New Design Group Inc.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing coordinator for an investment management firm.

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

Initially, we hired them to create a website for the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website it on WordPress. The menus have different layouts and new pages. We launched a blog and a podcast recently, and they helped create that for us. They also supported SEO by adjusting content and doing on-page optimization. We also have videos on the website, so they worked on that as well. We alsohad a Google Ads campaign.

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with the web developer and creative person. Then we have our primary contact, and she’s always there for us. Most of the time, we have three people, but if we have something extra, then they’ll bring in expert team members for the project.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

They came on board about ten years ago, before I was a part of the organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about ten years ago.

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

The website is up and we’ve seen more visitors to the site. Our ranking on Google search results are much better, so we’ve seen the results from their work.

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

They were always there for us. If something needed to be done urgently, they usually replied within 10–15 minutes. When we were doing the blog and the podcast it was all on time, and we didn’t have any issues with that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

How quickly they react to all of our inquiries. Before, we worked with another provider and it took a couple days to get a response. New Design Group, Inc., on the other hand is more responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was happy with the progress they have made with our website.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have clear specifications of what you want done and be open to discussing better solutions. They suggested some improvements, and we’re happy.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the coordinator of communication and training at Durham Mental Health Services, a community mental health service provider.

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group?

We hired them for three separate projects. The first was designing our website, and the second and third involved developing a suicide prevention and intervention app with two editions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group designed and developed our website from scratch. They also developed the app for iOS and Android. The first app was minimalistic and had useful information on suicide intervention and prevention. 

The app leads users through questions about their situation and offers tools to help them manage suicidal thoughts. Some of the tools included meditation and mindfulness exercises, as well as a mood log. Additionally, the app had a direct link to Durham Mental health Services.

What is the team composition?

We met with their lead, Dmitri (Managing Director), and he handled everything from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for a couple of years. The work is ongoing in terms of web maintenance.

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

We weren’t blown away with the statistical feedback for the app but were able to advertise the app on our web page. We were decently satisfied with their work. We also received good feedback from people who were happy that the app was to do with suicide intervention and prevention. 

The website has served its purpose for us, including attracting people to our business and providing them useful information about our business. The products were completed efficiently and to standard.

How did New Design Group perform from a project management standpoint?

New Design Group was on time with their deliverables. If there was anything we wanted to talk to them about, they made themselves available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the great things about New Design Group is that when we hired them, we only worked with one person, which means that they were able to be very responsive. We were really pleased with their availability, responsiveness, and quality of work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. They did the project the way we envisioned it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work closely with Dmitri and let him know what you’re looking for. He’s going to do his best to be responsive. If you’ve got a problem or a concern, he’s there and available for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and president of STEM Fellowship, a student network of digital learners. The organization is focused on new knowledge acquisition forms. It is a community of students who are leaders of using data analytics and knowledge crowdsourcing.

What challenge were you trying to address with New Design Group?

We needed web development for our organization. We have very different educational goals in that we want education to be focused on learners first. We wanted to meet the digital learner’s expectations and then find a way to deliver the curriculum and not vice versa, which is why we approached New Design Group.

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group designed a website that will allow online experiential learning, knowledge crowdsourcing, and new knowledge acquisition practices for current students. They also did the development for us. I wanted the integration of Google classrooms and a lot of other elements. 

What is the team composition?

There were probably three teammates, but I mostly worked with Dmitri (Managing Director) on this project. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group?

I was looking for a design and web development company with something more than simple graphic experience or simple HTML knowledge. New Design Group has a periodic table of perfect web design and I came across this hidden page on their website.

I was really impressed. There is a system that they have behind the graphics and they have a system behind the juxtaposition of the elements. It isn’t a mechanical or purely experimental way of putting things on the website.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $10,000–$15,000. It was very reasonable for what we received.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February–October 2015.

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

We have been using the platform for nearly four years. The technology went above and beyond. Today, we would be interested in integrating more than Google Docs. I ran the look and interface by various student groups, and it was well-received. I wanted a collaboration tool to be integrated.

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

For us, it was perfect. New Design Group delivered on time and translated and implemented our vague requirements into something which was satisfactory, and I think it was very well managed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was pleasantly surprised by our good interaction, as well as their understanding and ability. New Design Group had the ability to speak my language which was important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Instead of being artists, they have an idea behind the art. They shouldn’t be shy about having a concept and putting it forward, at least not with people like me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New Design Group has a unique combination of artistic vision and technological sense and feeling, whereas their competitors usually have artistic feelings with limited technical abilities.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO and director of an IT staffing company. We’ve been in business for just over 20 years. We started a new company in 2015, which offers migration services from internal server infrastructures to the cloud. We offer consultancy, design, development, and implementation services.

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

They were originally hired to design and develop our cloud company’s branding strategy.

