IKM

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of Serellium

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We help businesses enter the federal market. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Design our company logo and brand.
• Design our company website.

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Referral

Why did you select IKM over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

IKM designed our brand logo and style; designed and developed our full website including messaging refinement, content arrangement, and layout; and supported our launch strategy through social media graphics, messaging, and tactics to amplify brand and website announcments. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

IKM completed all deliverables on time or ahead of schedule. All check-ins on product previews exceeded expectations. All deliverables were exceptional quality, met our vision, and exceeded our high standards of review. The IKM team designed incredibly high quality and creative work that perfectly aligned with our company's vision and style. 

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

IKM delivered all products on time or ahead of schedule. They were incredibly responsive to our questions and vision. They were proactive -- raising issues and ideas that we had missed or not known to consider, and went above and beyond in providing expert advice when we needed help. The team was extremely professional, energizing, visionary, and attentive to detail. 

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

IKM's creative design talent is the best on the market. They were able to read our minds -- despite us being barely able to articulate our style. They made a challenging, arduous process easy, fun, and incredibly rewarding. They absolutely nailed our design, logo, and website. Thank you, IKM team!

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

None. Exceptional experience! We can't wait to work with them again. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Product Marketing of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our cyber resilience platform enables organizations to avoid costly business impacts and maintain stakeholder confidence, compliance, and overall operational stability.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Provide design support for multiple marketing initiatives
• Evolve branding
• Refresh website

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Referral

Why did you select IKM over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

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

We have a retainer agreement with IKM to provide 40 hours of design support per month to our company. We are a small company with no in-house design staff, so IKM works on a variety of projects for us.

They have supported the evolution of our brand and ongoing marketing with new website page designs, banner ads, icons, virtual backgrounds, video thumbnails, business cards, and event-related material like banner stands and table tents.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Projects were completed on time; new designs were delivered in time to meet deadlines. Regular check-ins and meetings as needed to progress projects.

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

Yes, we have not missed any deadlines. I have needed to ask them to 'pivot' multiple times to new projects as they come up, and they always handle it smoothly. They are very focused on meeting our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

IKM's team was comfortable evolving existing branding rather than trying to get us to revamp it completely. We deal directly with the founder instead of being handed off to a junior person and their work is high quality.

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

can't think of anything

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President, Design of Powerfleet

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

PowerFleet enables insight into commercial, logistics, and industrial fleets through telematics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Provide support to the marketing organization and creative team through day-to-day creative tasks
• Provide rebranded templates for solutions sheets, case studies, powerpoint templates, and more.
• Provide production assistance in rebranding Powerfleet's extensive collateral library.

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Referral

Why did you select IKM over others?

Have worked with Ian before and knew they'd knock it out of the park.

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

I reached out to Ian to provide support on a rapid redesign of all product sheets and other associated marketing materials around a Product-team led standardization and cleanup after a merger a year before left us with a very convoluted product line, specifically around product identity. Ian and his team redid all of our product sheets, case studies, and other associated print sales material based on direction from me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The successful and timely delivery of associated tasks and projects.We were able to ship all the materials required for the various sales organizations to be able to go make the impacts they needed to make.

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

Ian provided most of the management and communication. We'd work directly with designers on certain reviews, but most of the work and expectation management was handled by Ian and Lynn.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were impressed with their ability to juggle a lot of concurrent pieces (30 product sheets, 5-6 case studies)

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

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a marketing agency, and we work with small and emerging B2B technology companies. We provide them with marketing strategies such as go-to-market strategy (GTM), messaging and positioning, and content creation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IKM Creative?

We hired IKM Creative for a number of different projects. We wanted to utilize their strategic thinking skills for creating digital content, designing websites, developing branding materials, and more. Overall, we wanted an out-of-the-box thinker that would consider both creativity and marketing in terms of reaching our target audience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done over a dozen websites together. That includes developing the platform’s navigational structure, design, branding, and layout. They also help us launch our websites.

Their other work involves branding and design. They also develop sales tools, PowerPoint presentations, datasheets, promotional materials, and other materials that can help support the needs of our third-party clients.

What is the team composition?

I've known Ian (Art Director) for over a decade and primarily work with him directly.

How did you come to work with IKM Creative?

I first met Ian when he was working at another agency, and they were working for my company. He was clearly the most talented designer at their company. We remained in touch even after he had left there. After that, I began to tap him to do projects for me.

We also chose him because he was a great listener and was good at assimilating information. I also liked the fact that he didn’t just bow down to directions. He challenged my thinking and at the same time, respected my decisions.

Additionally, he was not contented at just doing a great job. Instead, he wanted to produce deliverables at the highest level. Above all, he had the skills to execute his ideas and come up with something that we never imagined. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2008, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

KM Creative is a fantastic partner. My agency's clients are thrilled with the design work produced by IKM. The work has been profitable for our agency and has helped us continue to build and grow long-term relationships with our clients.

How did IKM Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

IKM is very organized. We mostly use Google Docs and folders to share materials. We also use email to communicate. However, we don’t have a particularly formalized project management process.

