pre-work with them prior to that. We did the soft launch and some of the testing in February 2020. They are still our host and we can contact them if something comes up or if something glitches.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Not only has Helm upgraded and refreshed everything to give it a new look, aesthetic, and functionality, they’ve also given us the capability to change and adapt. The site is very user friendly on the backend; there are webpages on the site that did not exist when we launched the site, such as a COVID-19 page.
These web pages took me all of 10 to 15 minutes to set up — now, not only do we have the refreshed look, but the website is exceptionally flexible. That was incredibly important for our institution, because our work is not static.
We know that all the tools are upgraded and designed in a way that we can make fresh web pages that don’t look cookie-cutter but that are still interactive and serve the needs that we need them to.
The site functions phenomenally, and has since it launched.
How did Helm Experience & Design perform from a project management standpoint?
If there was ever a deadline issue, it was on our end. Helm is on top of every single deadline, but they were also very flexible when things came up. There were a lot of different considerations and a lot of different opinions, and the team was very flexible with that and still were on time with everything.
We’ve had staffing changes and it just so happens that some of the staffing pages affect some of the very few areas on the site that we can’t customize. We would email Helm, and they would fix those things within 24 hours or before that. Since Helm hosts our website, they can provide us support on a regular and consistent basis.
We kept in touch through email and phone calls. I’m not very tech savvy, but they always explained things in terms that made sense. If I wasn’t sure about something, they didn’t just use a different term. We all had a full comprehension of what they were discussing. I never felt like anything went over my head which I appreciated.
What did you find most impressive about them?
For me, the site itself and the amount of flexibility and autonomy that it provides the organization, especially considering the fact that we do not have internal IT staff, is the most impressive. It’s not just the quality of the site itself that allows us to edit it — Helm gave our team very thorough training and built around our desire to have that flexibility.
As an organization, they have a lot of initiative and passion. There was not a single person I met on their team that I felt like wasn’t 100% in it at the moment. They were totally invested and hands-on.
The team is very understanding, but they are also very firm on what is realistic and what is not. At the same time, they were willing to work with us. There were some instances where they even had to mediate between what I wanted to do and what the desires were for another staff member.
They really took the initiative to learn our organization and really care about us as an institution. Helm really seemed to care — they’ve even shown up to our special events after the fact.
We considered a lot of great organizations, but if I could do it all over again, I would still pick Helm. I would highly recommend them to other peers both in the nonprofit field but also outside of it because they’re multifaceted.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don’t want to say that they were too flexible, but I think they probably could have been a little bit more aggressive and a little more persistent with the powers that be. Once they realized the personalities they were working with and the way things worked prior, it was a lot easier for them to push back and give us other options which became the norm later on and something that I appreciated.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
For any new customers coming in, I would tell them very strongly to have their end goals for this project in mind going into it. If you just go in with needing a new website and that’s it, Helm, because they are flexible and accommodating, wants to produce a website that is going to be what you need it to be.
They are web designers, and they can’t make decisions for you as an institution. If you have your goals established, I have no doubt in my mind that they will find a way to make those goals happen in whatever website they design for you.
the project
iOS, Android, & Windows App Dev for Workforce Solutions Firm
“They’re forward-thinking, solutions-oriented, and willing to go into unfamiliar territory to deliver.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CEO of a mobile workforce development solutions company. We cater to the heavy highway and construction industry.
What challenge were you trying to address with Helm Experience & Design?
At first, I needed help building a website with a reservation style functionality built-in. Then, we decided to work with them as a developer to build our app.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The project is a three-part system – two web-based platforms, and one app-based platform that all communicate with one another. The app-based piece is an app that users download and log into. The web-based sides of the system are for admin and managing users.
They built the initial app for iOS and Android. When we wanted to create a Windows-based version, we re-contracted them. Additionally, they revamped our website and provide troubleshooting and IT for us on an ongoing basis.
What is the team composition?
We worked with the owner, two developers, a designer, and one project manager in our first project together.
How did you come to work with Helm Experience & Design?
We found them through a mutual colleague.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent around $250,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our first project began in December 2017, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Their work has always been really high quality. They are very diligent in attacking the challenges that we put in front of them. The team is also very thorough about their solutions.
I was super appreciative to have a developer who was agnostic in their approach, versus building every single thing I asked for. We worked really collaboratively to build things out, and they’re responsive and timely.
How did Helm Experience & Design perform from a project management standpoint?
They use Asana for their internal management. We use emails and weekly calls to stay on top of the project.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The team is creative and their UX is awesome. They’re forward-thinking, solutions-oriented, and willing to go into unfamiliar territory to deliver what we need.
Are there any areas they could improve?
There are always challenges with any project, but they always made sure we had the right people.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
My advice is to have user stories in place. If you don’t have them, make sure you get them first so that you know the path of the UX. They’re really great at designing, but understanding that path is critical.
the project
Frontend Web Dev for Mortgage Lender Company
"I enjoyed working with them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so again."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I work in the mortgage technology industry. We produce a variety of technology solutions for loan officers and mortgage bankers. I’m the CIO.
What challenge were you trying to address with Helm Experience & Design?
Our in-house development team is more technical and focuses on function. In other words, we don’t have strong design skills. We engaged with Helm Experience & Design to help us revamp our website.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They provided us with all of the assets that we needed to deploy a new site. This included artwork, designing the layout, and putting together source files. We put all of that into our existing architecture. Our website was mostly built using HTML and CSS, so that is what they used for their work as well.
What is the team composition?
I worked with 5–6 people including a project manager, graphic designer, and developer.
How did you come to work with Helm Experience & Design?
Nick and Jonathan are acquaintances of mine. I’ve enjoyed working with them previously, so I decided they would be a good fit for this project, especially since we’re both located in Buffalo.
How much have you invested with them?
We invested about $10,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started discussing the project in February 2020, and we began the project that March. We wrapped up in April or May.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
I don’t have any quantitative metrics to share for their work. However, people have enjoyed the new website. It’s much more consistent than our previous website. The design is sophisticated which elevates our brand.
How did Helm Experience & Design perform from a project management standpoint?
They were great. It was nice that we had a designated project manager who put together the timeline for the project and laid out all of the deliverables.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The quality of the work that you get from them and the ease of working with them sets them apart from other vendors.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I don’t have anything they could improve. I enjoyed working with them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be open to thinking outside the box and consider their ideas.
The new site, with its customizable features, has been absolutely instrumental in the success and internal efficiency of the institution. Along the way, Helm was collaborative, flexible, and reliable, impressing internal stakeholders with their technical skill and creative acumen.