Image Conscious Studios

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a former director of brand and creative, and I oversaw the design, implementation, and concept of all of our marketing materials. We’re an HR benefits platform that creates digital products to help employers or organizations provide their employees with benefits to pay back student loans and save up for future college endeavors. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

We had an outdated website, and everything was wordy on our platform. It wasn’t very clear how potential customers could get in touch with us. As a result, we engaged ICS to help us clarify our brand message and to enable our sales teams and representatives to be easily accessible to our prospects. The biggest challenge was updating our language on the site so that when prospects visit our platform, they could clearly understand what our business was all about.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by providing a brief of what we needed from them. After that, we went through the process of redefining our messaging. From a brand perspective, we tried to understand where we were and decide how we should speak about ourselves. ICS did a lot of extensive research on who we were, and they also interviewed our various stakeholders including teammates and competitors who were part of the same industry.

Then, ICS was also in charge of designing our site in order to make it better, cleaner, and easier to navigate. They used InVision as a platform to share and develop pages. Other platforms that ICS used include Photoshop and other Adobe products. The team handed off detailed breakdowns of what each site page looked like. On each page, they incorporated our colors and sourced images for us. 

As for the CMS that was used in the site, our internal engineering team took that on. To be clear, the ICS team was only in charge of the design part of the site, and our internal engineering team built the whole site from the ground up. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with around seven people including a creative director, project manager, copywriter, and designer.

How did you come to work with Image Conscious Studios?

I worked with ICS at my previous company, and they helped us create all of our e-commerce platforms. We did an RFP with ICS and another competing agency for this project. In the end, we went with ICS even though their proposal was more expensive because they hit all the targets that we asked for. 

We were also confident that they had competent designers and engineers. Most importantly, they had the ability to go above and beyond to deliver the scope of work and plan that we were looking to complete.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $85,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–November 2020.

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

We provided them with a bit of documentation, and they took that to another level. ICS even dug deeper than what we had provided them, and they came back to us with great ideas. On top of that, our data suggests that we had experienced an increased flow of traffic to our site. We noticed that many prospects were reaching out to our sales team members for demos and quotes.

How did Image Conscious Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a number of kickoff meetings for all of our teams so that everything was streamlined. ICS used Basecamp as a project management software. Anytime that we had updates or questions, both of our teams could field all those through Basecamp. Everyone received notifications, and we would often see conversations happen in real-time, which was great. 

They were very responsive, respectful, and open to having individual meetings with smaller teams. It was up to us to set the cadence for how often we would have meetings with ICS.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their combined creativity and communication skills were impressive. They didn’t feel like they were an agency — instead, they worked as an extension of our internal team. Moreover, ICS was always willing to develop solutions and share their ideas with us. Overall, they embedded seamlessly, and they made us feel that they were just sitting right next to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they could provide better documentation of calls or meetings, it could go a long way. They could recap who were the people who attended our meetings, what steps did we agree to take, and confirm what we talked about. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come to the table with a good sense of what you need them to do from a business perspective. At the same time, be willing to pivot a little bit if and when ICS proposes things you hadn’t thought of. Be willing to look at opportunities with open eyes.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing and sales at DigiLens. We work on the optics piece for extended reality N1 technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with ICS?

ICS helped us do a light-touch refresh on our brand and a website update.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a two-phase project. The first phase was brand strategy. We did a kick-off session and brand workshop where we discussed brand foundation. ICS interviewed my senior management colleagues, and they took a quick look at the competitive landscape and our existing website. Then they gave us an outbrief with brand strategy.

We moved to the second phase, which was brand expression. It involved the visual language, so we did a light renewal on the logo and colors. They gave us strategic counsel on our website, giving us layout recommendations and ways to optimize the backend. They also provided us with branded hero overlay assets for the website. We’re now implementing all of what they recommended.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a lot of people. Adam (Creative Director) was our main point of contact. We had a program manager, a project manager, and then three functional team members. One was part of the creative team; she did a lot of images and content on Photoshop. Then, someone was in charge of the website logic and flow recommendations, and someone else helped us on the backend.

