Crafting first and lasting impressions
North Street is an independently-owned creative services, branding, and design studio with offices in New York City and Providence, RI. We help organizations better engage and retain their audiences by crafting exceptional brand identities, websites, content, campaigns, and marketing materials.
Founded in 2010, North Street is an award-winning, interdisciplinary team of visual designers, strategists, content creators, and engineers. We have deep knowledge and experience in the professional services, financial services, nonprofit, and consumer sectors.
headquarters
other locations
Focus
Portfolio
4Ocean, American Express, Bark, Bloomberg Beta, Carr Workplaces, L’Oreal, Loews Hotels, MasterCard, The New York Times, Pensions & Investments
Boston Trust Walden
We partnered with Boston Trust & Investment Managment Company and Walden Asset Management to develop a visual identity system that brings the two practices together under a new Boston Trust Walden brand. Through close collaboration with the Boston Trust Walden team, North Street created a logo and tagline, along with a website, business cards, and marketing materials.
Boston Trust Walden
We partnered with Boston Trust & Investment Managment Company and Walden Asset Management to develop a visual identity system that brings the two practices together under a new Boston Trust Walden brand. Through close collaboration with the Boston Trust Walden team, North Street created a logo and tagline, along with a website, business cards, and marketing materials.
Boston Trust Walden
We partnered with Boston Trust & Investment Managment Company and Walden Asset Management to develop a visual identity system that brings the two practices together under a new Boston Trust Walden brand. Through close collaboration with the Boston Trust Walden team, North Street created a logo and tagline, along with a website, business cards, and marketing materials.
Ruby-Collins General Contractors
Ruby-Collins is an award-winning design-build construction firm with more than six decades of experience and $1.2B in completed projects.
Despite their experience and success, Ruby-Collins’ existing branding and marketing materials were dated and visually disjointed. The company required an identity refresh that accurately represented their heritage and expertise, and maintained visual consistency from their corporate headquarters to the job site.
We modernized their logo into a distinctive design that looks and feels like a natural evolution of their existing branding. The old Ruby-Collins logo was limited in its applications, so we introduced a new “RC” logomark suited for everything from social media avatars to hard hats.
The design system we constructed is a reflection of the work they perform — meticulous, utilitarian, and built to last.
Ruby-Collins General Contractors
Ruby-Collins is an award-winning design-build construction firm with more than six decades of experience and $1.2B in completed projects.
Despite their experience and success, Ruby-Collins’ existing branding and marketing materials were dated and visually disjointed. The company required an identity refresh that accurately represented their heritage and expertise, and maintained visual consistency from their corporate headquarters to the job site.
We modernized their logo into a distinctive design that looks and feels like a natural evolution of their existing branding. The old Ruby-Collins logo was limited in its applications, so we introduced a new “RC” logomark suited for everything from social media avatars to hard hats.
The design system we constructed is a reflection of the work they perform — meticulous, utilitarian, and built to last.
Ruby-Collins General Contractors
Ruby-Collins is an award-winning design-build construction firm with more than six decades of experience and $1.2B in completed projects.
The company's existing website was outdated and did not communicate their technologically advanced offerings. We designed and built a robust, highly interactive website that showcases their work, profiles the company’s rich history, and serves as a resource hub for onboarding vendors and recruiting talent.
Martec Group
For over 30 years, The Martec Group has provided unsurpassed B2B market research to Fortune 500 companies around the world. Their original branding and digital presence did little to convey their experience or position as a global leader in market research.
We started with a deep dive into the Martec universe, interviewing key stakeholders and reviewing existing marketing materials. It became clear Martec’s branding was antiquated and inconsistent across multiple touchpoints, so we focused our efforts on modernizing and unifying the brand experience. We contemporized the company’s original logomark, introduced a new tagline, and built an identity system that easily scales across all company collateral.
Martec Group
For over 30 years, The Martec Group has provided unsurpassed B2B market research to Fortune 500 companies around the world. Their original branding and digital presence did little to convey their experience or position as a global leader in market research.
We started with a deep dive into the Martec universe, interviewing key stakeholders and reviewing existing marketing materials. It became clear Martec’s branding was antiquated and inconsistent across multiple touchpoints, so we focused our efforts on modernizing and unifying the brand experience. We contemporized the company’s original logomark, introduced a new tagline, and built an identity system that easily scales across all company collateral.