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group created the branding, WordPress website, and collateral material for our cloud migration company. The site is basically informational, and it’s not used for interaction. Most of our client interaction is handled directly by our sales team.

First, they developed a concept and branding strategy, including colors and images. New Design subsequently designed and implemented our website. They designed all of our collateral material, like letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and packaging. They helped us with design for marketing programs, which included activities like lunch-and-learns and participation in trade shows.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 6–8 people from their team, including Dmitri (Managing Director), a couple of graphic designers, a couple of developers, and a text editor. Dmitri’s company is all virtual, but he’s pulled it together nicely.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

We looked on the internet and had a couple of presentations with providers. It appeared that New Design had quite a background in branding and website design, and it proved to be true.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000–$100,000 in total on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

They gave us the proposal in December 2014, and it took us a couple of months to start. We started the project around March 2015 and got it done by the end of that year. From 2016–2018, we continued to use New Design for little projects that mostly involved creating materials for marketing events and email campaigns.

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

We didn’t track metrics for their work.

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

They always delivered on time. Our work had multiple iterations, and they did their best to keep it on track. The collaboration was excellent, and I’d recommend them to anyone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their flexibility. We were strictly novices at doing this, and they led us through the whole process and explained everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticisms.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I have complete faith in New Design, and I recommend contacting them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for hop skip jump Indoor Play Space.

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

We needed to build a website as well as get some branding work done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

New Design Group Inc. built a website for our first launch and another for our second launch. The websites were built on WordPress. A large portion of the work they did was designing the brand for our logo. They illustrated the three characters from pictures of our kids that we provided. Their team also did an animation for the website as well as created marketing materials for Facebook banners, Twitter, our business cards, letterheads, and more.

What is the team composition?

Dimitri (Director) and Elena (Creative Director) were our two points of contact, overseeing a larger team.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

They were recommended by a colleague. I liked the work they showed and the character design for our logo that they came up with.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $15,000–$18,000 CAD (approximately $10,000–$12,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2014–January 2018.

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

I’d rate them very highly from a design perspective. I enjoyed working with them.

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

They did very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were the one team that provided a decent design for the characters we wanted. Their prices were competitive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan the project so you can minimize delays.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Just Ducky Yonge Kids.

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

I hired them for branding support for our company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically our entire brand is worked on by them. They provided all of the design for our logo and website. All of the color schemes, advertising, and promotional materials were provided by them, too. Everything from online design content to our mail-out and print media. 

What is the team composition?

Around 3–4 people worked with us. Generally, the two founders of the organization handled the bulk of it. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

I saw they’d done some similar work for another company in the same line of business. I loved the look and feel of that company’s branding and marketing materials, so that’s why I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2007. We still have some services through them, but we’ve changed direction so we haven’t had a use for them like before. If I do have design needs, I would use them. 

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

For me, the work they did was exceptional. I’ve tracked the marketing initiatives, which a lot of it is based on look and feel, color schemes, and design. 

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

They were excellent. The team was extremely responsive and the turnaround times were incredible. With feedback and making changes, they were very good about that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were incredibly creative and delivered exceptional work. Their response time was great. For the price, their work was superior quality. I can’t say enough good things about the product I got from them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there is anything. If I were in the position to start a new company and need branding support, I’d hire them again. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just go in with an open mind and provide specific feedback. They’re good at listening to feedback and updating what the client requires. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of a Food and Beverage company- Fru-V Smoothie.

For what projects/services did your company hire New Design Group Inc., and what were your goals?

As a brand new product to market, I needed someone I trusted to build a site and packaging design that would represent my products image and messaging well.

New Design Group helped to not only do the website and packaging design, but they also completed the service with consistent imagery across business cards, stationary products and promotional materials. They met the goals of consistent messaging, feel and look - which was healthful, fresh and honest!

How did you select New Design Group Inc. and what were the deciding factors?

I researched and interviewed many companies before making the decision to work with New Design Group. They had faith in my business as a start up, took me seriously and gave me the attention to detail and the time.

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

As a start up with no image or starting point, they generated many ideas and took feedback/suggestions well until we all agreed to the end result. They met with me many times to discuss objectives and checked in often to ensure we were all on track and on the same page.

They worked in a timely manner and also worked well with others I had enlisted for other aspects (ie:label requirements). Once we had the packaging decided on we started on the other stationary and finally the website. They also host the site.

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

Along the way I worked with a few different people, but mostly it was 2 people. Those that were the creative and those that implemented.

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

I can't compare from before as I didn't have a before, but I can say that I have had many compliments on the site and packaging over the years. The product has been doing well and stands out on the shelf.

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

We had regular communications either via phone or in person to go over the project and ensure all was on target. New Design Group was always available and always on top of things and always made me feel like my project was the only one they were handling -even though it clearly wasn't.

