Lighthouse

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product management for a transport and logistics company. We’re a technology and freight marketplace. Our domain is very different from the general tech domain; we serve truck drivers and people who don’t interact much with technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse?

We had a product team that had an in-house design team. We had a lot of initiatives to redesign the current mobile and web applications, and we needed to make a radical shift, moving from in-house designers to an expert in consultation, ownership, and guidance through design. In summary, we wanted to transform the team for better productivity.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project with Lighthouse was to redesign our mobile applications. We had 7–8 mobile applications for both Android and iOS. From a technology standpoint, we decided to merge all of these applications and create a single code base, which was an opportunity to make it the next generation of applications in terms of look and feel.

In general, they’ve worked with us to redesign the apps and make them suitable for our customers. Additionally, they help with discovery and user research besides the UX/UI work.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is the client services manager. For the first project, one person worked with us, and there was a client manager as well. Now, we have a couple of people working on different pieces on the web and mobile side.

How did you come to work with Lighthouse?

I was looking for someone who could give me client services. I did a Google search and landed on their page. Then, I saw what they’d done in the past. It looked appropriate, so I pinged them a note to get in touch with me. They got in touch in 1–2 days. We had a straightforward conversation, and since I’d already seen their portfolio, I was comfortable moving forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £65,000–£70,000 (approximately $82,000–$96,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

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

Getting the design right was quite a challenge for us. On the first draft, Lighthouse came back with something we hadn’t seen before, not even with our in-house team. We took those prototypes to our customers and did some testing. The feedback was great, and customers were convinced that it was the way to go.

Overall, we’ve appreciated the quality of work, understanding of our domain, and empathy they’ve shown for our customers.

How did Lighthouse perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is as expected. We had a few issues when a team member had to step away. It was challenging for a few months because that person had a lot of knowledge. However, we still met the timelines and improvised when there were problems.

Internally, we use Microsoft Suite and Jira, but Lighthouse’s team uses Asana. We’ve also used Sketch — all these tools have helped us get to our desired project outcomes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their most distinguishing quality is that they’re sincere, humble, and empathetic. The client services manager has been quite proactive in gauging the sentiment on project deadlines and costs. This has helped us because we don’t have to chase them, which is a sign of good empathy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If people leave, they need to have a better handover framework to ensure consistency and resilience of projects, timelines, and budgets.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s vital to get the terms right in the beginning. Be clear on what you’re asking them to do. For example, we didn’t want them to focus on research at first. We told them not to do user research, and we were upfront because they were a consultancy. Therefore, their team will try and do anything to help you out. If you don’t want them to do certain things, tell them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder of a tech start-up innovating in the telecoms sector

For what projects/services did your company hire Lighthouse ?

We needed a UX/UI design for out front-end user interface, that could expose all the complex functionalities in the back-end

How did you select this vendor?

We searched for some London-based UX design companies, and after a few interviews we decided to go with lighthouse because had the most relevant expertise and showed to be flexible enough for our project

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We held an initial discovery phase, of around 2 weeks where we discussed the scope of the project and gave some basic understanding of the telecoms industry. We then went on to the design phase where we worked very closely with the designer to get the different pages done.

It was largely a collaborative process, where our backend team was very engaged in discussions providing all the necessary documentation so the designer could capture the functionality in the final design. Without the collaboration the result wouldn't have been the same.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The back-end team worked directly with a UX designer

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

We're pleased with the result. We wanted something very simple and that captured the features and functionalities of the back-end. The designer did a great job at taking the time to understand the very complex task of the platform, so the UI could have the correct walk-through for the different flows.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The designer and our team worked very closely during the duration of the project. There was a constant stream of communication, with meetings to explain progress and blockers. In parallel, our team worked internally to support better the blockers and expedite the design process.

The communication was constant, and although the project took longer than expected, the workload was shared across both teams to complete the project.

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

The designer paid a lot of attention to detail, and wanted to understand the platform in order to deliver a good product. It wasn't rushed nor done in the surface, but with a lot of care and making sure each step was taken made sense from the perspective of the whole product.