Martec Group
For over 30 years, The Martec Group has provided unsurpassed B2B market research to Fortune 500 companies around the world.
Their existing website required a complete overhaul. We reconceived the site architecture from the ground up. Using atomic design principles, we designed and developed a modular website that empowers the client to easily rearrange content on a page-by-page basis.
Prescience Point Capital Management
Prescience Point is a private investment manager that exposes publicly traded companies engaged in corporate wrongdoing. Their findings take the form of extensive research reports that are published to their website and promoted through eblasts, social media, and televised media appearances.
Historically their research has focused on B2B companies and, while impactful, rarely circulated beyond the investment community. A new investigative report on Kellogg’s meant that Prescience Point’s findings would be thrust into the public spotlight for the first time. The company recognized that their marketing materials needed to be both visually striking and consistent in order to appeal to a broader audience.
Prescience Point Capital Management
Prescience Point is a private investment manager that exposes publicly traded companies engaged in corporate wrongdoing. Their findings take the form of extensive research reports that are published to their website and promoted through eblasts, social media, and televised media appearances.
Historically their research has focused on B2B companies and, while impactful, rarely circulated beyond the investment community. A new investigative report on Kellogg’s meant that Prescience Point’s findings would be thrust into the public spotlight for the first time. The company recognized that their marketing materials needed to be both visually striking and consistent in order to appeal to a broader audience.
Prescience Point Capital Management
Prescience Point is a private investment manager that exposes publicly traded companies engaged in corporate wrongdoing. Their findings take the form of extensive research reports that are published to their website and promoted through eblasts, social media, and televised media appearances.
Historically their research has focused on B2B companies and, while impactful, rarely circulated beyond the investment community. A new investigative report on Kellogg’s meant that Prescience Point’s findings would be thrust into the public spotlight for the first time. The company recognized that their marketing materials needed to be both visually striking and consistent in order to appeal to a broader audience.
The Landmark
The Landmark is a thoughtfully appointed coworking environment offering amenities on par with a boutique hotel or private club.
In a space saturated with coworking options, we helped The Landmark develop their brand position as a premium alternative to its peers. We developed a logo, visual identity, and collateral that complement The Landmark’s architect-designed interiors and all-inclusive member experience.
The Landmark
The Landmark is a thoughtfully appointed coworking environment offering amenities on par with a boutique hotel or private club.
In a space saturated with coworking options, we helped The Landmark develop their brand position as a premium alternative to its peers. We developed a logo, visual identity, and collateral that complement The Landmark’s architect-designed interiors and all-inclusive member experience.
The Landmark
The Landmark is a thoughtfully appointed coworking environment offering amenities on par with a boutique hotel or private club.
In a space saturated with coworking options, we helped The Landmark develop their brand position as a premium alternative to its peers. We developed a logo, visual identity, and collateral that complement The Landmark’s architect-designed interiors and all-inclusive member experience.
Reviews
the project
Branded Web Design for Investment Management Firm
“They were communicative, stuck to our budget, and provided excellent client service.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We’re an investment management firm. I’m the former head of human capital management and communication.
What challenge were you trying to address with North Street Creative?
They designed and built a new website for us.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We were acquired in the summer of 2019 and needed a new branding platform. They designed and built an external public WordPress website as well as internal marketing materials that were aligned with the new name and concepts.
What is the team composition?
We worked with their CEO, an account manager, and a chief creative.
How did you come to work with North Street Creative?
Our public relations firm had collaborated with them before and thought highly of them. They recommended them to us along with a few other firms. We interviewed all of them and decided we liked North Street Creative’s proposal best.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent around $150,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working with them since June 2019. The original project is complete, but we’ve kept them working on additional projects with us.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They won an award for graphic design with the platform they designed for us. It was awarded to them in 2020.
How did North Street Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They were excellent. Throughout the project, they were responsive and determined to meet our needs. If our needs changed during the project, they were flexible in adjusting and changing direction. They gave us regular status updates, so we always knew about their progress.
If they ran into roadblocks, they’d let us know as well. That helped us stay agile and determine new direction as needed. We communicated through emails and status update phone calls every few weeks.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They were communicative, stuck to our budget, and provided excellent client service.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I can’t think of anything.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Express your needs and budget clearly. They’re very open to ideas from the client.
the project
Logo Design & Rebranding for Creative Consultant
"They were very communicative and clear with timelines, the scope of work, and the budget."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm a creative and brand consultant. At the time of this project I was consulting an independent film company based in NYC. They were in need of a brand overhaul starting from scratch with their logo suite.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
We hired NSC to create a new suite of logos.