How did you come to work with ICS?

I had a colleague who had worked with them before, and when I was networking, they came up on the list. I tried to work with them for a consulting job back in 2019, but it didn’t work out. I reached out to Adam the next year and we were finally able to make it work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2020, and we wrapped up the project in late February 2021.

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

We had metrics at both the VP level and my level that we wanted them to hit, and they met those. The CEO made the final choice on the color scheme and logo, and he was happy with that.

My CEO has to be very responsive to the chairman of the board. ICS has gotten positive feedback from the CEO, and the ultimate success will be when the new website is released and when the chairman of the board is satisfied with the work done.

How did ICS perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication was great. They gave me a preferred rate in return for flexibility on time, so deadlines were flexible. We used Basecamp as a tool for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They spent time understanding our company environment; they didn’t want to do a quick job for a project that was very detail-oriented by nature. For example, ICS didn’t know anything about extended reality or smart glasses but by the time the project was ended, they knew our competitors, their websites, and what they were doing. They understood where the state of play was, got aligned on what to do, and then implemented the strategy. They were really big on wanting to go head-to-head with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had one part of the project where expectations were missed. There was a point where they had to make a decision, and they did the right thing and accepted that expectations weren’t met. They fixed that, which unfortunately added time, but, overall, the end of the project turned out really well.

Any advice for potential customers?

It doesn’t have to do specifically with our work with ICS. It’s just advice — prepare, write, and refine your goals. If a client writes down their goals and they’re thinking ahead about what they want, the overall experience will be better, especially when you’re dealing with creative content that you can’t define precisely.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of marketing for Glance.net.

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

Our website was quite a few years old and had become overgrown. We had a few goals, mostly involving elevating our brand impression and making the site easier to administrate.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement with Image Conscious Studios began with a discovery project. They performed an audit of our website, gave us recommendations, scoped the project, and produced a formal estimate. We did some branding exercises to get a handle of our tone of voice, overall message, and our primary audiences. 

For the branding changes, they changed our color scheme and font slightly, but not enough so that we’d have to rebrand existing materials. Their team proposed different web design changes and incorporated video assets, which they also helped produce. They created a smooth design for our users to follow on our site, helping them navigate to the appropriate pages. In general, they just worked to improve our overall visual brand. 

What is the team composition?

About half a dozen people from their team worked on the project. 

How did you come to work with Image Conscious Studios?

Someone at our company had worked with Image Conscious Studios in a previous job and they referred them to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $95,000 in total. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project itself ran from February–August 2019.

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

Within my company, we’ve received very positive feedback. The internal team responded really well to the new look of the site, which hasn’t always been the case when we make changes so we’re happy with that. 

How did Image Conscious Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management wasn’t perfect since there were some glitches, but that’s probably typical for bigger scope projects. Although there were hiccups, they were always really responsive in fixing things up. Along with that, they checked in on us and were interested in helping us succeed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were the right fit for us and gave us a great final product. We have a startup-feel and a moderate budget, and they worked with it. They also always wanted to hear my honest feedback and had a great sense for improving things. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Improving on the small hiccups in their project management could be helpful, but they showed a willingness to improve and optimize. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think about what you really need. Although there will be many opinions about what’s good or bad, make sure the work is contributing toward your overall strategy and goal. Guide your decisions based on that. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a coaching practice. I work with entrepreneurial leaders and small business owners to help them become better managers. I also coach them on how to navigate the challenges that come with leading a growing company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

My brand had felt stagnant for a while, and I wanted a more accurate visual representation of my expertise. I hired Image Conscious Studios to create a guide of branding materials that appeal to my audience and enhance my professionalism.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began with an interactive kickoff workshop to define the values, mission, personality, and audience for my business. Once we refined my vision for my visual identity, Image Conscious Studios put together a mood board that reflected several directions we could move in. Together, we brainstormed potential designs that matched the direction I found most appealing. During this phase, we also reviewed other elements including typefaces, colors, and fonts.

