Interpix Design Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP, Product of Risk Control Technologies

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Risk Control Technologies (RCT) is a SaaS vendor of risk management backoffice solutions for the Insurance industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interpix Design Inc. to accomplish?

• Complete front-end UI/UX redesign of our flagship loss control application
• Ensure the overall architecture of RCT Cloud was able to accommodate new features and integrations

SOLUTION

How did you find Interpix Design Inc.?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Interpix Design Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fits our budget

How many teammates from Interpix Design Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

RCT had a goal to "re-imagine the loss control practice within insurance organizations", and the redesign of our core backoffice workflow application was central to this initiative. We did not simply want to recreate our existing application with a slick modern interface, we wanted a deep understanding of how customers operate within their work environments and engage with our applications to deliver on their responsibilities. Key deliverables included: 

1. UX research
2. customer interviews
3. wireframe modelling and usability validation
4. high-fidelity designs and UI asset delivery.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Detailed customer interviews with understanding of workflows and current painpoints. 
• Statistically relevant exploration and validation of proposed new system design. 
• Delivery of approved UI assets that were compatible with the technology stack selected for the project.

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

Interpix Design Inc. demonstrated advanced project management disciplines. They ensured that different aspects of the project are scheduled and progressing according to the project timelines. There were multiple instances where we had to change approach and direction that Interpix readily accommodated.

What was your primary form of communication with Interpix Design Inc.?

Virtual Meeting

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

The UI/UX design methodology that Interpix follows. We incorporated the designs into our product build and were excited about the overwhelmingly positive response we saw from our user base. This outcome is no accident however, it's a function of seeking a deep understanding of user needs and friction points, testing and refining design concepts, and delivering visually appealing and efficient interactions.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Interpix Design Inc. could have done differently?

There were no major apparent gaps.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a department director at The Walrus

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Walrus is a registered charity in Canada. We publish independent, fact-based journalism, produce national, ideas-focused events, and train emerging professionals in publishing and nonprofit management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interpix Design Inc. to accomplish?

• Gain and engage more web visitors

SOLUTION

How did you find Interpix Design Inc.?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Interpix Design Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Interpix Design Inc. were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The Walrus recently engaged the services of Interpix Design to review our website and conduct usability testing with a group of testers. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the level of expertise and professionalism displayed by the company throughout the entire process. Their insights and recommendations have been invaluable in our plans to improve the user experience of our website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal was to increase reader depth and engagement on the website. Our target was to increase sessions from 1 to 2 per reader. We continue to implement the Interpix suggestions with a focus on adding additional stories to each page to highlight related stories and most read.

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

From the very beginning, Interpix Design demonstrated a deep understanding of our needs and goals. They took the time to listen to our requirements and conducted thorough research to gain a comprehensive understanding of our target audience. This attention to detail was evident in the usability testing, as they carefully selected a diverse group of testers who accurately represented our user base.

The usability testing itself was a well-structured and informative process. Interpix Design guided us through each step, ensuring that we understood the purpose and methodology behind their approach. The testers provided valuable feedback, identifying pain points and areas of improvement that we hadn't previously considered. This exercise shed light on various issues within our website's user interface and highlighted opportunities for enhancement.

What was your primary form of communication with Interpix Design Inc.?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

One aspect that truly impressed me was Interpix Design’s ability to translate the testing results into actionable recommendations. Their team presented a detailed report, outlining the key findings and proposing concrete solutions to address the identified issues. They prioritized these recommendations, allowing us to focus on the most critical improvements first.

Additionally, their expertise in user interface design enabled them to suggest changes that significantly enhanced the overall aesthetics and usability of our website. Throughout the collaboration, Interpix Design maintained excellent communication and professionalism. They were responsive to our queries and receptive to our feedback, fostering a strong working relationship.

Their team demonstrated a genuine passion for user-centered design, going above and beyond to ensure that our website met the highest standards of usability and visual appeal. I highly recommend Interpix Design to any media publisher or business seeking to enhance their website's user experience.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Interpix Design Inc. could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-business manager for the Canadian Kennel Club.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

We recently launched a member portal. For this particular phase, we were running into usability issues so we engaged them to help us with that and redesign it based on their recommendations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started with a heuristic evaluation of the website. Then, based on that analysis, created some wireframes for us and more high fidelity wireframes after that. Now, they’re using those and working on the website, including coding and styling changes. They’re using CSS and JavaScript, mainly. 