What were your goals for this project?
Create new suite of logos which would later inform the website redesign and overhaul of all marketing materials.
How did you select North Street Creative?
The creative director was a classmate of mine from college and I'd seen NSC's work in the wild. I reached out because if this personal connection and my confidence in the creative output.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Their process was thorough but not overly time consuming. A discovery session lead to initial design presentation with room for a couple round of revisions. They were flexible in terms of how and when we were able to review and provide feedback.
They were very communicative and clear with timelines, the scope of work, and the budget. Rounds were delivered in an agreed-upon timely manner and the final product was packaged up and handed off shortly after approvals.
What was the team composition?
I worked directly with their Production Director and meetings included their founders, creative director and designers.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We landed the plane on a brand design that reflected where the film company was and where they were headed. This new branding will appear on a Netflix series in early 2021 and has been rolled out on marketing materials which have lead to an uptick in new business.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Very. Clear direct communication with one main point of contact. A schedule and timeline that was adhered to and very clear roles and responsibilities.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They were very agile and adaptive.
Are there any areas for improvement?
None.
the project
Branding for Consulting Firm
"I was looking for something I wanted to hang on the fridge, and they delivered it."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the founding partner of a small insights consultancy called Old Salt Insights Consulting.
What challenge were you trying to address with North Street Creative?
We built and launched our business in 2020, so we retained North Street at the end of 2019 to build our brand identity.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They helped us to find a brand identity, including all the underpinning assets like creating a logo, color pallet, font package, business cards, letterhead PowerPoint templates. Really, they delivered every sort of outward-facing touchpoint.
We let them lead the process. They eased us into the pool and guided us throughout. To start, we received a detailed questionnaire to narrate our thinking and goals. We didn’t provide any documentation. Rather, we responded to the process they laid out.
What is the team composition?
We worked with just about everybody they have. Tommy (Founder) was our primary point of contact. Sean (Creative Director) was the head designer. There were 2-3 other designers as well, including another project manager.
How did you come to work with North Street Creative?
I found them through a friend of a friend. Originally, I was looking for someone to put together marketing collateral for a project I was putting together and they were recommended. I tested them with a one-off deliverable for a client, and, since then, we’ve been regular users of North Street.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $32,500 with them.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from November 2019 until February 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
I smile every time I see the brand logo. I was looking for something I wanted to hang on the fridge, and they delivered it.
How did North Street Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
They did a fabulous job of holding our hand and helping us understand what was driving the timeline. We always knew what to expect of them because of their communication. Google Suite helped us communicate, as well as phone calls and emails.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their buttoned-up processes were great. Creativity can feel esoteric and out there, but they had a defined, precise process that took us through. I knew we’d have a voice in the work and I knew we’d be able to offer our own perspective.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The project went exactly as expected, as did the outcome. I’m not sure there were any hiccups along the way. I wish we’d gone into it thinking more broadly, but that’s hard to pin on North Street.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I wouldn’t make it specific to North Street, but make sure to do your homework to ensure you have a strong vision and a sense of who you want to be.
the project
Web Development for Specialist Events Company
"Their ability to listen, absorb, & understand. It's unusual. You don't need to explain yourself twice."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
CEO and owner of a specialist events company focused on fast-tracking renewable energy investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
COVID-19 meant a complete about-face for the company was required. We needed to totally retool our offering to reflect the fact that we could no longer host in-person events.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted to use as many existing online assets as possible, but reframe and re-organize the offering to reflect our new reality. Facing a complete closure of our in-person event business, we needed to be smart and fast.
How did you select North Street Creative?
We knew the team at North Street from the complete website overhaul they had undertaken for us in 2015.
We looked at other options, but ultimately we needed a safe pair of hands and the smart and responsive partnership that we knew we would find at North Street. At a personal level, we had history: we like and trust these guys.
Describe the project in detail.
Our business needed to pivot fast, and our existing website (which North Street had originally built) reqired a quick but complex update in order to reflect our new offerings and position in the market.
In order to get a lot of wishlist items done in little time, North Street worked in two sprints over the course of six weeks to transform key site pages and to build out all new content types.