That means even reviewing pages already finished once we were progressing with the design.

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

The discovery phase ended too early for the context of the project and product.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an associate product manager at Fig Tech, a personal finance and SaaS company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse?

We wanted to upgrade our existing platform to give our customers an optimized UI/UX experience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Lighthouse initially examined our website to identify our brand themes and any areas that needed improvement. Based on their findings, their team gave specific suggestions on refining the design quality of our website. They also looked at the websites of our competitors to collate new ideas and examine their commonalities, which helped them organize our design plan better.

After the discovery phase, Lighthouse kicked off the design process and used Figma to implement UI/UX design solutions. They then modernized our platform and helped us formulate new brand guidelines following their new design suggestions and our preferences.

What is the team composition?

We directly worked with Lighthouse’s UI/UX designer, contact, and project manager.

How did you come to work with Lighthouse?

We found them online while searching for potential design agencies to onboard for this project. We launched a vetting process after creating a shortlist, and we ended up choosing Lighthouse because of their team’s promising proposal and agreeable personality.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from May–September 2021.

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

Lighthouse built a highly responsive and sophisticated platform that met our UI/UX expectations. Our team was especially pleased with how straightforward its features were. Additionally, they cooperated well during the series of product testings that we conducted.

How did Lighthouse perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated via Slack and email. Lighthouse had impressive project management skills — they organized everything from the start, so we progressed seamlessly and met our goals on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out the most about their team was their high level of professionalism and capacity to bring our ideas to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Lighthouse did great overall — we didn’t have any complaints throughout our partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Organize your goals and relay those transparently to Lighthouse’s team, and they’ll take it from there.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of influencer relations at an international PR firm focused on the video game industry. We work in influencer marketing and PR.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse?

In the video game industry, members of the gaming press and prominent YouTube channels were allowed to review games pre-launch. 

We were looking to develop a platform where we could easily handle the thousands of review requests we receive for the games we work with. We were trying to make a self-service checkout website that allows reviewers to browse and request keys for games.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Lighthouse to completely redesign our website’s look and feel. The functionalities had already existed since another vendor developed the site. However, we were unhappy with the site’s form and functionality. Lighthouse overhauled the site’s UI/UX.

We gave Lighthouse access to our website’s backend after a consultation call with Tom (Co-Founder). They gathered all the relevant details they needed and came back to us with a proposal. 

They felt it was best for us to be hands-off throughout the process instead of providing detailed insights about wireframes and design assets. After all, UI/UX design was not our expertise. We didn’t have any security issue about that since the site was not yet live and didn’t have any information. 

LightHouse then studied our WordPress website’s functionality and features. They tried to get a cohesive picture of how the user journey works and what areas they could implement refinements.

In addition, LightHouse improved our website’s look. They redesigned our logo, color schemes, palettes, and other assets. They also made our website mobile-friendly and adaptable regardless of screen size.

What is the team composition?

My initial consultation had been with Tom. After that, Eugene (Designer) and Roma (UI/UX) were the persons I worked with regularly. 

How did you come to work with Lighthouse?

I found Lighthouse through Clutch. 

I spoke with two highly-rated companies on the platform. I liked Tom’s attitude and approach to handling things, while the other vendor didn’t seem as engaging. When Tom came back to me after a week, he gave me a detailed proposal. His dedication made me decide to hire Lighthouse. 

Additionally, I liked how Lighthouse’s website was presented and could be explored. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $16,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from July–September 2021. 

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

The website isn’t live yet. However, I showed Lighthouse’s work to a few stakeholders, and they were blown away. Our site’s designs were the most modern and sleek-looking in the market. We can say with confidence that we look and feel like industry leaders because of Lighthouse’s work. 

A lot of our customers will turn away from providers if they don’t look and feel professional. Especially since our users are primarily influencers — things can seem very suspicious and scam-like if a provider’s website doesn’t look and feel correct. The prestige that the site displays is going to help drive people to click through our services. 