What is the team composition?

I work with around four people. Murray (Managing Partner) and Jamie (Project Director) are the leads, but they mostly participated in the initial calls and some behind-the-scenes analysis. Samantha (UX Designer) is our key contact and runs the day-to-day things. 

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

I’d dealt with them at another company around 10 years ago, so I knew they existed and I was pleased with their work back then, so I used them for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, the price is $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This phase started in April 2020 and our engagement is still ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we haven’t launched their work yet, we only have anecdotal feedback. We took some of their work and showed it to members, and the feedback has been great. The reaction is good. The new screens show that it’ll be fixing some of the current issues on the site. People are excited for it to be launched. 

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been really good so far. We mostly communicate by email but we also have Zoom calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that we can leave them alone and they’ll independently work is most impressive. Not a lot of follow-up is required. In the meetings, they take our feedback and comments and synthesize it into a wireframe that is pretty good for the first pass. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been happy with them so far. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As long as you’re transparent about your issues, that’ll be the main thing. Give them all the information and they’ll do a really good job. The more information you give them the better the results will be. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company was Knowledge Management Innovations (KMI). My position was VP of customer experience. I oversaw the UX of our software and the experience of our customers with the software. We were acquired by a company in 2014 — after we worked with Interpix Design — and the merged entity is known as VelocityEHS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

We were developing a new version of our software and had gained a good market share based on our reputation for having the most user-friendly software. Then, our competitors upped their game, which made us up our game. Therefore, we brought in some UX experts so the new version of the software (version five) would be even more of a positive experience for users, some of whom were floor employees that didn’t have the luxury of going through training sessions. Also, the software had evolved so much over the years through upgrades and expansions that the complexity had become hard to streamline and make easy for users without the expert eye Interpix has.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We documented the functional needs of what needed to build and identified we liked and what needed to be improved in the next version. Then, we made sure Interpix had a solid understanding of the business needs of the software. They were very good listeners when it came to that, which was good because there was a lot for them to learn and understand before they could do their job effectively.

Then, they went away to do prototyping based on the knowledge we gave them, including functional specifications. They came back with wireframes and went straight to user testing. We solicited some of our customers and walked them through the prototype to get their feedback on what did and didn’t feel intuitive. Once we gathered all that data, they made modifications to the prototype and handed it over to our developers to write the code and bring it to life. They also had a designer, Chris (Creative Director, Interpix Design Inc.), that gave us a lot of graphical assets.

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with four people: two partners, a senior UX resource, and a creative designer. There was a fifth resource as a project manager as well.

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

I’d come across Murray (Managing Partner, Interpix Design Inc.) in the past and kept an eye on what his business was doing. When we were ready to invest considerable resources in the software, we reached out to them. We have shared philosophies, and talking with some of his customers helped me feel very comfortable with their approach.

We’d built a grass-roots, do-it-ourselves culture, so I was sensitive to that in the vetting. They didn’t only have to have the required expertise, but I also needed to make sure they’d be a good partner for the whole team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May 2013 until July 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we unveiled the software at our user conference we got a standing ovation.

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed really well and were really clear about what we could expect and what was expected of us. Most of the communication as over email, but we had plenty of in-person meetings and video calls. They were a great partner for helping us build simple software that meets our customers’ complex business needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we were flirting with the edges of the scope, they were flexible with us, giving us fair heads-up when we were starting to compromise the budget. Murray was open with that communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the nation product manager for DoProcess Software. We provide practice management solutions to law firms across Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

Seven years ago, we decided to take our desktop legacy software to the cloud. It took five years to develop all the software, logic, and nuances across each jurisdiction in Canada. The goal was to move thousands of law firms to a modern, browser-based application. 

We didn’t have the availability to build other tools at the same time. However, we found an interest and need to have a mobile app to provide insights into our clients’ businesses on the go. That’s where Interpix Design came in.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With very little guidance, Interpix Design prototyped, developed, and built out all the requirements for the mobile app, delivering a system that we’re now deploying to our clients. We were too busy to manage the project, so they did everything from end to end, including research, design, and hiring programmers to build the solution.