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

They gave me a great site that is easy to use and when I am not able to remember or figure things out they are always there for me.

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

As with any new project there are going to be issues, but they did a great job of minimizing them and things were corrected quickly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing manager for a commercial refrigeration company. We specialize in process thermal management for different industries, including recreational ice, food and beverage, oil and gas, and manufacturing.

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

They were originally brought on to redo our company website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

At this point, they have designed and developed both of our websites, the one that we used to use and the one that we migrated to more recently. The sites are in WordPress, and they handled the entire build process, including UI/UX design and adding all of the product pages and user forms.

We don’t have an in-house design team, so since finishing the website they have provided all of the graphics and design work for our website and advertisements on an ongoing basis.

What is the team composition?

My direct contacts are Dmitri (Managing Director) and a couple of his coworkers, but there are about four members of their team working on the project in total.

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

They were hired long before I started with the company, but I believe my director originally hired them to overhaul the website because of the proposal that they submitted for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of our work with them has been around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for about five years, starting around July 2015 and continuing to this day.

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

The website work that they’ve done for us has been highly satisfactory, and all of the lead generation tactics that they’ve implemented to get traffic through the site and hopefully gain conversions from that have been successful. Our traffic numbers are up 300–400%, and our leads gained as a result of that have gone up as well.

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

They do a good job of communicating with us and staying on top of the project management. They always deliver before deadlines that we give them, despite the fact that we often have up to four different projects going on with them at the same time. Occasionally we will run into a bit of confusion as a result of that, but it has never caused us any major problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really feel like their members are a part of our team. They don’t feel like a vendor to me because they are so easy to talk to and have our best interests at heart. It’s clear that they understand our brand better than anyone and are willing to put in the work to make sure they maintain that deep understanding of who we are as a business and what our goals are.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly don’t have any complaints, because our working relationship with them is very good right now. If there was one thing, I guess it would be nice to have a tracking system so that I can see the progress they’re making on a project, but they’ve never failed to follow through on any deliverables we gave them despite that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to be very clear in your instructions to them because a lot can change in the creative direction of these kinds of projects. The more clearly you communicate your vision, the better they will be able to deliver that to you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing of an independent Canadian brokerage firm.

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

We hired them to create a brand new website and give us a new look and feel. We wanted to be more up-to-date with an inviting look.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve both redesigned and redeveloped our website for us. A lot of the content was already there on the site, so we updated it. They took us to a new platform and added an easier flow to the site. They’ve also worked with us on SEO and social media efforts. They talk to us about trends in the digital world and take our ideas and implement them. 

What is the team composition?

I deal with Dmitri (Managing Director) a lot and Jack (Vice President) also supports us. There are a couple of people and whenever I need a solution, anyone jumps in to fix it. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

One of the other companies I work with has been using their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since around 2012 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

We receive feedback on the site consistently. They show us the improvements we’re seeing with people logging on to our website and how the updates are helping the site. 

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

They’re excellent at managing the project. They are great. Whenever I have a problem, Dmitri assigns someone to jump in and fix it. They’re constantly in touch and coming up with a new thought process. Their wheels are turning 24/7.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very hands-on and are always thinking of ways to help promote our firm. They’re continually looking for ways we could be helping our clients on a better level. They care deeply about what they do. They’re very invested in their relationship with our firm and the people on our team. They invest in their own people and company and have a vested interest in their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’d be in excellent hands with them. They want to make sure you’re successful and grow together. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a social housing provider. We have six locations and over 500 rental units. I’m the general manager.

What challenges were you trying to address with New Design Group Inc.?

We didn’t have a website, so we were looking for someone to create and host one.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created the website from scratch. We had some ideas about what we were looking for, but they turned our ideas into reality. They used WordPress. The development is complete, but they continue to host the site and provide updates. 

The website also has an online work order system where residents can fill out work requests online. 

What is the team composition?

Dmitry (Director) was our project lead. We worked with Ilya (Management Information Systems Director) on the technical side. 

How did you come to work with New Design Group Inc.?

When I was looking around at different websites, and I think I saw one that they had created. I also talked to some of my colleagues about the project. 

How much have you invested with them? 

We spent about $7,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around late-2014. The website has launched, but the engagement is ongoing. They continue to help us tweak the website and upload new content.

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

We didn’t have an existing website so we don’t have any analytics to compare their work with. We’re a nonprofit, so I can’t quantify the success based on profit either. However, whenever we have vacancies, we see a spike in website traffic. We also used the website to communicate with our residents during COVID-19 which was helpful. 

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

They provided regular updates and mockups to show us what the website would look like. They’re very responsive anytime I contact them. They complete work quickly and keep our website up-to-date. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their personalized service is really impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything right now. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

They’ll be responsive and take care of your interests, especially if you work with Dmitry.