MSTQ

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer at a mobile advertising startup.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

At that stage, we wanted to design a proof of concept (POC) to demonstrate our model and be able to test it across various channels. We needed to have a visual tool to be able to express our vision and model, as well as the key differentiators that we wanted to introduce with our product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MSTQ designed our POC. They brought the visual aspects of the product to life in terms of UX, visual design, compelling copy, and introducing various directions. 

It was a broader scope of work than just creating a POC, as we needed to delight the potential customer and show them what the product would be. In that regard, we did extensive research and work with MSTQ.

The team leveraged Figma as a design tool. They provided visual direction in terms of the UI components and overall look and feel. They also enhanced initial wireframes, flow, journey, copy, font styles, and images. MSTQ basically did all of the UX visual design and art direction related to the POC.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with one person, Yazin (Founder & Principal Product Designer).

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

I found them through the CEO of my company, who actually worked with Yazin at a previous stage of the project.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent in the range of $10,000–$12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe the engagement began in January or February 2020, and we finished mid-September 2020.

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

One point of feedback is their understanding of our work and what we want to achieve, which they were able to get by working off of references and basic wireframes. They were highly skilled in understanding where our work could go, where it should go, and where it should not go. I’d have to rate them very highly for their understanding of the mandate and the product itself.

I’d also note the exchange process and the dialogue we had to be able to navigate on certain points. Because it was a POC, some aspects were a little fuzzier than others. Their ability to provide examples, references, and basic UX or wireframes to be able to translate the vision into a POC that made sense was extremely enjoyable. They felt like a true extension of the company.

I don’t necessarily have specific metrics, but the process was extremely effective and enjoyable.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was handled very well. I was the point of contact in terms of establishing timelines, objectives, and iterations. We had a goal to have the POC by a certain date, but we had some leeway to work around that. We established common ground on timelines together. If there was a time that they were going to exceed an expected delivery, they communicated that clearly and in advance.

We communicated via video conferencing. We also recapped meetings and objectives using a shared doc. It was extremely transparent and clear at that level. There wasn’t a requirement or necessity to overly communicate, which was great, but we communicated at least twice a week.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of a concept or idea was impressive. They became an extension of the company and didn’t just execute; they took material ideas, concepts, and wireframes and built on them. 

They added value in terms of visual appeal and what the product represents, its flow, and how we’re able to generate value. By looking at the POC, it almost feels like a finished product. Their understanding of the digital realm, from mobile to e-commerce, is very important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve worked with them once, and it was very enjoyable. At this point, I have nothing to say in terms of improvement. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Just like anything with design, come to the table ready. Have basic wireframes, structure, customer journey, and clear objectives. Make the design as thoughtful and clear as possible to set expectations and go in the right direction. Exploit the true qualities of MSTQ.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & Founder of GoLoot, a startup that specializes in rewarded advertising. We monetize users based on their daily accomplishments in mobile apps with real, tangible rewards in the form of discount coupons.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We were trying to design some sort of prototype of our mobile app which has the purpose of a wallet. It allows users to collect and store different mobile coupons, and we were trying to bring this from a web platform to a mobile app.

We had an initial version of our design but we weren’t satisfied. We were looking for someone very talented, which is why we hired MSTQ.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team was responsible for the UI/UX design of the app. We did a lot of iterations so what started as a simple upgrade of the current design ended up being a much more complex job. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Yazin (Founder, Principal Designer). 

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

We visited Clutch and we ended up finding MSTQ and Yazin, along with other companies. Based on Clutch’s rankings, I reached out to as many people as I could. 

I then visited MSTQ’s website and found it to be very creative and interesting. Their price is what made them stand out. I reached out to them and was pleased with the introduction, so we moved forward with their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in January 2020, and it’s ongoing. Everything took about four weeks, but then we extended Yazin’s responsibilities to include many more of the products that we have. 