We did together initially on the prototype and business case to present to our management team. Once we got the case approved, we had a good idea of what we needed to build. We also worked with our development and operations teams to define what tech stack we’d use. That way, this app would be aligned with our full project. 

Interpix Design used Angular to develop the app and open source tools to build in widgets and other common app features. They then integrated it into our backend API, which we already built with our main application. The app is for Android and iOS devices; it keeps lawyers informed of what’s happening in the office while they’re out of the office.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project lead and design team. 

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

They were a longtime UX partner that was involved early on in designing the UI/UX for the new cloud application. That meant that they fully understood our business problem and domain space before coming into this mobile app project. 

I initially found them after searching online for a number of UI design companies. I cold-called the team and told them what I needed. We hit it off in our meeting and have been working together for nearly eight years.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project started in January 2015. Interpix Design is now doing maintenance and support for the application. We tell them what features we want to build, and we host and deploy new versions together as they come up. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work and design have facilitated us to move thousands of law firms to a new application that is radically different yet familiar enough, enabling a successful transition. For a traditional sector that doesn’t like change, having to move off of a platform that they’ve used for up to 20 years is a big deal. However, we’ve had very few customers leave us.

Interpix Design has a good development approach that I respect and trust: define the problem, engage customers, validate assumptions, build prototypes, and work with stakeholders to refine the vision and look and feel before laying out code. 

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They assigned us a project manager that coordinates all activity from our side and their development side. They work with us to make sure that we’re on schedule and that the product development timelines on both sides are aligned. They’ve also worked with remote developers around the world in different time zones. Their project managers are a major strength of theirs.

To communicate, we just use standard tools like Microsoft Excel. They do use Microsoft Project for high-level schedules, and we use Aha! for requirements management. The work is focused on agile development, so we spend less time looking at day-to-day project management and more time on feature development, testing, and sprint cycles. We have weekly project meetings to guide the roadmap and prioritize which features to deliver and when.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The app is intuitive, modern, and pleasing in its aesthetic. I work on functional design and prioritize keeping a tool simple for the user, making it easy to learn and attractive to look at. They nailed these factors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m completely happy with their work.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have a solid understanding of your customers and vision. Leverage the prototyping process to validate your assumptions: a lot of times, your assumptions are wrong, and it’s good to fail early before you spend too much money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the manager of a medical technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

We needed help with UI and UX issues that we wanted to address in our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They evaluated our current design from the UX. Then, they provided a different layouts in terms of how we can improve it, based on our wireframes. We had regular meetings with them so they could understand what our needs are and what our customers experience.  We went into planning and divided the software in sections on how we wanted to tackle each part. Finally, we addressed each of the user stories, which included a few screenshots and user windows.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two project managers.

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

We sent out a questionnaire to each of our UI/X candidates, and based on their response we chose Interpix.

How much have you invested with them?    

We invested $50,000 – $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2018, and we wrapped up in November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We invited end-users to test the software and measured how many mistakes they made. It was quite successful.

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always on time. We had a weekly update on Fridays of what was accomplished and what was still outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were really detail-oriented. I also like that they also tested the product on their end. They had their own experts that would send their feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing that comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for the City of Hamilton, so we are a local government serving about 600,000 people in the Greater Toronto area. I am a senior project manager in the transit portfolio, and I have also worked across a number of different divisions in the city where Interpix contributed their services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

Interpix has worked with the City of Hamilton on a multitude of projects over the course of nearly a decade which have spanned scoping projects, designing, prototyping, and fully testing a variety of municipal government services. Our most recent work with them consisted of usability testing on a mobile app for transit customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are in the process of working with a vendor who is developing a mobile app, and we were interested in making sure that the app was as easy to use as possible. Our goal with Interpix was to bring in a third-party that we knew had a lot of experience and who would be able to work with both us and the developer.