How did Lighthouse perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with Lighthouse was a very fluid process. When they found out we also used Slack, they invited us to a channel, giving us instantaneous communication. They provided us with breakdowns of their weekly agenda; their calls were very efficient and informative at the same time. In addition, all of our discussions were summarized on Slack. 

Lighthouse’s project management had been very efficient, and they were able to finish tasks ahead of schedule. Since we had extra hours, they worked on an additional improvement on the site to maximize our time. Additionally, their communication was straight to the point and easy to understand. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Lighthouse understood our brief from day one. We worked over four time zones, yet there were never any miscommunications — I had never encountered anything like that in my professional life. 

I was surprised that it only took a 45-minute consultation for them to achieve a laser focus on what they wanted to do on our website. With our guidance, they had created something brilliant. The process was almost autopilot for me. 

Lighthouse also had a lot of creatives that suggested ideas. If a proposal was debated, they bent to what the customer would like. They had been keen to share their expertise and work with us to deliver a good result — I felt their campaigns had been tailor fit.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put the work in the initial consultation, and make sure that you understand the process very clearly. That was what we did, and the process had been fruitful and straightforward. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the two founders and CEO of Ellpha. We’re a small software service company that started three years ago. We’re creating a software based on AI to understand gender, nationality, or ethnicity bias in HR.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse?

The objective of the project was to design our first SaaS platform. It was meant to do what we do today but in a much more automated way. We wanted to do an MVP so it’d be a frugal final product that still delivered the highest value.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project had two phases. In the first phase, we did strategic counseling to get specific on what we needed. Lighthouse helped us choose which functionalities would add value to detect biases instead of making the product look nice. Once everything was clear, we went into the second phase to design the workflow, UX, and wireframe.

We initially briefed them on the types of graphics we wanted. They offered 3–4 options, and we quickly selected one. The team did all the designs from scratch using Figma.

What is the team composition?

We had a lead designer working on the project from the onset, including some of the research. He delivered the product right until the end. Another designer supported him and came in to achieve the deadlines. Also, we had a lead consultant who helped us shape the project and stay on budget.

How did you come to work with Lighthouse?

Someone recommended them to us. In the beginning, we did a careful process to select the best agency. We looked at various possible partners, and Lighthouse emerged as a serious option at that point. We asked for references, and they showed us some of the work they’d done. Then, we asked if we could speak to some of their previous clients.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around £40,000–£45,000 (approximately $55,000–$62,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2020, and they delivered the project in April 2021.

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

They delivered on time, but we haven’t launched the product yet. We’re still developing the coding, and there’s a lot of AI work going on behind the scenes.

However, the research team and developers loved the design. People have said it’s really nice; we’ve had great feedback. Moreover, it’s easy to navigate, and we like the color scheme and look and feel.

Overall, their team knew how the customer navigates a product. Lighthouse constantly helped us remain within the budget, and they delivered a product that centered on value.

How did Lighthouse perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. The first phase was a bit hard because we had to get to the specifications of our big general idea. We needed to process it and make decisions, so that phase felt slow. However, Lighthouse couldn’t make those decisions for us, and it was what we needed to do, so we don’t blame them for it.

We had Zoom and Google meetings to see everyone. During the design phase, we spoke briefly every week. Sometimes we went into a little more detail directly with the designer. He was always available and happy to jump on the call to hear our feedback. Additionally, everyone was able to communicate through Google.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely flexible and agile. They took it as slow as we needed it and went really far into the project. Sometimes I would think about something at 5:00 p.m., drop a line, and get on a call for an hour. Lighthouse moved costs and timing for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think the strategic research phase wasn’t efficient. We lost time because we couldn’t brief them well. It wasn’t their fault, but they could’ve been more assertive to tell us directly what was a mistake and what they could do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them; they’re more than a design agency. Also, you’ll get great value if you understand who does what and who to speak to for each type of question.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SureCloud is a software and cybersecurity penetration testing provider specializing in governance, risk, and compliance software. I’m the VP of product at the company, so I’m responsible for all of our company’s software output.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse?

