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    Baltimore, MD
    202.365.7367

Custom Website and Database Design / Development

5.0
3 reviews

Founded in 2001, Modern Signal is a Washington, DC-area custom website design and development firm with solutions for associations, non-profits, foundations and private companies - large and small alike.

Our team provides the complete range of expertise - strategy, information architecture, project management, programming, database development, graphic design and interface development - all working in concert to the benefit of your organization and your technology projects. 

We have over 16 years of experience in the design and development of enterprise-level, custom-built websites and databases particularly in ASP.net, ColdFusion and SQL Server technologies. 

When your organizations' needs can't be shoehorned into an off-the-shelf CMS, our team of experts can bring your complex business rules and vision together into a successful website project. 

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Undisclosed
 
$100 - $149 / hr
 
2 - 9
 Founded
2001
Show all +
Baltimore, MD
headquaters
  • Modern Signal
    P.O. Box 16380
    Baltimore, MD 21210
    United States
    202.365.7367

Portfolio

Key clients: 

Here is a small sub-set of our clients: Association of University Centers on Disablities, Croplife America, National Association for Law Placement, National Association of Home Builders/International Builders Show, National Institute for School Leadership, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Society for Developmental Biology, streetsense, TRACE International Work Samples 

 

Reviews

5.0
3 reviews
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Web Design for Legal Professionals Association

"I've been dealing with websites for more than 15 years. Modern Signal has far and away been the easiest to work with, the most responsive group of people."

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5.0

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
2008 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

The client originally hired Modern Signal to redesign their main website and then extended the scope of the agency’s involvement to include design work on specialty directories.

The Reviewer
 
1,000-5,000 Employees
 
Washington D.C. Metro Area
Lisa Quirk
Director of Technology & Electronic Information Resources, NALP
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Modern Signal is a successful and valuable partner for the client and consistently delivers high quality work. The client praises the agency for their accessibility and collaborative nature. Modern Signal is highly recommended to others.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for the National Association for Law Placement, in Washington, D.C. The people who are our members are the career services or career counseling people in law schools, and the people within law firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations that hire or recruit lawyers. So, we bring those two sides of the business together: the people who are doing the recruiting, and the people who are trying to get their students recruited.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I am the director of technology and electronic information resources. I manage our infrastructure, the network. We have a third-party consultant who does a lot of that work for us, and then I manage all of our websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Modern Signal?

We've had them do several different projects for us. We had been working with a development company that we did not get along with very well. Every time we asked them to do something, or every time we told them that something wasn't working correctly, this other company would tell us why it was our fault or it was a stupid idea. It was not a good working relationship. So, we decided that we were going to switch to a different development company.

Please describe the scope of their work.

The first project that we had them do for us several years ago was simply to redesign our main website. Then we have a number of other specialty directories that are our organization is known for specifically, which we had Modern Signal help with. Once we had worked with them for a while, we had them help us redesign some of those. By now, Modern Signal has actually done all of those for us. So, we have a directory of legal employers, a Canadian directory of legal employers, we have a directory of law schools and then we have sort of a combination between a directory and a job board for public interest legal jobs.

SOLUTION

What was your process in selecting Modern Signal?

I do not remember how we found them specifically. There was a variety of reasons we selected them to do the work. We did some research, and I think I might have found Modern Signal through ASAE [American Society of Association Executives], but I really don't remember, it was so long ago. We got proposals from several organizations for what we were looking for, and Modern Signal came in very good on price.

They were easy to work with, they were easy to talk to, and they had good ideas. When we said that we wanted to do something, they'd often come back and show us how they had done the same for another of their clients. They were able to help us a lot in those ways. So, between these things, we ended up selecting them.

Can you give a sense of the cost of the work they have done for you?

We did the Canadian directory, the directory of legal employers, and the directory of law schools, and I would say each of those was probably in the $50,000 range. I don't remember the cost of the website redesign. The public service job board might have been a little bit on the higher side because it was just a little bit more involved as far as being able to make it searchable and have the employers being able to post information. There were just more fields and options.

When did you start working with Modern Signal?

We first started working with them in the summer of 2008, and the collaboration is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of their work?

I have to say that they have been one of the best companies that I've ever worked with. I've been dealing with websites for more than 15 years. Modern Signal has far and away been the easiest to work with, the most responsive group of people. They seem to work together really well as a team, they all get along, and they seem very collegial. I've been working with the same account person, and they've brought in a couple of additional people here and there. Everyone has worked well with me and with each other as a group.

Is there anything unique or special about Modern Signal that really makes them stand out?

One of their strongest points is just the fact that they're so responsive. I can call and tell them what I'm thinking about or what I need to happen and they will get back to me immediately with suggestions, with two or three different ways that we could accomplish whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish. Even if it's just a tech support thing, if I call them, I get a call back from them the same day. Sometimes, they can just solve the issue immediately on the phone.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. I can't think of anything that I would tell them that they needed to do better or do differently.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I think this would go for any vendor you're working with, but just be very clear on what you're trying to accomplish, so that you can describe that clearly to the people you're working with.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I would absolutely recommend them.

Web Development for Real Estate Design Firm

"We've done many projects with Modern Signal through the years, and we've had a seamless, wonderful working relationship with them."

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5.0

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
4.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
2001 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Modern Signal acts as the client’s digital partner and has provided website design and development services for their customers for over fifteen years.