After getting insight from both of our teams and testing the product extensively, they were able to provide comprehensive recommendations and design feedback that would improve the flow of the app so that we could launch the best product for our customers.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is typically Murray (Managing Partner), but I also worked closely with Gerrett (UX Designer), Samantha (UX Designer), and Jamie (Project Director) on this particular project.

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

I originally came across them from some of my colleagues who had worked with them on another project and told me about the benefits they had experienced. At the time, UX was a relatively new field and it was very hard to find qualified professionals to perform work for the government, so we brought them in on a number of projects.

Since then, they have also been successful in a number of competitive procurements for us as well, so they’ve made clear over the years that they deserve their spot as one of our main development partners.
What is the status of this engagement?

What is the status of this engagement?

The most recent project we did with them only ran from July-December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s a bit tough to pinpoint specific results for this particular project because we haven’t launched to the public yet, but one of the biggest aspects was that we were on a very accelerated timeline. Despite that, their work was delivered completely and fully on time, not just to our expectations but to those of the third party as well.

They delivered critical and helpful design recommendations, including user testing with sample customers whose transcripts were helpful both in design and in the marketing efforts around the product. Since then we’ve also launched the app in a beta mode to an audience of about 100 users, and feedback from that round has been incredibly positive, building our confidence in the product’s eventual success.

The app development vendor themselves were so pleased with the work that they’re now looking to incorporate this type of practice into their standard development methodology. They recognized the value that it created, not only in terms of getting the best output but actually from shortening the development timelines and cycles because it limited the amount of time that they spent going back to the drawing board redesigning components that weren’t working.

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is based relatively close to us, so they were able to work on-site when we needed and were always willing to work around our schedules. Since we were also working with a remote party, we used some project management softwares to centralize our communication.

Basecamp, in particular, has been very helpful in keeping track of all the remote collaboration going on. I know they use different software for their user-testing, which also made their resources incredibly convenient to access in one place.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was a great experience overall because they were able to interface with the developer that we were working with very easily. Their team has a big picture perspective in all of their projects and are always relentlessly focused on the customer experience and needs in order to leverage transformations to the digital sphere to broadly improve businesses as a whole.

That focus helps them to take often very complex and technical requirements and communicate those to multiple levels of an organization, whether that’s senior leadership, program staff, or third-party vendors, and interface really effectively across all of those units.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there isn’t anything I wish they did differently. We actually really appreciate their focus on design, because it makes them a uniquely independent and expert voice on design challenges and opportunities.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring them in early. Many companies only consider customer experience when everything else is complete and the deadline is fast approaching, but what I’ve learned from working with Interpix is that the earlier you can engage them in the strategy, the much better the whole project will go. Figuring out your user philosophy early is much easier than pivoting at the last minute once you’ve gone down the wrong path.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a senior manager at a financial services company.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

We were focused on a mobile wallet app and needed someone to provide UX development and design our app architecture. We were a small organization and didn’t have the necessary design resources in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was brand new to the market, and Interpix came on in the very beginning, when we were envisioning what the app should look like, what its look and feel should be, and what considerations we needed to make to get it ready.

We actually went through the process twice: once when we launched the organization and once when we changed directions post-launch. For the post-launch effort, they held a series of interviews with our key executives and key mid-level individuals across all teams (tech to product to operations). This solidified their understanding of what we wanted to portray from a brand perspective, as well as our short- and medium-term goals.

While we were in development, they did a series of concept and usability test with potential users to understand what worked and what didn’t, fleshing out the mental model our users had.

What is the team composition?

Murray was my main point of contact. He had a core team (2–3 people) that worked with my team.

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

They were brought in by one of the original partners before I came onboard. We renewed the contract after I started because we were happy with what they were doing.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2013 until June 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their strongest aspect was being our north star, guiding our vision to what we ultimately needed the most. Because we were a small organization with a small product, we couldn’t implement all their recommendation. They helped us evaluate our design priorities and sequence their implementation to align with our desires.

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They were absolutely terrific on responsiveness. Though they had their own tools, they adapted to our preferred tools. Communication was open and forward. We had no concerns whatsoever.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Despite not having a ton of experience with mobile apps or mobile wallets, they became a true extension of the team, caring just as much about the product as we did. They took ownership and accountability for it, which was nice to see. We worked toward the same goals and were both invested in making things work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were no real issues or points of contention. If anything small did arise, it was quickly addressed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate openly what works well for you. Help them understand what you’re trying to accomplish and what your limits are. Open information sharing will help them adapt their recommendations to your capabilities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the area vice president for cloud and smart home solutions at Calix, a telecommunications provider offering infrastructure solutions to the worldwide telecom market as well as the business side. I run the Salesforce, offering SaaS for marketing departments, for call centers, and for smart home platforms and offerings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interpix Design Inc.?

I’ve hired them three times, with previous engagements when I was at Microsoft and when I was at TELUS. I’m in the process right now of bringing them to work with Calix. I needed them to redesign web tools to improve customer experience and UI/UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I was at TELUS, I was the product manager for the IoT group, with the goal of bringing IoT solutions to the commercial sector in Canada. We weren’t working on smart home solutions, but smart business. We strategized which industries we would go after and then created a partner ecosystem where we would source solutions from the marketplace and curate them for Canadian businesses. Part of that was physically creating that ecosystem of partners and then assorting them to Canadian businesses, but also providing a way for those companies to manage their business with us.

I would typically have a conversation with one of my partners and ask them how they’re going to grow their business. I would show them how I can help them grow through connecting them with the Salesforce we had at TELUS. We got hundreds of companies to join our marketplace with these offers, and as our business grew, the physical infrastructure for managing those partner relationships became quite cumbersome.

I inherited a web tool with TELUS, and I found it difficult to show the individual solutions that we had on offer. I needed functionalities for revenue, sales funnels, and contact management. There’s a whole back office required to partner with those hundreds of companies. When I inherited that website, it was interesting, but very broken from a usability point of view.

I called up Interpix Design Inc. and asked them to rethink the UX design and customer interaction of the web tool. They came in and did that and gave it a whole redesign. It wasn’t a facelift, but an effort to understand the needs of our customers and how they wanted to interact to get the information they need. I also needed them to understand my needs in running the web tool. They took on this challenge and did a great job.

What is the team composition?

When I first brought Murray (Managing Partner, Interpix Design Inc.) in, he and Gerett (User Experience Designer) took my colleagues through what the company could do. We were then assigned a team of four five people, including a project manager and a designer.

How did you come to work with Interpix Design Inc.?

I'm very good friends with the founder, Murray. He and I both worked at Royal Bank 35 years ago, and when I started my first consulting company, he was my first hire. Later, after I had joined Microsoft, Murray went on and grew Interpix Design Inc. from really nothing into a very successful worldwide brand today. Whenever I have a need, it's a no-brainer to hire them because they're the best I've ever seen at what they do.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $40,000–$100,000 Canadian ($30,000–$75,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together for four or five months in 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website was pretty well-instrumented, but I don’t think we kept records of their time commitments. I can now do more and my team spends less time on the website. Things are much clearer on the layout and much more compatible with what we actually do and how we work. The anecdotal feedback I got from the partner community was that the redesigned web tool was easier to understand. From my point of view as the person managing those partnerships, I have levels of transparency of information I just didn't have before.

How did Interpix Design Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They're relentless about meeting their deadlines, so they are on us all the time to make sure that we hold up our end of the bargain. In talking to their leadership team, it's one of the things that they’ve really focused on over the years and I think it's helped them grow, because we all know most projects slip. They are just maniacal at making sure that they always hit their timelines.

We worked through and then we had check points with Murray and some of his key people as needed as the project went along, but I really handed it off to my team and just watched as things progressed. I checked in at the various management checkpoints and then happily paid the bill at the end. We communicated through email and phone meetings. I think we had a team site where we exchanged collateral.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The reason that I go back to them all the time is that 20 years ago, this was a science that no one really knew about. The reality is humans haven't evolved for 20,00 years, so we interact the same way with the world and technology. Even though everyone thinks we've changed dramatically, there are absolutely ways in which we do and don't perform well, and it was interesting back then to have a company that was born and bred specifically on human computer interaction and the science behind it.

I find the problem you have now is that many design firms, web agencies, or digital agencies have understood the fashionable nature of this discipline and they have assigned their design teams all sorts of non-credentials claiming they do this, but they frankly don't. There are lots of agencies that can design things that look pretty and they're impossible to use. Interpix Design Inc. has designers who can mock things up, but their bread and butter is the science of how humans interact with technology. That is their concern and their focus and they really force their customers to make sure that what they're designing is actually easy for humans. And that's why they've always stood out to me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their work has never been deficient. Being a small company, they're always sort of pulled here and there, so getting into their schedule is hard, but they’re good about hitting their deadlines. I'd love if they had more capacity, but I’d also love if there were more concert violinists or another Mozart. There just aren't that many around.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you're going to engage with them, make sure you as an individual leader and decision-maker understand what they're doing. You're going to need to fight for them because the reality is you're going to hit three issues. For one, you're going to hit them criticizing the design that someone else did, and in turn they're going to hear “You're calling my baby ugly,” so that's one. The second one is you're going to get into a fight over preference, over whether people like pink versus blue, which absolutely doesn't matter. Third, you’ll have the engineers and the software developers tell you that what's being asked for is too hard.

If you believe in what you're doing and really think that it's worth bringing in these professionals, you need to do what they tell you to do and defend the integrity of what they're recommending. That's the hardest job in hiring them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the product manager at Covarity Inc, a Constellation Software company that provides web-based commercial loan management software to financial institutions. I oversee product design and manage software release cycles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Interpix Design Inc.?

Our "Client Portal", used by our customers' clients, had not been updated in several years. As the portal was in need of significant technical upgrades, we took the opportunity to also address usability challenges that could not previously be addressed. We engaged with Interpix to assist us in improving the user experience while our development team focused on technical upgrades.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase customers' client satisfaction with and usage of the portal, which would ultimately lead to better operational efficiency for our customers. We also looked forward to presenting a fresh, streamlined user experience to prospective customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched for local vendors online, selecting 3 candidates based on both website profiles as well as reviews on Clutch. We also considered an additional vendor (not Interpix) that had been referred to us.

After interviewing each of the candidates, we felt that Interpix was the best fit in these areas:

• They understood and had prior experience with financial software (a.k.a they already had a good understanding of our customers)
• They anticipated our specific needs in terms of white-labeling and conforming to web accessibility standards before we even mentioned them
• Their questions were very targeted and they were very clear in terms of what to expect from them in services relative to what information we could provide throughout the project such as metrics and engagement with stakeholders and end users

For our particular project and dev team, they did not pressure us into purchasing pixel-perfect prototype widgets (though they do offer this in general) or push us towards any particular front-end technology or proprietary tools.

Describe the project in detail.

We opted to engage Interpix for a series of design reviews, rather than design from scratch. We started with a meeting to demo and discuss the old portal. We sent them our initial redesign in the form of a high-fidelity prototype, relevant stats and anecdotal feedback we collected from customers over the years. They then sent us their first review with several sketched suggestions. We had a followup meeting to discuss the review, which led to fundamental changes in layout, as well as visual and linguistic refinements.

After incorporating a first round of changes, we collected feedback from our customers (as we were not able to facilitate direct communication between them and Interpix), made further design changes, and received a second review from Interpix. Discussions led to yet more changes and refinements. We ended up with a portal that roughly followed our initial ideas for redesign, but was much better refined than what we would have ended up with without Interpix consultation.

What was the team composition?

There were two primary designers involved, as well as a junior designer and our main sales contact. All four members were available throughout the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sometimes no news is good news. Our customers' largest concern was that users would not be able to handle the change management, but they took it in stride and the feedback we did receive was very positive.

Because Interpix took the time to explain in detail the reasons for their design suggestions, we were able to apply those principles and make adjustments ourselves as we received feedback on a couple minor usability issues. Product demos to prospective clients went over very well. Some prospects' reactions were of "surprise" at how modern and seamless the experience was.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective. We had productive design discussions over screen share. Easy communication and exchange of ideas.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They knew our business. They took the time to understand and also to question our assumptions about our end users. They were able to observe where we struggled and take initiative in refocusing and steering us in the right direction throughout the design process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement, but overall for the scope of the project we were very impressed. They've earned our trust and we look forward to working with them on larger projects in the near future.