We have deadlines and milestones and IKM Creative has been very good at adhering to those. Additionally, with the many projects we've done together, there may have been times when things slipped a little bit, but I can't recall anything major. When they commit, they're good for it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

IKM Creative is not just a vendor to us. We don’t just give them some brochure or website so that they can do our projects. We know that they’re concerned about the outcome of their work. They care about collaborating and providing us with their creative thinking in order to produce phenomenal results we can be happy with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Though they’ve been hitting their deadlines and getting their job done, it might be helpful if we had more formalized tools and processes for running our projects. However, in general, it really hasn't been an issue. The bottom line is that IKM is organized and gets the work done on time at a very high quality.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open-minded. Recognize that while you have ideas that should be taken to account, you can also open yourself up to even broader thinking. Be willing to go beyond to get the best results from IKM Creative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of Integrity Telematics Advisors

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide technology related consultancy services to manufacturing, warehouse and distribution operations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Design a webiste
• Implement a website
• Provide creative designs e.g. logo

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

I worked with IKM in the past

Why did you select IKM over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned
• Experience and creativity

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

The scope included:

• developing the initial design concepts (e.g. company branding)
• designing the website
• building the website
• implementing the website

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Regular calls to review/agree design ideas, excellent follow up via email/web meetings ensured that progress was on track and delivered on time and on budget.

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

We agreed an outline timeframe. IKM provided regular updates and setup calls as needed to review progress, next steps, design approvals etc. IKM were very responsive to my needs and provided great insights and ideas.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

IKM are very easy to work with and provided excellent creative ideas to get the best output. They were very responsive and incredibly helpful.

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

Nothing comes to mind on areas of improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of an HR search firm

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

HR Search Firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Create company website
• Redesign logo

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Referral

Why did you select IKM over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

IKM created out first ever company website and redesigned our company logo.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We love how our website came out! They understood our vision and stuck to our branding (colors/theme). Extremely quick turn around with a check point mid way through. I highly recommend IKM!

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

Delivered on time!

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Awesome to work with and high quality work!

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Marketing Manager of Appian

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

I worked for a process automation company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

Website redesign

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Referral

Why did you select IKM over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

IKM was hired to rebrand and redesign our corporate website.  

This redesign included, a new navigation, style guide, colors, fonts, pages, wireframes, icons, and photography.

This redesign included 100 pages and took about seven months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

IKM was hired to rebrand and redesign our corporate website. Within eight months, IKM helped redesign two websites for our company. 

This included a web and mobile style guide. 

The website was delivered on-time and on-budget. We received a beautiful new website that functions to the highest performance. 

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

IKM was great to work with. They listened to our ideas, recommended changes, and was a professional consultant for our brand.

They always responded to our needs in a timely manner.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

IKM has a great vision and moves fast to execute. 

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

Improved project management around follow-up notes, activities, and dates.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on 7/7/2023.

Kevin Harrington
Executive Creative Director & Producer, AppianSoftware

McLean, Virginia

1,001-5,000 Employees

Mar 2023 - Ongoing

$50,000 to $199,999

Project summary
IKM is developing a brand update of a software company's corporate website. They also assist with graphic design projects and digital ad creation.

Feedback summary
Although the website is still in production, the click rate on several digital ads has already increased. IKM collaborates effectively via weekly check-ins, meetings, and email updates. They are flexible, easy to work with, and talented. Customers can expect a transparent team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Creative Director / Producer of Appian

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Appian is a software company that automates business processes. The Appian AI-Powered Process Platform includes everything you need to design, automate, and optimize even the most complex processes, from start to finish. The world's most innovative organizations trust Appian to improve their workflows, unify data, and optimize operations—resulting in better growth and superior customer experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Corporate Website
• Branding Projects

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Previous work experience

Why did you select IKM over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

IKM, along side the creative, marketing and business technology teams, is developing a brand update of our corporate website. They are also assisting our creative team in on-going graphic design projects and digital ad creation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is still in production so I can't comment on that yet, however the click rate on a number of the digital ads has increased as reported by our digital team.

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

We have weekly check-in's with the key stakeholders from various internal teams, and we manage to keep the site work going, even when and if priorities shift.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Great working relationship, with experienced and talented team of graphic and digital designers, who not only understand our space, but are extremely flexible and easy to work with. We appreciate their transparency and skills.

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

Not at this time.
STAR RATINGS
Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 5

Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO & Co-Fonder of Monod Bio, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Monod Bio is a biotechnology company developing novel laboratory tools and clinical diagnostics using a proprietary de novo protein platform and biosensor technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Establishing logo
• Establishing basic brand materials
• Establishing initial website

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Online Search

Why did you select IKM over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

1. Website
2. Logo
3. Business cards and collateral
4. Presentation template

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Website
2. Logo and collateral
3. Presentation template
4. Signage

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

Always on time. Very responsive

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their hands-on and creative approach is impressive

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

There were times when we wondered about their bandwidth for managing our project.