The Reviewer
 
51-200 Employees
 
Bethesda, Maryland
Eric Burka
Managing Principal, Streetsense
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Modern Signal consistently delivers excellent work. The client has particularly high praise for the agency’s custom content management development services. The client had no criticism for Modern Signal and highly recommends the agency to others.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We're a multi-disciplinary design and creative firm. We specialize in architecture, interior design, branding, and marketing as well as research, analysis, and retail brokerage. So, we design, plan, and market in real estate, hospitality, the public sector, and restaurants. Our headquarters are in Bethesda, Maryland, and we have another office in downtown Washington, D.C. We have about 130 employees.

What is your role in the company?

I'm one of the principals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Modern Signal?

One of the many services we provide to our clients is website design and development. We use Modern Signal as a partner to help us deliver those products to our clients.

Please describe the scope of their work.

They do website design and development for our clients.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Modern Signal?

I've been working with two of Modern Signal's principals for 15 years. We used to work at another company together. When we all branched out and started our own businesses, I utilized them to handle all of my design and programming projects. So, it's been a very long relationship. Because I had worked with them before and knew their capabilities, I trusted and believed that they were the best out there.

Can you give a sense of the cost of their work?

I don't do the bookkeeping, so I don't know exactly. I would say we've spent between $50,000 and $100,000 working with Modern Signal through the years.

When did you start working with them?

We started working together in 2001, and we are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or other feedback about their work?

Everything they've done, from their project management to their back-end programming, is excellent. They've not done design work for us for a while, as we now do that in-house, but when they did provide that service, it was excellent.

There are no metrics – only happy clients. We've done many projects with Modern Signal through the years, and we've had a seamless, wonderful working relationship with them.

Is there anything unique or special about Modern Signal that really makes them stand out?

Their custom content management development services are the things that stand out. What makes those services so good is the technology and ease of use. It's easy for us to resell their work.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

The only area for improvement is the speed in which they can get things done. Our clients are constantly pushing us to move faster and, in turn, we end up passing that pressure on to them.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Web Design for Nonprofit Professional Society

"Someone at Modern Signal always answers my emails and actually responds and takes care of things that come up."

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5.0

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
4.5
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$10,000 to $49,999
Project summary: 

The client first hired Modern Signal for the task of designing their CORE database and then extended the scope of the agency’s involvement to include web development and management.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
USA
Public Relations Coordinator, Nonprofit Professional Society
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Modern Signal succeeded in improving the client’s SDB CORE site’s functionality and visual design. The client praises the agency for their adaptability and ability to consistently deliver high quality work. Modern Signal is highly recommended to others.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a scientific nonprofit organization. Our main goal is to aid our members, which is made up of scientists who do research on biology. We run an annual meeting where we have research presentations in the field.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I do publications and communications. I was brought on actually to help launch the website. The first project we did with Modern Signal was SDB Collaborative Resources, or CORE, which is an online database of images and movies on developmental biology. So, my main responsibility was to help curate images and movies from scientists and get them on our website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Modern Signal?

The main goal was for Modern Signal to design our database. CORE was very image intensive, and the goal was to make it very visually appealing and easy to use. We get submissions online from our membership, so it's very important that this process was easy and straightforward. We have a very large number of Mac users on Firefox and Safari, so it was very important that the site was capable of handling multiple platforms. That was our primary goal when we first came to work with Modern Signal.

Please describe the scope of their work.

They initially worked on our membership database, then website development and management. CORE was a big project. Because they did that work, it made sense to go with them for other things on our site, so it could connect to our membership database.

SOLUTION

What was your process in selecting Modern Signal?

I think I found them online, maybe through Google. I was looking for designers, and we were getting quotes through the website for CORE. We really wanted it to be geared toward us and not just go with whatever site we could get anywhere. We wanted it to be designed around us – that was important. Modern Signal was local, so that was kind of nice. They talked to us, and we just liked how they presented themselves. So, I think the process was basically that we met them, asked for a proposal and went from there.

Can you give a sense of the cost of the initiative?

We have spent at least $20,000 on CORE, including all of the upgrades. We've probably spent a similar amount for the website.

When did you start working with Modern Signal?

We started working with them in 2011, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

I think our membership appreciates the SDB CORE site, and it's visually pleasing. The functionality of our current site is better than it was before.

Is there anything unique or special about Modern Signal that really makes them stand out?

I like that it's small and that I know whom I'm talking to, that I'm not put through several prompts on the phone. It's like they're in our office, like they are right downstairs, as far as the service they provide. I feel like, even though they're remote, they're still there.

They're great at adapting to our needs when those needs change. Last year [2014], we added a donate button to our website so that we could start getting in donations for the society, and that was a really important function to have integrated into our membership database.

So, it's the quality of their work and the fact that they're responsive to us. That's really important because our previous vendor was not responsive. Someone at Modern Signal always answers my emails and actually responds and takes care of things that come up. Just yesterday, there was an issue with Firefox and our website administration page not coming up. It was fixed overnight. So, it's great that when they see an issue, they address it right away. Their customer service is great.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Overall, they've been responsive. I think they seem to be ramped up with a lot of other business, so they kind of have to work a project in. I guess they could expand and add another developer or another person but, then again, the idea of keeping the company small was kind of nice, too.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

It's important to prepare beforehand and think about what your needs are. You can't assume that other people can read your mind, so it's really about being very explicit about all the things that you want. Modern Signal can only do what you tell them, so I think it's important that you plan things out ahead of time. Things will come up and you'll have to change some things and that's fine, but just be explicit about what you need upfront.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 4.5 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer