Award-winning Digital Agency
HMG Creative is a full-service digital agency that boosts the marketing efforts of growing brands with creative services in branding, web design and development, and marketing. As a collaborative partner, we deliver creative expertise and unmatched reliability to empower your next business evolution.
We are a boutique, Austin-based team with roots in San Diego and clients across the nation. Our crew consists of passionate strategists, top-of-the-line developers and forward-thinking designers whose approach is propelled by innovation and shaped by industry trends. Most of all, we’re your team’s creative experts – an extension of your brand here to navigate you through every step on your journey to success.
With HMG, your project will be delivered through a tried and tested methodology that produces impressive, consistent results. Always starting with the end in mind, HMG partners with your team to cultivate purpose-driven growth for your brand.
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Portfolio
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bucc-ee's, trueCABLE, SpyCloud, OriGen Biomedical, Humco, Babson Diagnostics, Capital Factory, The Marriott, IKEA, Cox Communications, OnStream Media, Brinks Security, Terminix, Retail Me Not, Terminix, Retail Me Not, The Art Institute, among other notable clients.
Bucc-ee's
Project Overview
HMG partnered with the Buc-ee’s team to modernize their site with an updated look and feel. With current limitations in accessibility, mobile-friendliness, and overall structure, we knew the new website needed to provide a better user experience for both visitors looking for information and team members making updates to the site. Most importantly, we wanted the website to serve as a seamless experience from the store to the digital space. Overall, the fun, friendly vibe of the Buc-ee’s brand is now equally represented in both the digital and physical space. Though an in-person visit to a Buc-ee’s store will forever be unparalleled, the digital experience offers any type of visitor a small piece of the beloved Buc-ee flavor.
About Bucc-ee's
One of Texas’ most widely recognized brands, Buc-ee’s has a long-standing reputation as the go-to pit stop for roadtrippers throughout Texas since 1982. Represented by the familiar, witty beaver we’ve all grown to love, Buc-ee’s is committed to providing a clean, friendly, and in stock experience for all customers. Buc-ee’s proudly holds the record for the cleanest restrooms in America and the world’s largest convenience store.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Project Overview
HMG Creative partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific to support and augment their email marketing team. The engagement has since expanded to include large-scale web production, UI/UX design, and over a thousand HTML email production projects. HMG Creative also actively assists several different businesses under the Thermo Fisher brand. Together we have created an ongoing, long-lasting partnership.
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenues of $18 billion and more than 55,000 employees globally. Their Scientific’s innovations help scientists around the world from solving complex analytical challenges to pioneering discoveries, in a way that caters to their needs and preferred methods. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s product base includes lab equipment, lab plasticware, mass spectrometry, chromatography, molecular biology, protein biology, clinical and diagnostics and more.
trueCABLE
Project Overview
HMG had the opportunity to partner with trueCABLE through nearly every service we offer, becoming a truly integrated extension of the trueCABLE team. We dove into learning about the company, held customer interviews, and performed a brand discovery workshop to gain insight about trueCABLE’s identity as a brand and its ideal customers. After extensive research and analysis, we presented trueCABLE with a comprehensive Brand Toolkit, outlining brand characteristics, positioning, and messaging. We then created a unique marketing strategy, redesigned their website for a better user experience, and created a holistic marketing plan.
After working with trueCABLE for over a year, their brand has experienced monumental growth. From a relatively unknown cable brand to a top contender among industry professionals, trueCABLE has established itself as a trustworthy, friendly manufacturer of high-quality cable products.
About trueCABLE
In 2015, trueCABLE started to shake up an outdated industry. Their simple goal: deliver the fastest, most reliable low-voltage supplies directly to your door and back it up with stellar customer support. Whether you’re a seasoned installer or a do-it-yourselfer, trueCABLE has what you need, when you need it. Their Networking Experts have years of experience, and take the time to create a high quality product that will last years in the field.
RH-ISAC
Project Overview
RH-ISAC approached HMG Creative looking for an easier way to update its website, as it was built on a proprietary framework that made it challenging to add pages and edit content. We migrated their site to WordPress and started an ongoing partnership providing web maintenance. Our team worked to uncover RH-ISAC’s brand story through a collaborative brand workshop, stakeholder interviews, and market research that helped us craft clear messaging around the brand. A considerable focus then went to the structure and organization of the website to ensure we were providing an excellent user experience for anyone site visitors. Converging from the previous site, we wanted to make it clear to any and all visitors that RH-ISAC is first and foremost a community, and the power of its organization lies in the collaboration of its members. Prospective members can now clearly determine the value of a membership with RH-ISAC through clear brand messaging and a fluid user journey. This clarity opens the door for more memberships, higher quality information being shared, and overall greater value for members and the cybercommunity.
About RH-ISAC
The Retail & Hospitality ISAC was built to create a secure place for retailers to share cybersecurity information and intelligence to not only better protect their own companies, but to also strengthen the entire sector – a rising tide lifting all boats. They are committed to being the most trusted voice in cybersecurity intelligence and information sharing for consumer-facing organizations.