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

We pushed the boundaries of what we were expecting from them because we were so satisfied with the work they provided. My initial intention was to find a designer who would simply update the look and feel of my mobile app and make it appealing to my user base.

However, Yazin came in with the mindset of providing information and insight on my industry that would deeply impact my product and the services we offer within the app. Instead of simply being a designer, he became a business partner.

He dove deep into the UX and all the touchpoints that I had with the user, which had a huge impact on the services we offered and the way we structured our business model. For a startup, to get someone as experienced as Yazin and to get his insights at a fairly low cost has been amazing.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Yazin is always on time, and he’s often generous with his time. If you have a strict timeline, he’s always going to be there to extend a 30-minute call into a 2-hour conversation without billing extra. That’s something that I really appreciate.

I am someone who has a strict roadmap to respect because we have to satisfy investors, and Yazin understood that rapidly. He jumped into my team and our vision, and structured his design around where we needed to build our solution.

I had him come on Zoom calls to explain the work he was going to do and the steps he was going to take, and we aligned that with our development team and our efforts. He was in charge of all of the design. 

I almost gave him a white card to do anything he wanted in that regard. He is a fun guy to work with, and he understands the industry. Additionally, he’s very engaged in the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

MSTQ’s insight and knowledge of the industry were so valuable that we just kept working with them. When you work with MSTQ, what you get is the quality of service of a design studio at the price of working with a freelance partner.

It’s not as affordable as working with a freelance designer, but working hand-in-hand with Yazin means that we get a personal, tailored experience.

It almost feels like working with an employee you just hired. If you go to alternative studios, you’ll pay excess prices and the process will become bureaucratic, which isn’t how it feels with MSTQ. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The way he works correlates with my own work ethic and culture, which is something I shared with him. However, we could’ve benefited from having a platform to share the product development to make sure that he was on time and to see the real-time evolution of the design.

What happened with MSTQ is that he would share emails with me to give me progress updates, which made me lose track of what was going on as well as the expected delivery. 

On the calls, he would tell us what he was going to give us the following week. I didn’t really mind because we’re a startup, but for other clients, I think Yazin should have a roadmap on a public platform such as Jira or Confluence to share that information.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to consider Yazin as your partner, and that’s how you’ll get the most out of your time with MSTQ. You don’t have to be shy about having fun and telling him stories about the business. 

He wants to know the culture, the dynamic, the users, the journey, and the story behind the company because he wants to reflect that in his designs. I would advise customers to share all the information with him, become friends with him, and treat him like an employee on your payroll.

He’s much more than a designer; he’s smart, educated, and can have trickle-down effects on your product, business model, and company culture to a certain extent.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technology of a division at a large manufacturing technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We wanted to create a unique method of interaction between our customers and our technology, We were looking for a more software-based technology than we had traditionally done in the past.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a general idea of what we wanted to accomplish and how to do so, but MSTQ came in early in the project and guided us through the development cycle. They helped us to generate ideas and synthesized ideas on their own that we wouldn’t have thought of. 

MSTQ did UI/UX work but also looked into details of who would be using our software and how they would feel when they interacted with it. 

What is the team composition?

We work with one individual, which I like. 

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

We found them on a ratings website. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MSTQ in February 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

For the overall project, MSTQ’s work has made a huge difference. It has enabled us to keep driving the project, especially in an uncertain business environment. They brought a lot of ideas and ways of thinking that we wouldn’t have thought of. Without MSTQ, we wouldn’t have been as far along as we are right now. 

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Our interaction with our point of contact has been great. He’s an extremely good communicator. MSTQ collaboratively defines the way forward, presenting their ideas while listening to ours.

We haven’t used ay project management software. Instead, we’ve been taking an iterative approach. We have a set of goals to generate the next iteration of development, and we just try to achieve those high-level goals. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their clarity of thought is impressive. MSTQ understood the problems that we presented and helped us think about those problems while providing their own ideas.