We have a software platform that we monetize into our client base, and we felt the need to upgrade its UI. We wanted our platform to look prettier to help our presell cycle and keep our existing clients happy with its look and feel.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged with Lighthouse to help us with our UI/UX refreshment project. First, we provided them with a big list of the areas in which our platform needed to be revamped with a new and clean UI. We also put them through our platform so they could have a one-on-one level of understanding about how it worked.

Lighthouse largely went away and came back with a series of suggestions and design systems to improve how the platform would work and look. Then, we worked with them to select the relevant design system that worked for us.

They worked through our picked list in all the areas that we felt needed to be revamped, and we could see the wireframes’ mockups using their tool. We went back and forth with the designs as they touched all the different areas of our platform until we reached the end of the list.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Tom (Co-Founder & Director) and two designers: Michael and Elvin (UI/UX Designers).

How did you come to work with Lighthouse?

We had no prior experience choosing UI/UX design agencies, so I Googled for a while and found some websites ranking the best UI companies to work with in London, which is where we’re based.

Lighthouse was one of the two best companies in one of those lists, so we had discovery calls with them and with the other agency. I got a better feeling in working with Lighthouse; we thought that their people resembled our people more, which would allow us to work fluently.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and this phase is finishing now, in June 2021. This was just the first phase of many others, so I have the intention to go back to them to work on the next phases. We have more of a supplier relationship than an ongoing partnership.

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

Lighthouse delivered the design systems, and now, we have to do all the work to make it real, so we don’t have any impact on their work yet.

In terms of quality, our development team saw the designs that Lighthouse produced for them, and they were very pleased with the high quality of their work. Our team has seen design systems in the past, so they know what looks good.

How did Lighthouse perform from a project management standpoint?

Lighthouse’s project management was excellent. We communicated via BaseCamp, and they used Figma to share wireframes. Additionally, we also had occasional Microsoft Teams meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The aspect that I most appreciated about working with Lighthouse was that it required a light touch. They didn’t need a lot of my time to get going, and they were able to get up and running very quickly to produce high-quality output.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m really pleased with the process and how everything turned out.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The key is to make sure that the project kicks off with the right scope of what is required. If you’re clear on your requirements, Lighthouse has a team who can get around them and get the work done.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital marketing agency for SMEs. We run lead generation and marketing campaigns for our clients, as well as designing and developing their websites. My role is the Client Services Director.

For what projects/services did your company hire Lighthouse London?

Lighthouse London worked in partnership with us on a UX / UI project, working with us from the ideation and UX / wireframing phases right through to delivering the front end design.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking to streamline the user journeys of the website to improve conversion and make the key information more accessible to website visitors. We wanted to partner with a team of UX / UI specialists who could ensure we could deliver this goal.

How did you select Lighthouse London?

We knew about Lighthouse London's reputation in the market for being experts at UX / UI. We had also had worked with the founding members of their team over the years on other projects so knew they were more than capable of delivering to the high standards we were looking for.

Describe the project in detail.

Our client (a software company in the music industry) needed a website revamp to better communicate their value proposition and guide visitors to the key information to improve conversion. Lighthouse London ran the entire end to end UX / UI process, from initial low-fidelity wireframes, through to providing fully designed versions of the main areas of the website that needed improving.

What was the team composition?

We worked with 4 members of their team covering project management, UX/UI and client services.

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

The design solutions they provided were to a high standard and the client was very pleased with the outcome. The new designs led to an increase in conversion on their website due to the improvement of user journeys and clarity of key information.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team managed the project very effectively, planned it seamlessly, communicated well throughout and delivered on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are a great combination of UI/UX experts and are also great people to deal with. They have deep experience in this area so the project felt like it was in safe hands from start to finish.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of any areas for improvement, it was easy to work with them from start to finish and the quality of work was excellent!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Technology for Digital Theatre+. Digital Theatre+ is an Education resource that helps academics, students and teachers by providing video-on-demand for theatre productions, interviews, workshops and written content.

For what projects/services did your company hire Lighthouse London, and what were your goals?

After many years without investment in our platform and product, we hired Lighthouse London to re-envisage the product, conduct customer research, perform UX/UI design and support implementation of the product on a completely new technical stack.