SpyCloud
Project Overview
SpyCloud came to us at HMG ready for a digital presence that could support the rapid growth the company was experiencing. Their existing site offered a modern aesthetic but was lacking critical components for success: intuitive navigation, effective user engagement, and high-quality lead generation. Additionally, the site provided a confusing administrative experience, making it challenging for nontechnical staff members to make any updates. We took things back to square one and redefined the brand through a comprehensive brand strategy by interviewing current and potential clients of SpyCloud, as well as employees and stakeholders. We then brought the results and our research to an interactive Discovery Workshop with the team where we worked through exercises to uncover what it is that makes SpyCloud so awesome. By restructuring the site to better represent the company’s offerings and to more strategically connect with clearly defined target audiences, SpyCloud saw the time on site increase significantly for both organic search and direct visitors. Their team received detailed training on how to use the Elementor Page Builder to make site updates, leaving the team much less frustrated with administrative responsibilities. Upon launch, SpyCloud received lots of positive feedback on the overall aesthetics and improved user experience on the new site.
About SpyCloud
SpyCloud offers powerful, easy-to-use solutions to prevent online fraud by stopping account takeover (ATO) attacks. They quickly recover the most current breached data directly from the criminal underground and make that data truly actionable. As the trusted ATO prevention partner for B2B organizations and consumer brands, SpyCloud’s solutions ultimately make the internet a safer place to do business.
Babson Diagnostics
Project Overview
Babson Diagnostics approached us as an established startup poised for growth but limited by its web presence. In preparation for growth and increased brand awareness, Babson required a more sophisticated web presence that would more effectively appeal to its primary audience of potential investors over competitors with a superior brand presence. To determine the most effective site structure, we identified the various audiences that would be visiting the site and mapped out unique user journeys. Each step of our design and development was informed by a purpose-driven approach, evaluating each target audience’s predicted interaction with the site. From the onset of the project, it became abundantly clear that Babson was in need of a site that clearly communicated relevant information about the brand to investors and future customers while positioning it for growth and increased engagement. A user-friendly site now serves as a platform to validate Babson’s research and development within the industry, display the capabilities of this new diagnostic technology, and educate and influence site visitors. Babson Diagnostics is currently enjoying the results of a new web presence that provides credibility for the brand and its important research, and we are enjoying a long-term partnership by providing continued support for Babson’s ongoing marketing needs.
About Babson Diagnostics
Babson Diagnostics is a medical technology company working to improve customers’ health by making diagnostic blood testing more convenient, accessible, and human.
System Surveyor
Project Overview
As a growing brand, System Surveyor approached the HMG team for support in marketing its sophisticated system design software to new audiences. The goal was to establish an enhanced digital presence that would better portray the brand digitally and increase lead generation. As a foundation for the web design process, we set out to help the team clarify and tell their original brand story. From strategists to developers, our team completely immersed ourselves in System Surveyor’s brand and industry. Using our findings, we developed a unique Brand Toolkit that shapes System Surveyor’s brand positioning and paints a robust picture of the value the business brings to customers and the market. Based on the new messaging defined in System Surveyor’s brand story, we reorganized content on the site to clearly convey what sets the brand apart from competitors, as well as the value it brings to customers. The site’s architecture and messaging laid the foundation for a web presence that appeals to new clientele, generates new leads, and ultimately, increases sales. As a result, System Suurveyor received a very positive response on their rebranding efforts, and traffic is up on their website. They now appear like a larger, more professional company, which has helped them build confidence within their consumer base.
About System Surveyors
System Surveyor provides system integrators, technology directors, and consultants one place to gather site survey information. Through visualization and collaboration, customers and stakeholders can create an accurate system design and a digital as-built. System Surveyor aims to eliminate inefficient site surveys that take hours to put into an accurate, professional, and actionable system design.
College Forward
Project Overview
When College Forward approached HMG about a web redesign, its previous website was outdated and in need of a more professional look to appeal to both partners and donors. To establish a comprehensive strategy for the site’s new design, HMG first defined College Forward’s organizational goals: increasing donations, making student resources more accessible, and scheduling more demos for CoPilot – an industry-leading student information system. Designing a site that supported these overall goals, we focused on creating a better digital experience by improving site speed, response time, and mobile functionality. In a smooth, enjoyable process, we collaboratively moved through brand evaluation, web strategy, and web design and development to produce a sophisticated digital presence for an organization with a nationwide impact on education.
About College Forward
College Forward is a nationally-recognized, near-peer coaching program that pairs recent college graduates with students who are underserved to empower them to achieve their post-secondary goals. The organization hopes to lead by building and sharing the most effective, most efficient, and most exciting college access and completion programs in the country.
InfiniteIO
InfiniteIO makes hybrid cloud storage simple and fast, enabling enterprises, research organizations and media companies to analyze, optimize and scale management of billions of files without disruption.
With only a basic website to share InfiniteIO’s cutting-edge features and service, the team knew it was time for a more robust site to support the company’s growth.
Reaching out to HMG, InfiniteIO came with a clear goal: create a sophisticated website with clear messaging to generate leads, inform consumers, and move visitors to action.
The steepest challenge with InfiniteIO’s site was marketing a very complex and sophisticated product in a clear and simple way. We gave special attention to developing clean navigation that clearly communicated the benefits of the product.