We work in a very technical industry with which our main point of contact has no previous experience. It was really impressive to see how quickly they were able to bring relevant ideas to our technical challenges. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, at the moment I have no critiques.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do an initial smaller project with MSTQ to see how the relationship works. For us, it worked well which led us to engage in a larger, secondary phase.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of an online technical training company that focuses on cloud security and infrastructure for Fortune 500 companies.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We were looking to rebrand our new platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MSTQ designed the UI of our platform. Their team did all of the research, including building user personas, which they used to formulate a strategic approach. They helped us build communication approaches and strategies for learning each of our programs that would maximize our return. Their team is now helping us fully redesign our website based on their research.

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact at MSTQ. While he had a team behind the scenes, we did not interact with them.

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

Initially, we found MSTQ on social media and reached out to them. After an initial phone call and some additional research, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with MSTQ began in 2018.

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

So far people are raving about it. All of the feedback we have recieved has been extremely positive. The UX has been incredibly strong so we’re very excited to roll out the platform in Q1.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

MSTQ is incredible at project management. They have excellent communication and follow-up. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

MSTQ has a strong grasp on how to blend the design and UI with what will work best in the market. They’re not just a design or research firm, they can execute on a vision that’s effective.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve had an excellent experience. We were interested in having them build out our full site and now they’re doing it!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open-minded about the feedback they provide. They give you honest feedback based on research and design based around that research, which may not align with your existing brand principles. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an associate for user experience for a railroad company.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We wanted to inject some fresh ideas and a different perspective for our company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had some consultation services where they had brainstorming exercises, design exercises, research activities, etc. They did some guided exercises with that, which is really great. The actual deliverables were some prototypes with new ideas for our shopping experience.

The prototype was a fleshed-out prototype video. It’s a polished, web-based video that we could use to show our stakeholders.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a team of two. Our main point person is Yazin (Founder & Principal Designer, MSTQ).

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

We were researching a bunch of different UX options. We have a weird contracting procedure here at our company. Companies must provide us a bid. We liked MSTQ’s bid the best.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July until September 2017.

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

We’ve got a lot of internal feedback when we initially launched it, but then our company completely changed direction. We’re not focusing on the customer side right now, instead, we’re focusing on increased productivity and production. Based on Wall Street’s demands, we were forced to refocus on production. Otherwise, they performed very well. They went above and beyond to meet our deadlines.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated in person. They were onsite for us. They rented out a space in downtown Omaha. We were in a room with them for quite a bit of time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their deep knowledge and their actual research methodologies behind the computer interaction psychology were really impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront with what you want for your deliverables. Understand that you might need to be flexible and go out on a limb and agreeing with some of their more unconventional methodologies that they do work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior developer at a large technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We needed support with the UI/UX for a new project. We function almost like a startup within the company, so it was a pretty open-ended project but we didn’t have anyone to help with the UI/UX aspects. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

MSTQ designed the initial UX research and marks for the work. They were involved with the initial introduction, but most of their work was to drive the user research efforts. They helped us come up with the initial requirements and conducted interviews, before coming up with our MVP.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one person from the MSTQ team.

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

I wasn’t directly involved in hiring them, but I believe we found them through a referral. Since we’re a big company, we considered 2–3 other firms in the vetting process. We’re a private arm within our company, so we had to go through multiple rounds of approvals, which took a few weeks, before selecting MSTQ. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from May–July 2019. Since completing the work, they have been available for any questions we have had.