Based on this information, their team compiled a brand manual. They produced a logo with nine different forms of different backgrounds, alignment, etc. Image Conscious Studios also found a suite of images for my website and made key recommendations to improve the platform with the new brand assets.

What is the team composition?

Adam (Partner & Creative Director, Image Conscious Studios), Ariana (Graphic Designer, Image Conscious Studios), and Christine (Digital Project Manager, Image Conscious Studios) were my three main points of contact. They led a team of 8–10 people, but I mostly interacted with my primary contacts.

How did you come to work with Image Conscious Studios?

One of my clients used Image Conscious Studios to develop their website and recommended them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We began working together in November 2018–March 2019.

What is the status of this engagement?

I spent around $10,000 on their services.

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

The engagement only recently ended so I won’t have quantitative metrics until I implement all of the changes to my platforms. However, everyone who has seen the new materials and brand guide has been blown away. In fact, people have asked me for some of the branded items, like the sweatshirt with my logo on it. People find the new look visually striking and provide great feedback on the thorough, skilled job Image Conscious Studios did.

How did Image Conscious Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Image Conscious Studios were great to work with. They excel in achieving specific outcomes through a deliberate process. They met all of our milestones and communicated their progress along the way. Scheduling meetings was easy to do, and I always knew what direction we were heading in. We primarily used Basecamp to communicate, and they used a different program to show us the design assets throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They helped me see my brand in a more sophisticated, mature way than I ever had before. Their team not only understood what my business was but also what it aspired to be, and helped me achieve it. They brought such a wealth of knowledge to the engagement and every interaction was beneficial.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did an excellent job, so there’s nothing I can think of for them to do differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you trust their expertise and ask for their insight, you’ll likely get better results. Allowing them to be creative and unique should be what you’re using them for, so it helps to have an open mind. Embrace the direction they take the project in.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of marketing for a video-based, science education organization.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

We brought them on to build a web app for video-based online education. After beginning as a video-based scientific journal, we started branching into science education. This web app serves as a video textbook intended to replace large, 2,000-page biology textbooks. As future doctors take their education seriously, we had to earn our users trust by being up all the time and making it easy to find the information they needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ICS was involved from the get-go, making sure the app’s UI was appropriate for the audience and performing competitive analysis. We used the RAMP stack (Ruby on Rails, Apache, MySQL, and Passenger), and they created all the wireframes based on discovery sessions with us. We’d already worked together, so we were very comfortable sharing our thoughts and absurdities.

We thought up features together, including live-note taking, and they came back to us with wireframes and sketches. Students can pause whatever video they’re watching type a note, and then come back to it later at the exact point in the video that inspired their thought. Taken together, these notes create a personal table of contents with associated notes. ICS also built a one-page marketing site.

What is the team composition?

People phased in and out of the project as needed. We worked with Adam (Partner and Creative Director, Image Conscious Studios), Justin (UX Strategist, Image Conscious Studios), and a dedicated project manager. The three of them came on in the beginning, working with us on discovery, frontend wireframing, and prototyping.

Then, their designers took over and fleshed out those things into live prototypes using InVision. Afterward, an assigned backend team with a team lead set up the servers and developed the backend.

How did you come to work with Image Conscious Studios?

We’d worked with ICS before to rebuild our website from the ground up. For that project, we looked for a local company and were impressed by ICS' price, personality fit, and portfolio. Based on that good experience, we reached out to them again for the web application. Their quote was comparable to those of other groups, so we happily signed with them again.

How much have you invested with them?

The online video platform cost $115,000–$120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from mid-January until August 2018.

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

The product is beautiful, and it was the first of its kind. We did a ton of user testing and demo work, and all the feedback was excellent. Users particularly enjoy how easy the app is to use.