We developed custom functionalities to support InfiniteIO’s goals for growth, including a HubSpot integration, a secure resources section, a downloadable recruitment tool for lead generation, and a member login.
We also designed marketing collateral and a custom email template, ensuring every touchpoint with the market would be strategic, engaging and beautiful.
InfiniteIO’s new site has become a powerful tool that positions the company for growth as more users discover its product. The site now mimics the sophistication of its own technological solution, yet simply delivers a clear message to customers, partners, and resellers alike: there’s a better way to manage hybrid cloud storage.
SINC
Through customized, first-class event experiences, SINC strengthens IT communities by connecting and educating IT executives and software providers.
With increasing attendees signing up for SINC’s specialized IT events, SINC noticed users were struggling to navigate through the site and successfully register. The team also felt the website didn't accurately reflect the mission of the organization to provide networking and educational opportunities for IT professionals.
SINC partnered with HMG to create a digital experience for its website visitors that would provide a better representation of its portfolio and clearer CTAs to drive users to take action.
Developing the site on WordPress, we incorporated a customizable page builder so staff could easily add content and create layouts for each event. The design also included a HubSpot integration that synthesized client data into SINC’s CRM. Our team additionally added enhancements to SINC's existing logo and color palettes for a sharper, modernized brand aesthetic.
SINC’s original website didn’t offer clear differentiation between audiences, so we restructured the site’s architecture with strategic color schemes, messaging, and navigation options. To boost engagement, we incorporated lead generation forms and developed a member login and a highly customized event calendar.
With a sophisticated, modernized site, SINC is now empowered to connect with visitors and truly promote and build community within the IT industry.
RetailMeNot
Project Overview
Last year, RetailMeNot came to HMG requesting web design and development assistance for a new Customer Appreciation Campaign. The project had very detailed specifications and guidelines for converting the current RetailMeNot blog interface into styled-out blog pages that highlight the new campaign, the company’s bloggers and recent articles as well as the integration of a live Q&A chat section, reader polls, advertising and of course all social media platforms.
While the timeline was tight and expectations were tall, the entire web project was completed ahead of schedule and the end-result was a design and development approved by the highest standards, our client’s.
About RetailMeNot
With more than 500,000 active coupons and 140,000 stores, the daily-deal site is the leading destination for online coupons. By encouraging users to upload deals and help grow the site, RetailMeNot has established a vibrant discount marketplace and passionate user base. The site also allows our users to rate and rank coupons, so the most successful coupons move to the top of the page, ensuring that the best deals are just a click away.
Texas Bar College
Project Overview
Texas Bar College partnered with HMG Creative to revamp their online presence for their honorary society of Texas lawyers. This was truly a “content first” project, our initial focus was on the overall user experience. The new site is fully responsive and was developed on the WordPress framework. In the end, we delivered a website that is aesthetically pleasing, functioning and a better representation of the organization’s current positioning.
About Texas Bar College
The Texas Bar College is an honorary society of lawyers who continue to enhance their professional skills through continued education well beyond the minimum requirements. Members of the organization consist of qualified attorneys who are interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for all Texas attorneys.
The Spa Mart
Project Overview
The team at The Spa Mart knew to approach their new spa distribution venture with a strong emphasis on technology, and that’s where HMG Creative came in. We worked together to create a bold, fresh brand and build their overall marketing strategy. Following this, we designed and developed their website into a Magento eCommerce platform—the world’s most popular eCommerce content management solution. The new website acts as a long-term web solution for The Spa Mart, providing an authentic representation of the organization and its impact on the spa, salon, wellness, and spa education industries. HMG also provided launch and post-launch support and continues to support The Spa Mart’s ongoing marketing needs.
About The Spa Mart
The Spa Mart is a wholesale spa distribution company exclusive to the spa, wellness, salon and spa education industries. The Spa Mart is dedicated to serving the spa industry by providing continued education, the highest-quality curated products, and authentic customer service.
Humco Compounding
Project Overview
Humco Compounding partnered with HMG Creative to consolidate its web presence into a single and cohesive customer resource. The aim was to create a seamless user experience that is aesthetically pleasing, fully responsive and mobile-friendly. HMG Creative planned, architected, designed, developed and supported the new, unified website to meet the needs of Humco Compounding and to cater to their audience. The new site allows mentors, staff, and general visitors to seamlessly navigate the site and easily locate desired information and transact online.
About Humco Compounding
Humco Compounding is a global pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing pharmaceuticals and high-quality over-the-counter medicines. Humco works with pharmacists, physicians, healthcare providers and patients in order to provide the best possible treatments to patients around the world.
Capital Factory
Project Overview
Capital Factory partnered with HMG Creative to revamp their entire online presence and build a scalable, long-term web solution. Capital Factory had evolved as an organization, so the goal of the new design was to provide a more authentic and accurate representation of the brand and its values. To achieve this goal, we utilized WordPress to create a user-friendly interface that is aesthetically pleasing, fully-responsive and caters to the needs of the startup community. The new site allows mentors, staff, and general visitors to seamlessly navigate the site and easily locate desired information.
About Capital Factory
Capital Factory is a community for entrepreneurs and startups to work in a creative environment and build their businesses. Capital Factory offers hundreds of events and resources throughout the year to present its members with opportunities such as meeting their investors, partners, employees and more.
Raise Your Hand Texas
Project Overview
HMG was thrilled to partner with Raise Your Hand Texas to help develop their new website. The new, fully responsive website was developed via WordPress, incorporating the latest in visual design best practices and technology. What’s great about this site is that it is very modular and we purposely built a custom, intuitive WordPress admin that allows Raise Your Hand Texas to easily design and layout their own engaging, nicely designed pages, moving forward. The new site was designed around Raise Your Hand Texas’ branding standards to ensure brand consistency. We incorporated full-width background videos across multiple pages to enhance the viewer experience. We also made it very easy for the user to find and connect from all of Raise Your Hand Texas’ social media accounts, in one simple place. Finally, this new website has been optimized using SEO best practices to ensure success among their target audience.
About Raise Your Hand Texas
Raise Your Hand Texas exists to improve and advance public schools for all Texas students because all kids deserve a level playing field and equal access to a high-quality, free public education. They are unique among educational organizations because of the investments they make span research, programs, and advocacy in pursuit of a high-quality public education for every single Texas student.
The State Bar of Texas
Project Overview
The State Bar of Texas came to HMG Creative with a goal of revamping their online web presence. This redesign project was far larger than anything we had ever worked on before, but we were eager to get started as soon as we got the offer! The State Bar of Texas has always served as the first place that bar members and the public go for information about Texas lawyers, the State Bar and laws in Texas. Keeping that in mind throughout the whole project, we created a fully responsive website that enhanced the overall user experience, simplified their current web offerings and enriched the member/public value overall. We were responsible for creating all the visual design on the site including: typography, color palettes, layout of elements, gird systems and the usage of imagery within the entire design. Unlike most projects, we created the final website code renderings for all the designs and then sent them over to The State Bar of Texas to be integrated through the back-door of the website on their end.
About The State Bar of Texas
The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the state’s judicial branch that provides educational programs for the legal profession and the public, administers the Minimum Continuing Legal Education program for attorneys, and manages the grievance process.
Texas A&M
Project Overview
Even though we’re Austinites and Longhorns at heart, HMG Creative was thrilled for the opportunity to tackle a website redesign project for Texas A&M University. The university’s online Student Activities Portal needed a facelift to create a more engaging and better overall user experience. We began building the new fully responsive site with our primary audience in mind – the students. The fresh, modern design provides quick access to the most popular sections on the site, with easy-to-navigate pages and a rich color scheme that promotes and enhances the Texas A&M University brand. We built the site on the WordPress CMS – fast, strong, and more than capable of supporting the high traffic and plentiful content of the site.
About Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (or TAMU) located in College Station, Texas is the sixth largest university in the country. Known for their 12th Man traditions and deep-rooted school pride, it’s no surprise the university draws in thousands of new students each year from all over the world. The school offers over 1000 student organizations, boasting outlets for virtually everyone to find their niche within the A&M community. The online Student Activities Portal serves as the first step toward connecting with those groups and we’re proud to unveil the new and improved site to the TAMU students and staff!
Reviews
the project
Web Design & Branding for Construction Company
“They have outstanding customer service and made the process very easy for us.”
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 owner of Howard Steel. We're a commercial construction company that is a steel fabricator and installer.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We were looking for a vendor to update our website and help us with rebranding.
What was the scope of their involvement?
First, they met with me and went over everything we wanted to accomplish. Then, they redesigned our website, sent their own photographer to a lot of our projects, and updated our photo gallery. They also created a new logo and took care of all of our hats and shirts.
What is the team composition?
I worked with 2–3 of their team members, including their owner.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
I was referred to them by a friend who had worked with them previously. We liked the fact that they were a full-service agency and could help us with all of our needs.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent about $30,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked with them between February–July 2018.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Our clients can look at our website and see that we're a legitimate company. Also, our sales went up 30%.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They were very professional and organized. We mostly used email to stay in touch.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They have outstanding customer service and made the process very easy for us. Also, they sent us a bill every week, so we didn't have to pay in advance.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No. It was a very smooth process.
the project
Website Redesign for Coworking Incubator
"Their professionalism, attention to detail, and desire to see our project succeed were remarkable."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I’m the marketing manager at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. Last year, more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, programmers, and designers gathered day and night for in-person and online for meetups, classes, and coworking. We meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors, and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active investor in Texas since 2013.
For what projects/services did your company hire HMG Creative?
We came to HMG Creative wanting to redesign our website, which was old, outdated, and complicated to update.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted to concentrate on the UI/UX of our website. We also wanted it to be easy for anyone on our staff to update it.
How did you select this vendor?
We found HMG Creative through a friend that had a great experience with them. We loved their portfolio and knew they could come up with something great for us!
Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?
HMG Creative designed, developed, tested our website, and trained our staff on navigating the WordPress admin. They walked us through the strategy of our site in a way that was simple to understand. They also did everything in steps, which made it easier to give feedback and receive updates.
What was the team composition?
My CEO and I were involved in the project. Most of the communication was with their creative director.
Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?
HMG Creative took our ideas and concerns into account and helped us create a beautiful website both on the backend and frontend. We’ve seen our yearly sessions increase by 16% since its launch.
How was project management arranged and how effective was it?
They used Google docs, which made giving feedback and updates easy.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Their professionalism, attention to detail, and desire to see our project succeed were remarkable.
Are there any areas where they can improve?
There's very little they could improve on. If I had to suggest something, having an account manager that follows up and keeps everything on time would be helpful. It would also be beneficial to have in-person design meetings throughout the project. Sometimes it's hard to explain what you want in text or over the phone, especially if you aren't a developer.
the project
Web Dev for Education Nonprofit
"They were really friendly and down to earth. "
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 associate director of marketing at College Forward, a college access nonprofit. We serve students starting in their junior year up until they complete their post-secondary degree.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We hadn’t updated our website in about seven years, so we needed a new site that was going to help us move forward with our tech-mediated coaching solutions. Actually, the previous developer never finished it. We wanted a partner that wasn’t just someone who could fix the website but had more of a full-service marketing agency because we’ve been using various vendors for a number of different things.
What was the scope of their involvement?
HMG Creative designed and developed our website. They took a lot of student surveys and presented those findings at a meeting. Then, they delivered wireframes and made sure the look and feel were right for us. We used WordPress to build the site. They also gave us a new style guide to help us figure out how to keep the website updated as things grow and change.
What is the team composition?
I had one main point of contact but 4–5 people worked on the site.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
They were referred to us by another company. We did RFP so they were the only company that we talked to. I felt from the first call that they really seemed like a good fit for us. Asking important questions, I could tell they wanted a business partner, not just someone to complete a job for. They met everything we were looking for in a full-service agency and were able to use a WordPress platform.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent between $25,000–$50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from September 2019–February 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Our website wasn't previously mobile-friendly, and in one week we were able to recruit an Americorp coach through the app. That was really huge for us because a lot of the people we recruit are mostly college students. I was able to view this through Google Analytics. We also run some social ads, so the ability for them to see the ad and then go to the website and complete everything on their phone is really great and will drastically increase the number of applications we get.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They were great. From the beginning, they gave us a really detailed timeline and were very clear about the deliverables that we needed to complete or anything needed on their end. Their creative director was checking in with us to see if we needed any help and were making our deadlines. They kept a chart that we could see projects being updated in real-time. We communicated through calls and emails.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They were really friendly and down to earth. I never felt like I was being talked down to and it seemed like they could relate to us. They really cared to know what people were saying about our brand. Our main value is to put students first, so the fact that they could incorporate all of the students’ opinions into the design was huge for us.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The only thing I could recommend is it would’ve been nice to use project management software like Asana or Basecamp, but I understand why they didn’t.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They take a really good strategic approach to design, so make sure that you’re ready for those hard questions. They’re not just going to build a pretty new website for you; they want to make sure all of the pages and functionality are based on a good business strategy. So, having a solid footing on where you are as an organization and what you want to see would be really helpful.
the project
Website Update & Graphic Design for Large Contractor
“Their team went out of their way to get all the details right.”
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 an executive assistant to the CEO of a large federal contractor.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We needed a company to help us improve our online presence and modernize our website.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They updated our website and did some design work and infographics. We outlined the timeline and what we wanted, after which a lot of the work was done remotely. We continue to work with them on new features and products.
What is the team composition?
We work directly with 2–3 people.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
We did a lot of research on Austin-based companies, and we liked what HMG Creative had to offer. They had the most comprehensive set of services out of all the companies we talked to.
How much have you invested with them?
We've spent between $30,000–$35,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with them in May 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We love what they've done and the feedback from our internal team has been very positive. We don't have a user base, so it was done for the aesthetics.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They're very responsive (we usually use email and text to communicate). If there are any issues, they're always available to troubleshoot with us. Also, they took their time to reach out to us to make sure they understood what we wanted on the smaller features. Their team went out of their way to get all the details right.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We hadn't worked with any other company on a similar project, so they were great at guiding us through everything.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We had some issues with the rollout and some features were not functioning properly. I'm not sure if it was their fault, but it wasn't a smooth rollout.
the project
Organizational Website for Education Nonprofit
"They answer our questions patiently and are willing to work with people that aren't frontend development experts."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I’m a visual design strategist for a nonprofit that identifies and pilots promising ideas to improve public education. We support the conditions and public policies necessary to scale proven approaches that benefit all Texas students. Our goal is to reinvent public education for the 21st century. I handle graphic design, visual animation, photography, videography, and digital storytelling.
For what projects/services did your company hire HMG Creative?
We were going through a complete rebrand, and our website had limited functionality and flexibility. We needed to redesign our organization’s website to showcase our work in a clean, modern, user-friendly way.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted to increase our brand awareness and the amount of time users spent on the site.
How did you select this vendor?
We went through a pretty thorough interview process and spoke with several agencies. We had considerable internal talent surrounding visual design, videography, and writing, so we were looking for an agency that would come alongside us as a true partner—one that saw our contributions as an asset, rather than a nuisance. Many agencies were unwilling to forgo complete creative control, so we cut them right away.