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

We’re releasing the product externally soon. The teams involved and other people have given us positive reviews, so far. Though we’ve made some changes, MSTQ captured the main goals that we needed with their UX work.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job managing the project. Their communication in speaking to clients and updating us on their progress was excellent. We primarily communicated through email and video conferences. They made sure notes were sent out and that timelines were set and met. Everyone was satisfied. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When our engagement started, the brief was very vague. However, they did the initial UX research and came up with the MVP which I think was pretty admirable and they did a good job. They’re also responsible and communicative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind for them to improve; I was happy with the support they provided.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust that they will do the job right. The project is a two-way road; you have to trust them to do the work. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of an influencer marketing platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We needed help curbing a high bounce rate from site visitors who failed to grasp our user journey and value proposition. We engaged MSTQ to improve the platform’s UX.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had previously conducted user testing of our site. MSTQ looked over our results and used their analysis to help tackle our UX issues. The team created a prototype in Sigma to map out a new site design, including its navigator and user journey. We tested the prototype with users before the new UX went live. 

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Yazin (Founder/Principal Designer, MSTQ). 

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

One of my colleagues knew Yazin beforehand. He tried to understand our brand and approached our problem strategically before discussing the execution—an approach that impressed us. He demonstrated diligence and provided more valuable insights as a result.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–April 2019.

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

We only recently launched the new design, so it’s still too early to tell results. However, the redesign received far better results in user testing rounds than our previous interface. Users understood our value proposition more quickly and stayed on the site for longer. We’re still working with MSTQ to smooth the execution, and we’re looking into future design projects with the team as well.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

MSTQ led a collaborative process from start to finish. Yazin dove into our business to better understand the ideas we wanted to convey in the site, including our brand, value proposition, positioning, and target audience. As a result, the end design was both visually appealing and useful for the end user.

The project did experience bumps along the way. Yazin took a trip in the middle of the project that caused delays and communication issues due to time zone differences. We also found it challenging to use Sigma as a tool for prototyping and user testing. However, we still managed to communicate every day via email, text, or Google Hangouts. We also kept track of tasks and feedback via a shared Google Doc. Ultimately, the project finished on time, which we were happy to see.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team provided insightful ideas while listening well to constructive feedback. Yazin wasn’t afraid to push back respectfully, demonstrating that he took ownership of the project and its outcome. He was as invested in seeing it succeed as we were—an attitude we appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

On occasion, Yazin’s attention to detail slipped and he missed some tasks and points of feedback. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Provide MSTQ with information and strategic insight into your business to inform their design decisions. By providing Yazin with anecdotal data and our user testing results, we received an excellent product that met our needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the innovation manager at Stormwind Studios, which is an online IT training company.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We have 14,000 students who utilize our software system to access practice exams, supplemental material, and other training tools. In the past, we licensed that software from a French company, but in my role, I decided that we needed to have a platform we managed ourselves. I hired MSTQ to help us build our own proprietary system from scratch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We conducted a significant research phase to learn more about user behavior. We then discussed the design implications according to what that research showed. Taking those results, MSTQ coordinated the end-to-end design of our UI/UX to create a brand new LMS web application.

What is the team composition?

Yazin (Founder/Principal Designer, MSTQ) led the project with support from two other people.

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

I struggled to find an appropriate vendor during my search, but while browsing, one of my Chrome browser extensions showed me a video of Yazin being interviewed on a podcast. He explained his approach and why he designs the way he does. At the end of the podcast, he gave out his contact information. I quickly sent him an email, which led to a few phone calls to discuss the scope. Through that interaction, I was taken with how he presents himself and his company’s design process.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in October 2018 and remains ongoing.

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

We’re still in the development stage right now, but we’ve done some early user testing and iterations throughout the process. Especially as we got toward the end, we wanted to introduce the product to validate the conceptual thoughts and what we pulled from the research to make sure that it matched user expectations. Some users fanatically raved about the update and were opting-in early to be on the new platform as soon as it releases.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