How did you select Lighthouse London and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Lighthouse London based on their experience, portfolio, history of successful projects and people. Lighthouse London immediately gave us confidence they were the right choice to support our business in one of the biggest projects we've ever undertaken.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The work was split into two distinct phases:

1. Customer research and product design, using an iterative approach involving interviews, feedback and reviews, mapping, wireframes and mockups.

2. Product implementation, again using an iterative approach using TypeScript, React, Next, TailwindCSS, Storybook, Jest. In addition to providing project manager, UX/UI design for the first phase, Lighthouse London provided expert people who were able to implement a highly usable and accessible set of front-end components, working as an embedded part of our team.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager provided much of the day-to-day facilitation and management of the first phase, acting as a product manager at times, along with a UX/UI designer. During the second phase, a front-end web developer (although this massively understates this person's ability and talents) was embedded in our team on a full-time basis, moving to part time when appropriate.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have launched the rebuilt platform at https://edu.digitaltheatreplus.com and the website has been received well by customers and internal staff alike. The components delivered are highly usable, polished and accessible, meeting all our key requirements.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

During the first phase, a regular progress meeting was held each week, along with ad-hoc sessions as required. Project management was focussed, reliable and adaptable. Communication tools include Basecamp and Abstract, among others used for design and user testing.

During the second phase, Lighthouse London were embedded in our team, so took part in daily stand-ups and worked closely with both team members and stakeholders. The tools used were predominantly Gitlab and Storybook.

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

The calibre and experience of the individuals combined with an absolute commitment to mutual success has meant we've been confident continuing our relationship with Lighthouse London beyond the initial deliverables through to ongoing product development.

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

None.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m head of delivery for a company that acts as a service provider for data and news. I work in the insurance, aviation, and infrastructure areas, but different divisions specialize in various focus areas.

What challenge were you trying to address with Lighthouse London?

We needed a UX upgrade for our site.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redesigned the backend of our data offering before moving on to designing the new product suite that we incorporated into the site. They designed all the pages for that. From there, they completed the marketing page for our site as well. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 10–15 people, including a project manager, developer, a UX expert, and the finance department. 

How did you come to work with Lighthouse London?

A member of our team selected about 10 possible providers, later narrowing that down to three. They did a presentation for us, and we decided to hire them based on that.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $150,000–$250,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2018–November 2020.

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

They worked very hard on our relationship, got things done according to our timelines, and were as responsive as possible throughout.

How did Lighthouse London perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Skype and Google Hangouts for communication. Our team is generally under-resourced, so it took us some time to keep up with them. The only delays were on our end, and they delivered on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was a tricky project to navigate, between all the data and financials, but they came up with an engaging result. Their designs were very strong.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we engaged them, we expected that the user designs would be responsive. We ended up having to request that service in addition, and I assumed that it would be offered together.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your vision and assumptions from the start.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co Founder and CEO of a London-based tech start-up that operates in the field of anti-counterfeiting.

For what projects/services did your company hire Lighthouse London?

The development of a UX Prototype.

What were your goals for this project?

Speed, and the ability to understand and realise complex ideas.

How did you select Lighthouse London?

We contacted a number of companies (many of which feature on Clutch), submitted information about the project, and then held preliminary meetings in order to assess each company's ability to achieve our goals.

Describe the project in detail.

A Prototype that demonstrates features/functions of TAGD(s) authentication system and its integration across relevant retail platforms. 

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a Project Manager and 2 UX/UI Designers.

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

The Prototype has already been used to secure meetings with two global retail brands.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were updated regularly via Basecamp, and held numerous video conferencing calls, both scheduled and ad hoc. Given our time constraints, Lighthouse was incredibly flexible. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team at Lighthouse are friendly, efficient, incredibly creative, and devoid of ego. They consistently proposed ideas and interpretations that superseded our own. At each stage of the project we were presented with multiple options, which were then thoroughly scrutinised. 

The result of the process was that the Prototype was realised to a much higher standard than we had envisaged.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. Put simply, we have not worked with a better UX and UI design agency.