More specifically, our website was once focused on in-person events and industry news. North Street reengineered the site to accommodate content hubs, which can contain any number of content types including webinars, keynotes, virtual events, in-person events, and industry news.
We needed all of this done with enough time to promote registrations for an upcoming virtual event, and the team was able to deliver.
What was the team composition?
We worked closely with various team members, including the company founder, Tom, as well as with their Production Director, Creative Director, and Managing Developer. Tom had the most history and familiarity with our website, and so he was the primary project manager.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Our customers are buying our product. The online offering is the key sales driver. We have a viable business again. Enough said.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Highly effective. Tom and his team were super-responsive, quick to understand our needs, and if they promised a turnaround by a certain deadline, they delivered.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Their ability to listen, absorb, & understand. It's unusual. You don't need to explain yourself twice. No less impressive is their ability to translate a brief into a smart set of solutions, and elegant & effective product.
All delivered on time, and by a team you want to work and spend time with.
Are there any areas for improvement?
I'm sure there are, but as far as our interaction on this project was concerned, they delivered. Period.
the project
Presentation Design Templates for Music Streaming Company
"North Street picked right up on our written notes and rarely needed any follow up."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm the Senior Director for Content Strategy, Insights & Analytics at Spotify. My team analyzes how people consume content on our audio streaming service, then gives recommendations about what we should create or curate.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
A key part of my team's work involves presenting concepts and explanations to various other teams or partners.
But we're a fairly new group, and we lacked well-designed presentation templates that could deliver our learnings cleanly and uniformly. (Many people were designing their own work from scratch, which also lead to an inconsistent look from the full team.)
We've used North Street to create presentation templates and also help with some high profile projects.
What were your goals for this project?
We needed a set of core presentation templates that had a huge variety of slides to cover the wide range of presentations we created. We also needed them in multiple color schemes. The goal was to create a toolkit that made presentations clear, consistent, elegant—and efficient to create.
How did you select North Street Creative?
We had seen an example of North Street's work previously. We tested them out on a bespoke design of a presentation that needed skills beyond what we had in-house. The work was so good, we hired them for this larger project.
Describe the project in detail.
For our most recent project, we commissioned North Street to create a sprawling presentation template that could be used for just about any need for our team. The deliverable included style guides, color work and versions in multiple color varieties.
To initiate the project, I created an in-depth brief outlining our needs and accompanied it with many examples of previous presentations to illustrate all of our use cases. North Street dug through all of that source material and boiled it down into a first draft of a template. We then had several rounds of notes/revisions as we finessed the core design elements and all the various pages.
My team then used the templates for two months. We next came back for another round of revisions, having seen how everything played out in real life--what were the unforeseen needs or tweaks that we encountered?
What was the team composition?
There was a project manager and a designer. We had our kickoff call all together. But after that, our primary interaction was with the project manager. Although we traded notes or hopped on a call with the designer a few times if there was any question that was easier to discuss in person.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
I (and my team) have been extremely happy with the final deliverable. It has made our work look significantly more clear, professional and consistent. We've received complements from other teams and upper management.
It has also made our team more efficient. They're spending less time creating presentations because so many slides are pre-made for them. They can focus on the content rather than worry about the design
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Communication and workflow was clear and simple. We had our kickoff call and a few other check ins. But for the most part, we communicated by trading emailed notes or in-document comments. They took feedback and direction extremely well--and rarely needed extra context. They could take a page of notes and quickly execute them.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
I was pleasantly surprised with the team's efficiency and self-sufficiency. I expected to have to spend time talking through notes on revisions, because our needs are fairly particular.
But North Street picked right up on our written notes and rarely needed any follow up. I could send back some comments and they'd address quickly and without any further hassle from me.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Honestly, not really. They've done great work that's really helped our team. And the process was simple and pleasant.
the project
SEO, Web Redesign, & Web Rebuild for SEO Consulting Firm
"North Street does a very good job of managing their workload, which means they give realistic prices and timelines."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm the owner of an SEO consulting firm.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative, and what were your goals?
North Street helped us with several projects where we needed high end design skills and the ability to quickly and reliably build those designs in Wordpress, as well as include our SEO requirements. Each time the design was excellent and the client loved it, and the resulting site was easy to use and bug free.
How did you select North Street Creative and what were the deciding factors?