Describe the project in detail.
Since our strategic priorities shifted, we needed to change our entire site. We were telling stories with rich videos and photographs, but our search function and our content sorting were in shambles. To bring the site into the 21st century, we needed to rethink our UX/UI and introduce a responsive design. Finally, we’d spent no money on SEO, so we weren’t present or easily searchable on Google.
We worked through sketches, UI prototypes, troubleshooting, and execution, and HMG took the lead on populating pages with our content. They drew inspiration from the websites of large, international nonprofits and a monthly magazine.
Our team is mainly self-sufficient now, and we have contributors adding content to the site almost daily. We continue to lean on HMG Creative for special projects, heavy coding support, and issue troubleshooting.
What was the team composition?
The HMG Creative team consists of the co-owner of the organization, the art director, and an SEO specialist. We interact a little with the developers, but the art director is our main contact.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Clients said our old site was clunky and hard to navigate. Now, they tell us it’s clean, modern, approachable, and stands out from both our competitors and our partners.
Users have nearly doubled every year and share our content on social media (Facebook, Twitter) much more than they used to. Though users visit fewer pages, we attribute that to our content being easier to find, since they also spend more time on each page.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Their art director, Johnny, is easy to work with and highly knowledgeable. He’s always accessible and focused on finding solutions. Our internal team communicates with him through a liaison. The two of them communicate well and make sure all requests are understood.
We have little interaction with the developers themselves, but communication is pretty smooth. We submit all requests through a ticketing system, and their response rate is fairly quick. Emergency situations are tackled with a simple phone call to their main office.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They answer our questions patiently and are willing to work with people that aren't frontend development experts.
Are there any areas for improvement?
There’s always room for improvement, and it goes both ways. There’ve been times where we made unreasonable requests with little notice, asking for tasks to be done a certain way. However, if I had to say anything, I’d suggest they improve their ticket response rate. We typically wait for 2–3 days for an answer to a ticket, and I’d like that rate to be a bit quicker. That being said, they resolve the issue quickly and to my satisfaction when they do respond.
the project
Marketing for Global Life Science Organization
"Collaborating with HMG Creative has enabled our business partners to successfully meet their digital needs."
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 digital content process manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We contracted with HMG Creative for a series of email and web-based marketing tasks.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Thermo Fisher initially contracted with HMG Creative about 3 years ago to aid in the execution of a large volume of email template requests for our internal businesses. As a result of this excellent partnership, we extended the engagement to further assist our global web production team functioning as an extension/surplus resource for web-based project needs.
What is the team composition?
The HMG Creative team consists of the managing partner, the creative director, two visual designers, and a developer.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
I’ve known the managing partner for more than 10 years, so I’m very familiar with his work. We’ve worked together on a number of projects over the years while I’ve held positions at different companies.
How much have you invested with them?
The cost for the web projects is well over $100,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in 2016 and have ongoing projects.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
From a web perspective, it’s been tremendous to have them as an extended resource. They are a dedicated, trusted resource for Thermo Fisher, and they’ve been a life-saver on many projects!
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re accessible and always willing to make time for meetings despite the time difference between our offices. It’s been a stress-free engagement with them.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The reason that we’re able to achieve our own goals is due to HMG Creative’s own institutional organization and workflow. They have a healthy working atmosphere, and they’re passionate about their work. They’re very personable and creative.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, not that I can think of. They’re very much on top of things from a business and communication standpoint.
the project
WordPress Web Development for Wildlife Museum
"HMG is very responsive to my questions, and they’re always willing to walk me through the decisions they make."
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 marketing and communications director at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, a private nonprofit. We have an indoor museum and 289-acre nature preserve, and we also provide a variety of educational programs and events to connect people with nature.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
Our previous website version was designed back in 2012, and while it was responsive, it wasn’t up to today’s standards. Moreover, it was lagging behind in SEO. As a result, every time we’d analyze it, we were falling behind in rankings and assessments on Google. We also weren’t hitting the market virtually anywhere and it was obvious that it was holding us back in terms of people finding us on the internet.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Our website organization was highly diversified in terms of the several programs and offers we have. In connection with that, the team helped us organized the platform and made it user-friendly for our customers.
They went through a branding session with us, trying to figure out how we needed to communicate our messaging. HMG Creative also walked us through the process of what we would be accomplishing. I turned over all the content such as page write-ups to them, and they wove everything together.
Since we don’t have a lot of tech-savvy people in our company, HMG ensured that it’d be possible for our internal team to help on the website. As such, they designed it on WordPress. They used Elementor as a site builder to make our platform as straightforward as possible. Currently, they’re hosting our site and actively monitoring things.
What is the team composition?
In total, we’ve worked with 3–6 people. During the proposal phase, we worked with James (Founder & Managing Partner), and he had some consultants too. Then, once we started the project, we began working with the creative team including the creative director and designer.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
HMG Creative submitted a proposal to us. It took us so long to decide because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we felt like HMG’s process was a lot more organized than some of the other organizations we approach. In terms of pricing, their offer was competitive too.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent $48,000–$50,000 for the development and design of our website, and that doesn’t include the hosting they’re doing right now.
What is the status of this engagement?
We signed the contract in August 2020, and it’s an ongoing partnership.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
From a purely analytical standpoint, it’s hard to compare year to year because of the pandemic. Looking back at 2019, we’re exceeding all the metrics we’re monitoring. Our bounce rates are down, people are staying on the site longer, we have more sessions, and more people are finding us through organic search.
Moreover, our conversions have also increased together with our sales on PayPal and Blackbaud. Above all, they’ve managed to capture the complexity of displaying all of our offerings in a more cohesive and organized manner, and we’re seeing tangible results. Anecdotally, internal teammates have been pleased with the site improvements, especially now that we have a massive influx of people contacting us.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
We heavily rely on Google Drive and Google Sheets as our project management tools. From a project management standpoint, they’ve done very well and established timelines efficiently. Any deviations on the deadlines have been on my part, and I’m glad that HMG has been flexible with me.
What did you find most impressive about them?
HMG is very responsive to my questions, and they’re always willing to walk me through the decisions they make. As a woman in a workplace environment, sometimes it can be hard to have my voice feel heard sometimes, but with HMG, they’ve always been very supportive.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Having a second pair of eyes to look over the stuff before it’s handed to me can be very helpful. For context, I had to do minor edits with the content they loaded on the website, but it’s nothing to be upset about. Overall, I’ve been pretty happy with the partnership because they’re easy to work with.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be prepared to ask for what you need and clearly present that information to HMG Creative.
the project
Web Dev & Branding for Data Analytics Consulting Company
"They were highly qualified, they checked a lot of boxes, and they had great references."
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.
Inspired Intellect is part of a bigger group called ADI Group that includes WordLink. We do data and analytics consulting.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We hired HMG to support the launch of our new website and brand in the US market.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We were launching a new brand underneath a large group of companies, and HMG worked with us in terms of our logo and website. Our team provided inputs to make sure we were aligned with our go-to-market.
Initially, we went through a discovery process with them and had a logo and branding exercise. This was so we can understand our brand positioning. Based on that, we started to create sample logos and our color palette. After that, we started the website creation process using WordPress. We provided the content, and HMG was responsible for the visitor journey, website architecture, and its look and feel.
We originally talked about doing collaterals such as business cards, and PowerPoints, and things like that. However, as we worked together, the scope of our engagement evolved to focus on the creation of our logos, brand guidelines, and website.
While the process was collaborative, we relied on HMG to funnel our plethora of inputs into a meaningful product. There were areas where our team had strong opinions collectively, based on recent design practices and the consideration of audience expectations.
What is the team composition?
We probably worked with around 5–6 people at different points. We had James (Founder & Managing Partner), as well as designers and strategists.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
In searching for a partner to help us with this project, we conducted a comprehensive search process and ended up shortlisting HMG.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $40,000 on the logo and website design.
What is the status of this engagement?
While we were signed in December 2019, we didn’t have our first call until March 2020, because we were trying to minimize the back and forth. Our engagement ran from March–November 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Qualitatively, their work has been strong in terms of workload, and HMG was always responsive and willing to be flexible throughout the process. We had strong opinions after a deliverable, but they were always willing to go through several rounds of iterations with us. We highly appreciated having a team that was still willing to make multiple edits.
Even three months later after working with them, our IT team reached out to them for a question, and they replied and solved our issue in less than 40 minutes.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
The project was well managed, and our main point of contact really streamlined the process.
However, we could’ve probably used a heavier hand from their side. There were times when they were frustrated because of the lack of delivery from our side, and it dragged the project down. Based on where we stand right now, we really appreciated that because it showed that the HMG team was very focused on the project. They were very polite, which I appreciated, but they could’ve been heavier-handed than they were.
Another thing I really liked was that they put together a timeline early in the engagement, and they walked us through the many different deliverables and steps across each of the tasks. That was a great frame of reference when we were looking at the estimated time of delivery for different components.
What did you find most impressive about them?
A direct comparison is a little hard because we haven’t worked with a lot of other agencies. However, the reason we selected them was that when we were evaluating other clients, HMG had some impressive sites both in design and functionality. We really liked some of the work that they produced across a broad range of industries. They were highly qualified, they checked a lot of boxes, and they had great references.
We felt really comfortable with them and in the course of our engagement, we rarely waited for them because they were highly responsive to our burst of input.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We’re happy with the site, but for the most part, I think there were some technical and communication issues we could’ve avoided. There was also a specific issue that SEO was not included in their services, which was something we could’ve followed up on — we also would've appreciated it if they had told us that it wasn’t included.
I know they lost a couple of people, including our main point of contact in the course of our engagement, and that’s certainly hard for a design agency. We knew that they were picking up the slack and some communication may have fallen through the cracks, but that was something they could’ve done better.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
This may be specific to our engagement, but make sure to have clear expectations before kicking off the engagement. That’s what we struggled with and it delayed the project a little bit. Our internal strategy was key, and that was something that we could’ve focused on before starting the engagement.
Additionally, I would highly recommend having a heavy-handed project manager that’s in charge of driving the schedule, both internally, and from HMG’s standpoint. Try to funnel through all the different opinions and organize them. I think we were working at our best when we had internal discussions, and landing on a recommendation or content to provide HMG, in a timely and consumable way.
the project
Web Dev & Social Media Marketing for an E-commerce Store
“We've had a lot of engagement with influencers in our community, and Instagram is particularly successful for us.”
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.
We are an e-commerce store that sells ethernet cable in bulk. I'm the vice president of marketing and business development.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
We're changing the way people buy low-voltage cabling through online channels. Since the website is the foundation of our business, we needed something that offered a good customer experience. We also wanted to display the brand in an advantageous way. We needed a knowledgeable, creative team that could be our marketing arm.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They built something up from scratch, and they added new features. We have a more streamlined checkout process, and they greatly enhanced the product filters and the search process. The product isn't overly complex, but the filter helps our customers find exactly what they need. They also manage our social media on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, our email marketing, and the organic SEO for the site.
What is the team composition?
We worked with seven or eight people from their team, led by an account manager.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
We found them through a Google search and may have discovered them on Clutch.
How much have you invested with them?
We've spent a little over $100,000 so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in December 2018. The website is finished, but we have them on a monthly retainer for our marketing and social media needs.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They do an amazing job with our social media. When we started working with them, we had almost no social media presence. Now, we have over 1,600 likes on Facebook and over 700 followers on Instagram. We've had a lot of engagement with influencers in our community, and Instagram is particularly successful for us.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They're very responsive, and their communication is good. They outline projects ahead of time, so we always know what to expect. They followed a schedule for the site, and they communicated as they finished each step of the process.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They buy into our brand, and they take the time to learn about our company and our goals. They incorporate all of that into the work they do for us, and we can trust them to continue building the brand according to our vision.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The website took a little longer than we had planned, but that's the only speed bump we hit. Part of the responsibility for that is on our side.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Get to know the people there. Their creativity, personality, and dedication align well with our company, so I'd recommend speaking with them to see if they line up with your goals.
the project
Full Website Build for Educational Nonprofit
"We're very thankful that they were patient with us in trying to make sure that everything looked right."
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 operations coordinator at Austin Partners in Education. We’re an educational nonprofit that works with Austin Independent School District (ISD) better serve students. I was leading the website development project for our team.
What challenge were you trying to address with HMG Creative?
Our Drupal website had been built in 2005 and was very outdated. The design was terrible, so I would often receive phone calls from users who found it unnavigable. We hired HMG Creative to give us a brand new look for our website.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They designed and developed a new website from scratch. HMG revamped our logo (the basis of which had been designed by IBM last year) to reflect the Austin skyline. Their team migrated us over to WordPress and redesigned the website to be customizable and user-friendly. I believe they used HTML.
They also helped us with some Visualforce pages on Salesforce. This entails APEX coding, so they helped us integrate them into our website. They used a plugin called Elementor Pro.
While the website’s launched, we’ve since hired them to be an ongoing hosting partner.
What is the team composition?
We worked primarily with two people: Daniel (Creative Services Manager), who served as our project manager, and Blaine (Senior Visual Designer). We also worked with Johnny (Creative Director) who helped us with some of our Salesforce pages.
How did you come to work with HMG Creative?
We sent out RFPs to a couple of web development companies in the Austin area. We reached out to HMG Creative due to several considerations. One was that a board member of ours had recommended them. Secondly, a similar company to ours had utilized HMG Creative, and their website looked great. Lastly, our executive director had seen their name on the list of the top website companies, featured in an Austin-focused business journal.
Upon receiving their pitch in response to the RFP, we felt that they’d be able to meet our needs. They’re very responsive and quick to answer our questions. We felt that they’d be a good fit for us.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent somewhere around $33,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in December 2019 and the website was launched in July. We still have an ongoing relationship.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The website they created is beautiful, and we’ve received many compliments on it. The quality of their service was also great. They’re very responsive, which was a key highlight of our engagement. We would frequently go back and forth.
We're very thankful that they were patient with us in trying to make sure that everything looked right. We were generally very pleased with how their designs and our website turned out.
How did HMG Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
We utilized email to communicate, and they always got back to my questions within a day, at the latest. We used Google Docs to provide feedback, and they were very receptive. There were delays that were out of their control; they tried their best despite the COVID-19 curveballs to our schedule.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I really appreciated how customizable they made the backend of our new website. It’s super customizable, and it’s easy for us to navigate on the admin side.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I would’ve liked it if there had been a more efficient tool to provide feedback on different website pages. It’s hard to visualize or articulate what a web page should look like, so providing purely descriptive comments on a blank Google Doc felt tedious at times. We also would’ve appreciated an additional overview of the content they placed on the site (I understand that that was out of the project scope, though.)
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I’d definitely encourage customers to go for it. If you’re looking for something that’ll be user-friendly on the backend, they’ve got it down. I’m relieved to know that we can manage and update our website by ourselves.
The website looks professional and the sales are on the rise. As a full-service agency, HMG Creative was able to meet every need, while their exceptional organizational skills helped them establish a smooth process from the beginning.