How did Image Conscious Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We weren’t the easiest client to work with, but they were great in this respect. Our minds changed frequently and ICS shepherded us well through the process of determining what we actually wanted to do. We used Basecamp frequently, along with InVision and Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ICS took everything in stride and dealt with our nonsense throughout the project. They were always smiling and ready to roll the ball forward. We couldn’t have developed such a beautiful product without them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our project manager changed halfway through the project, which hindered us a bit, but people have their own lives, so I can’t blame ICS. It took a while for the IT and backend teams to get on the same page, but, once that happened, it was smooth sailing. ICS was good overall.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients shouldn’t silo them as just designers or just web developers. Let them in on the concept as early as possible because they’ll have a lot of good insights.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the creative director at Gingko Bioworks, a biological engineering company. We work with GMOs, genetically engineering microbes to make products.

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios (ICS)?

With a complicated and technologically heavy background, it can be difficult to talk about GMOs in a way that is accessible and interesting. We needed a company to polish our brand and help us clearly convey what we do on our site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ICS improved the look and feel of our site and elevated our brand by taking the content we already had and repackaging it in a way tells our story more concisely. They also moved our site from an outdated CMS platform to WordPress, which facilitates making changes on our end. The new site is now consistent with our brand and logo design in terms of color and layout, and they added a new splash page, images, and video content to improve the user experience.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning of the engagement, we worked with a creative director that helped us plan and continued to support us throughout the project. We also worked with a designer, a project manager, and one developer. An additional team member also interviewed a number of team members to help us write our career page.

How did you come to work with ICS?

Our IT director had colleagues in Boston who ran restaurants and had used ICS to build their sites. They recommended ICS, so we contacted them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $60,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them from June–October 2016.

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

Everyone's been really happy with them so far. We’ve heard from people within our industry and similar businesses who say that our site doesn’t look like a biotech company site, and I think this is a great compliment. The work that they’ve done has helped us stand out in the industry.

How did ICS perform from a communications standpoint?

I’ve been really happy with the team. ICS worked efficiently and quickly. They translated our company mission—what we were working on, our brand, and our stories—into the web design, delivering within as little as a week. They've also been very responsive to edits. Whenever we had comments from our team, ICS was happy to accommodate our feedback and fix it for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have been very impressed by the team’s ability to understand our brand. ICS stood out when it came to capturing the essence of our mission, despite its complexity. This understanding has been key to the success of the project. They excel at translating complex information into more accessible content.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing in particular, and certainly nothing that I couldn’t address with the team directly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're good listeners. If you're just starting out, don't be afraid to show them what you’ve created. ICS can synthesize your materials into something comprehensive.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm one of the owners of Mamaleh's Delicatessen, which is a small restaurant.

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

We first contacted them 10 years ago when we needed a company to do full branding for our new restaurant.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a branding campaign and built a WordPress website for our first restaurant, managing the design and the development. After that, we opened two more restaurants and they delivered a full branding package for those as well. We're a very collaborative ownership group, but they were able to take all of our thoughts and opinions and produce the style we were looking for.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with the owner and we also had a project manager and a designer.

How did you come to work with them?

We knew them on a personal level.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000-$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our two most recent projects were between March–July 2016.

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

We all love the website. They've created a strong brand for us and we've received a very favorable feedback from our customers. In one of the restaurants, our gift shop has elements that are branded with different sayings, which has been a very successful strategy. Our company has grown tremendously over the past 10 years and Image Conscious was part of that.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They met all their deadlines and always pushed us to keep the project on track.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very personable and down-to-earth. They’re very experienced, stay up-to-date with the latest trends, and have enough maturity to keep everything balanced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They recognize their value, so they're not the cheapest option. But they're absolutely worth it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I manage e-commerce user experience at ’47. We’re a sports lifestyle brand founded in Boston and make licensed headwear and apparel for all the major sports teams and leagues

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

We were looking for a local agency to restructure and improve the whole user experience on our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I work with them on a daily basis. They helped us fix technical issues, redesign our home page and site templates, and make the site mobile responsive. We switched to Shopify a few years ago, but some of the technology we were using wasn't adapted to Shopify, so they helped us address that. They restructured a lot of our site search and navigation, which was important to us since we have 15,000+ products on our site They also provided full support with testing and the launch of the website.