I met Tom on a project nearly a decade ago and was impressed with the results. Now every design and build that fits into his team's wheelhouse goes right to them. I know I can trust them to deliver high-quality work on time and to communicate early when expectations might need to change.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
- Kick-off
- Design iterations and discussions
- Prototype of key pages in dev with review by the client
- Site building and asset collection
- Publishing
- Launch.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We usually work with one project manager, one designer, and one to two developers splitting time on the project.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
First, the client reported the new site was "infinitely easier to use" than their previous site. From a performance side, the site was twice as fast and we were able to make SEO optimizations to begin positive growth, which in this case was to first reverse the negative growth trend the client was on for the previous two years.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.
North Street is extremely professional. They communicate proactively, but also make sure that meetings have a clear purpose. If not, they avoid the meeting saving everyone time and money.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
North Street does a very good job of managing their workload, which means they give realistic prices and timelines. If they don't have capacity at the time, they say so and tell you when they can help, or that they can't. If the job isn't a good fit for what they are good at, they say no, and let you know why. This is very impressive in this digital marketing and development world that is full of scope-creep and over commitment.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
North Street can grow and take on more projects!
the project
Landing Page SEO for Leading Media Company
"Despite a heavy load of clients, it was never apparent that there were any other clients besides us."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the director of Growth at a major new publication. I'm responsible for driving subscription growth through mobile web and desktop site testing and optimization.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
North Street conducted an SEO audit and optimization recommendation plan on our core acquisition landing/product pages.
What were your goals for this project?
Our goal was to simplify our Landing Page structure, streamline many shared URL's into a single dynamic landing page that maintained our top SERP rank position.
How did you select this vendor?
North Street was recommended by a colleague due to their reputation as an affordable, high quality, and service oriented approach.
Describe the project in detail.
North Street began with an audit of a large catalog of Landing Pages which led to strategic recommendations to streamline our pages and better manage our audience funnel. Our landing pages shared similar structure but varied in content for specific audiences, requiring us to "mirror" pages for minor changes which led to a proliferation of our own landing pages that ultimately competed against each other. Our goal was to reduce our overall number of landing pages from dozens to a few by creating dynamic versions that can be managed by a CMS. We had to ensure we had an optimized URL structure and that we didn't impact our rankings. North Street took a holistic approach, digging into our analytics, our user experience, our page and tagging structure and recommended a myriad of options to optimize our pages and ultimately provide a more efficient acquisition funnel.
What was the team composition?
2-3 People Account Lead / Customer Success Manager SEO Lead / Strategist
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We achieved our goal of reducing a large number of pages on competing URLs to a few pages using a shared URL structure that dynamically adapted to user data. Our rankings actually improved as a result of the recommendations provided by North Street. Our Landing Page Conversion rates increased drastically and we observed benefits to our SEM spend as a result of having a more efficient SEO strategy. North Street exceeded our expectations by identifying short run and long term strategies and tactics that enabled us to implement changes immediately and build toward our long term goal(s).
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
North Street has an outstanding service model. The whole team was available throughout our engagement for weekly touchbases, presentations to dependent teams and were available on short notice on numerous occasions. We employed both video conferencing and in person meetings which were equally productive.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The most impressive aspect of North Street is the personal nature of their customer service. Despite a heavy load of clients, it was never apparent that there were any other clients besides us. Additionally, North Street employ and partner with subject matter expertise to ensure they have the proper resources to exceed project goals.
Are there any areas for improvement?
I'd like to see North Street utilize a managed service model where they can be retained for longer periods of time.
the project
Web Design for Hotel Chain
"We were most impressed by North Street Creative's creativity and depth of experience."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I was the Director of Content Strategy for Loews Hotels at the time of the project. In 2015-16, the company owned and/or operated 23 hotels and resorts in major city centers and resort destinations across the U.S. and Canada.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
Loews hired North Street to create a new Wordpress-based blog design for #WishYouWereHere, the company's consumer-facing blog that published destination-centric updates from each of the Loews properties. The design had not been updated since its initial design in 2013 and did not reflect the brand identity.
What were your goals for this project?
Our goal was to bring the design more in line with the brand identity, improve the shareability and performance of the content on the blog, and to provide a way to showcase the brand’s new #TravelForReal advertising/content campaign, which relied on UGC—primarily Instagram images taken by guests at Loews properties.
We were looking for a more organized site structure and an easy way to view archived posts. Loews hoped these changes would help drive more page views, which would in turn assist overall SEO performance once the blog was moved under the main brand.com domain.
How did you select this vendor?
Members of the marketing team had met with North Street in previous years, when they pitched our team on a social platform they had developed. We were impressed by their pitch and portfolio — particularly their design work — which is why they came to mind when this project came up.
We considered two other firms on our shortlist, but ultimately myself and the Director of Social Media decided to work with North Street after a discovery meeting, which demonstrated the depth of their knowledge and expertise in web design, and unearthed great insights specific to our project.
Describe the project in detail.
The scope called for North Street to redesign the Loews Hotels blog, build the new design out in Wordpress, import all existing blog content and deploy the finished site on the live production environment.
Loews provided a brief with specific requests for design features as well as overall marketing objectives. After a kickoff meeting, the project proceeded with regular emails and calls between myself and North Street's founder, as well as with the firm's art director, to discuss wireframes and other design samples.
North Street was responsible for:
- Design presentation
- 1 round of revision to the overall design concept
- 1 design for each interior page type
- 1 round of final tightening up (small edits) to each page type layout
- Clean up of creative files and export of assets for development
What was the team composition?
The project was primarily managed via North Street's founder, and their team also included a project manager, art director and developer. We worked with the same team throughout the project—and beyond, when team members were available to us for any questions, even long after completion of the initial deliverables.
I was the main point of contact, however following this project, at least two other members of my marketing team at Loews hired North Street for other projects based on their work on this blog redesign.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
The new design was rolled out in mid-March 2016, at the original standalone URL. The Loews marketing team considered that all of their main goals were met via the execution of the new design: the look and feel was more reflective of the brand, we had an effective way to showcase the #TravelForReal guest content, and all blog content was more clearly organized and easily accessible via City and Topic archives.
Page Views was the main measurable metric: in the new blog design’s first three months, the period from March 2016 through June 2016, the number of page views saw a 4.72% increase YOY, including an increase in the number of sessions (4.29%) and users (3.44%) and a decrease in the bounce rate (-3.47%), meaning readers were finding the content more useful and relevant.
The blog was not moved to the brand’s main dot.com domain until late July 2016, but after that implementation, the blog continued to drive organic search to the main dot.com site, and page views continued to increase in subsequent years.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Workflow was smooth and effective, with streamlined communication handled by myself and North Street's founder. We had access to other members of the team for calls and presentations if necessary but it really helped us manage the project on the Loews side to have almost all communication handled by the one contact. North Street always responded to questions swiftly and met all deadlines.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
We were most impressed by North Street Creative's creativity and depth of experience. They’re skilled at zeroing in on exactly what a client, and a specific project, needs. Their thorough discovery process really set them apart from other vendors we had considered (and worked with on different projects), so we knew they would be a strong partner for us throughout the engagement.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Nothing on the agency side. If we could have improved anything on this project, it would have been response time on our side. Sometimes, corporate culture on the Loews marketing side meant we were moving slower on decisions or review than was ideal.
the project
Website Design for Direct-to-Consumer Winery
"They managed to combine elements of modern design with the key functionalities we needed."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
We are a direct to consumer winery with independent contractors who present in-home and Virtual Wine Tastings throughout the country. I am the Director of Marketing.
For what projects/services did your company hire North Street Creative?
The redesign of our website.
What were your goals for this project?
We needed a revamped, redesigned website to fit our current brand style guidelines and to better serve our independent contractors and customers. Our old website was slow and out of date. We needed the new site design to be mobile-first, user-friendly and, of course, present our brand vision, offerings and products in the best possible way to increase conversions.
One of our top goals was to have a website with as much flexibility and adaptability as possible so that we could adjust elements, content and messaging as needed, now and in the future.
How did you select this vendor?
I had worked on a project at a previous job that had used North Street and was referred to them again by an associate. The vendor identification process was quite extensive and the pool was narrowed down to two vendors after months of research and proposals.
They fully understood our goals and were open to implementing our ideas, from both a form and function standpoint. They asked great questions, seemed to have a passion for the project and were very thorough in their communications with us. Ultimately, these were the deciding factors. Our Marketing and IT teams were both involved in the final selection.
Describe the project in detail.
I provided the initial list of examples of transitions, effects, buttons and other design elements that I was drawn to, in addition to our fonts, video and photography assets and they used this as a jumping-off point.
One of the major site requirements was to include the ability to have a personalized URL for each of our active independent contractors, presenting the site visitor with their specific information and attributing any sales or form inquiries to them.
North Street took the project from initial design ideas and site requirements (provided by our team) to concept mock-ups, to design, to functional previews and then to the full development of the site. Everything was designed from a mobile perspective first and then was adapted and translated to desktop. They started with the design of a few of our core pages first and then expanded from there.
What was the team composition?
There were six different members of their team that we worked with, two developers, one production director, one creative director, one production coordinator and during the initial meetings and development, their CEO. As the project advanced, I was mostly in communication with one developer and the production director.
Their team, our team, our outside software provider and our former website developer had to work together to resolve questions and ensure a smooth transition to the new site.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Due to factors outside of both our teams' control, the initial timeline got pushed back but I believe this extra time ultimately led to a better website overall and a smoother launch.
Though it's still too soon to tell in terms of quantitative analysis, our independent contractors have sent in dozens of positive reviews of the new site and are incredibly proud to show it off to their customers. Our new website is now a true reflection of who our company is and what we offer.
It has a clean, modern approach that allows our content and message to shine. It is the first impression for anyone looking to become involved with our company and now that impression is a great one.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
I appreciated the simple, streamlined approach to their project management. The key members of their team were available via email and as needed, we did quick check-in calls for status updates. They were very easy to work with. No egos, no pie in the sky promises, just nice, thoughtful, helpful people with great design sensibility.
We primarily communicated over email and through a Google Sheet I created to track bugs, formatting issues and other testing feedback. Most of this communication was between myself and Dave, their talented Managing Developer. Their team was quick to respond to items listed in this Google Sheet and we worked collaboratively to re-test and confirm fixes.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They managed to combine elements of modern design with the key functionalities we needed. They were very good at addressing details and understanding our needs. The scope of work was quite extensive and took a great deal of work. Throughout it all, it was a pleasure working with their knowledgeable yet easygoing team.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Nothing specific comes to mind. However, I wish they were based on the West Coast so we could have another in-person, post-launch meeting. (Yes, with wine.)
the project
Web Dev & Design for Financial Advisory
"They did particularly well in terms of understanding who we are, what we do, and how to translate that into a website."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of Beekman Wealth Advisory, a multi-family wealth management company.
What challenge were you trying to address with North Street Creative?
We wanted to redo our website because our old one wasn’t up-to-date. In addition to not being mobile- or iPad-friendly, it also had a lot of numbers that made it look too busy. We weren’t specific with our requirements; we just wanted a simple, clean website that better represented who we were.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Before we started, they created a distribution list for everyone that we were supposed to email on their team. North Street Creative then developed and designed the website, putting our mission statement front and center.
The team also made the website highly interactive and added functionality that takes users to another page on the site when they click on parts of the mission statement. In addition to adding a search feature on the education part of the website, they incorporated some quotes from our white papers and made them interactive.
What is the team composition?
We worked primarily with Tom (Founder & CEO) as well as 3–4 other teammates.
How did you come to work with North Street Creative?
They had done the maintenance on our previous website, so when we were looking for someone to develop our new website, we reached out to them. We ultimately chose to work with them because they had good ideas and understood our goals.
How much have you invested with them?
We invested between $20,000–$30,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from June–September 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The website was excellent. It was exactly what we wanted and we were so proud of it. We were able to publish it and send it out to our clients, contacts, and Linkedin connections.
How did North Street Creative perform from a project management standpoint?
North Street Creative met every deadline. We had a three-month timeframe and they stuck with it. They were in constant contact with us via email, over the phone, and in person. They spent a lot of time with us and were very responsive.
In addition to meeting with us a few times at the beginning of the project, they came to our office when the website was launched internally on their end so that we could go over it together.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Even though they’re creative people who aren’t in the finance industry, they did particularly well in terms of understanding who we are, what we do, and how to translate that into a website. North Street Creative deals with a variety of different industries and they do a great job within those industries, which isn’t easy.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there’s nothing they could’ve done differently.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Express your ideas and goals clearly — that’s how we got the most out of the partnership. Since they weren’t well-versed in our industry, we specified our wants and needs and they were able to take that and run with it. Going into it with a clear vision of what you want will help reduce the amount of time it will take to complete the project.
Crafting an effective branded design for the site, the team won a graphic design award for their work on this project. The partner, satisfied with their work, has since assigned them to new projects at the company. Their communicative project approach and flexibility with scope made them an asset.