From an efficiency standpoint, the relationship has been exactly how we hoped it would be. They present themselves well, and they are very organized. We’ve worked well through Slack and Zoom, and I’ve been able to visit their office three times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It's been truly a radically brilliant and enlightening experience. They operate in a unique way. Instead of starting with assumptions, they begin with a hypothesis and then validate that idea several times through different iterations. That process was enlightening. And Yazin brings to the project a groundbreaking level of vigor and dedication to success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing immediately comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s commonplace to come into a project set in your ways and ideas. If I were to re-approach the project again, I’d want to do so with a blind excitement for how the project can change. I’d be more open to challenge myself and push down company walls.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a fundraising company that fuses online shopping with charitable donations.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We wanted to introduce our software to the market, but we didn’t have a clear understanding of our key audiences. Before we could release the product, we had to find a partner who could identify our target audience and discover the most engaging techniques for us to implement on our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MSTQ designed a UX optimized UI for our product website. Their first task was identifying our core customer. Once they found the target audience, they conducted psychological research to develop a customer persona based on our primary customer’s personality traits. Those traits revealed everything about their desired experience depending on the emotional state, including preferred colors, design styles, and interactive features. MSTQ condensed the information in a report and built a high-fidelity wireframe, which they later used to create mock-ups and a marketing story for our team to iterate on.

What is the team composition?

MSTQ’s senior manager was my main point of contact, but I also interacted with the research team.

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

I had followed their work for years, so I knew they would be a perfect fit for our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $25,000 for their UI development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We commenced the project in June 2018 and concluded in July 2018.

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

Everyone on our team was thrilled by their work and our investors were equally amazed. We plan to work with MSTQ again to update other frameworks.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They adopted the project management tools that our team uses regularly, which made the collaborative process seamless. Slack was our primary channel for communication.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

MSTQ has a unique psychology-influenced approach to web design, which gives them useful insight for optimal user engagement. Their gorgeous and practical designs are impossible to replicate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They produced deliverables in an appropriate amount of time, but it would have been useful to know how much time it took to complete each phase of the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Carefully consider which pricing model works best for your business. A flat rate was beneficial to us because we weren’t charged more for the inevitable scope creep.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of advanced research and development for Catapult Sports. We create technology solutions for coaches to solve issues with workflow and distribution of content. I am primarily responsible for shaping our product roadmaps in one of our divisions.

What challenge were you trying to address with MSTQ?

We were working on a project that involved creating a mobile application for high school and college athletes to review video content during the season. The idea is for coaches to be able to have clips that could then be shared with the athletes over our existing platform. We had received feedback that the app was not very user friendly, so we decided to embark on a complete redesign with a UX/UI agency with experience working on mobile apps.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MSTQ rebuilt the design of the app for iOS with the idea that we would eventually take over the project ourselves with UX/UI designers we would hire internally. We would also have our own designers build the concepts created by MSTQ for Android. Their designers worked specifically on the frontend, while we handled everything having to do with the backend.

What is the team composition?

We had a project coordinator and an overall UX and research leader. Eventually, four designers worked on the app as we moved into the implementation stage.

How did you come to work with MSTQ?

After some web searching we discovered MSTQ and read about the awards they had won, so I added them to the list of companies to talk to. After discussing the project and their ideas we decided to hire them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from November 2017–January 2018.

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

We were extremely satisfied with MSTQ’s methodology and the designs they came up with. Our team is working on coding the solution now, but we have received strong feedback from users we have been able to show it to so far.

How did MSTQ perform from a project management standpoint?

We were working on a very compressed timeline and they were great at communicating and responding to us. The two principles we worked with were mostly available for evening emails and conversations over Slack, which helped us a lot.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When you work in the elite sports arena you deal with a lot of personalities, and I thought they did a nice job of being able to talk with all the personas present in college athletics. They were great at adapting to any given situation and understanding the arena we were working in to quickly get to the actual research.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because we are a tech company that usual builds things ourselves, it would have been nice to get a little more explanation or understanding of why certain things were being done in a particular way. This is really based on my own curiosity and desire to apply new things I learn moving forward. I get the sense that most of their clients are not tech based and so MSTQ does everything themselves. However, just to satisfy my own curiosity, I would have loved to learn more.