What is the team composition?

We usually work with 1–2 members of their team on a day-to-day basis. In total, we've worked with five people over the course of the project.

How did you come to work with them?

They were already working with our company when I came on board.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

It used to be hard for our customers to get to their team on the home page. Image Conscious created a feature that allows users to select a team using a team's logo as soon as they log onto the home page. In addition, Image Conscious has given our website a more modern look and feel.

They've been very reliable throughout the whole process, from our first brainstorming session to the implementation phase. We have a lot of pressure to grow our business in 2018 and they're definitely helping us grow rapidly.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive and get back to us within 5–10 minutes if we have questions or if there is an issue with the website. They meet all their deadlines even when they're working on 3–4 big projects for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their responsiveness and their proactive suggestions in terms of improving the user experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They've met our every need.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep communication open and be transparent about your goals. We've built a very good relationship with them. They're local, so we can have face-to-face meetings to make our relationship more personal, which is important to me.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a digital content manager at a research institute

What challenge were you trying to address with Image Conscious Studios?

We switched over from an HTML website to Plone CMS. We had a few features on our website that were developed after the site was initially designed, so we wanted to bring everything into a stylistic harmony. We were looking for a company to help us with that style update.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed wireframes, integrated new features into the Plone CMS, and designed a dynamic layout and landing pages.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager, who was our main point of contact and we worked with five other members of their team, including developers and designers.

How did you come to work with them?

They were a referral. We went through an RFP process and loved the work they had done for other companies. We also met them at an annual conference for Plone CMS, so we got a chance to hear their presentations and talk to them afterwards. We liked their approach, so we gave them a chance.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between November 2016–April 2017.

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

The website is live and we've received good feedback both internally and from external users. If there were any bugs during the testing phase, they addressed them immediately.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They were flexible and able to meet all of our requests, even when we were changing those requests in the process. We used Basecamp to communicate with a larger team and share files. They met all their deadlines, including the deadline that we shifted back about a week. They continue to be very responsive and answer our questions, even after the launch of the website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked their overall professionalism and efficiency with which they handled everything. They worked very well as a team and included all their designers, developers, and project managers in each conversation from start to finish. So developers could let designers know if there would be any issues down the road and designers could have their own input during the development phase. They also communicated with our in-house CMS developers to make sure there were no issues with integration or deployment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was happy with the process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and bring everyone who will be working on your project together as early in the process as possible.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Associate Director of Marketing for a pre-clinical biotech CRO that is specialized in the design and production of humanized models and pharmacology services for antibody therapeutics discovery.

For what projects/services did your company hire Image Conscious Studios?

We hired ICS to make a new website for our new product of fully-human antibody mouse platform (RenMab Mouse)

What were your goals for this project?

Use the website for (1) lead generation (2) market education (3) branding

How did you select this vendor?

It started based on recommendation of a team member. We compared several vendors and ICS seemed to be the one who was most specialized in creating strong and differentiated brands based on visual designs.

Describe the project in detail.

Create a website and a video for RenMab in a compressed timeline of 3 months.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager UX designer Designer

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

The result was a great success. Our entire team loved the website and we had generally highly positive feedback from the customers and prospects. Design was slick and the branding identity was consistent to what we originally planned for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The process and workflow were both very smooth

What did you find most impressive about this company?

No bull-shit style and when they said they would expedite the process, they did delivered on time (not perfectly, but closely enough given that our internal processes were the bottlenecks in some cases!). We were impressed by the speed and quality of the execution. Everyone in ICS are very willing to listen to us about our products, which was actually quite complex even for people with some background in biology. ICS went for the extra mile and listened out to eventually crafted a website that we all loved.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Post-launch support might be a little pricey but I guess that is the business model?