Pine Design Kft.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the executive director of a Hungarian property management company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pine Design Kft.?

We hired Pine Design to conduct research for a digital product idea we are thinking to develop. The goal of the research was to help us uncover important insights about our potential users and their needs to validate our core functionalities and what additional features would be needed.

After the research, we continued working with Pine Design to create an MVP concept and a product roadmap for us.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to validate the need for our product and to gain important user insights to be able to move forward to develop our MVP.

How did you select this vendor?

We received several offers however, Pine Design was recommended to us from a colleague. After meeting the team and learning about their approach to our project, we were convinced that they would be a great partner for us.

Describe the project in detail.

After selecting Pine Design, we held a kick-off meeting where we discussed our goals, the timeline and the project milestones. Afterwards, Pine Design swiftly presented us with a research plan and walked out us through the entire process.

Once the research was completed, we held a short workshop to discuss the results and important findings and we received a detailed presentation. Afterwards, Pine facilitated a full day co-creation workshop. In the first part we reflected on the user research and ideated.

In the second part we organised and evaluated each idea based on a set of criteria (i.e.: budget, complexity etc), agreed on the functions to be included in our MVP and drafted a product roadmap.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a team of two UX researchers and a senior design consultant. We worked with this team throughout our collaboration however, the team was extended by a UX analyst for our co-creation workshop.

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

Our project hasn't launched yet so there are no metrics that I can share. However, we hired Pine Design because since this isn't our core business, we needed help to gain insights about potential users and to translate these insights into an actual product concept.

Pine Design exceeded our expectations in delivering this for us. We thought this process would take just months, however, Pine Design got us there in just three weeks.

Because of their collaborative approach this was also a great learning experience for our team as now we have a clear understanding how a design drive project should work. We will definitely employ this "mindset" in our future projects.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The collaboration was very smooth. From the first day Pine’s team ensured that we understand what is going to happen at every step of the way and we received regular updates. It was great that in the kick-off meeting the team informed us at what parts of our project and at what dates they will need input from us so, that made planning and managing our time very easy.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their collaborative approach makes them an excellent partner. From the first day we felt as if their team has become our own in-house team. They quickly understood our business and its challenges, brought excellent insights, and went above and beyond to ensure that we end up with a great concept.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we were very pleased our experience with the team!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a company that provides shared office space and business services in Piraeus, Greece. We are currently at the construction phase and expect to be in operation by Q3 2020.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pine Design Kft.?

We were lacking branding, a website and had an incomplete business model. We worked with Pine to help us create our brand, as well as to develop and deploy our website from scratch on a limited budget.

What were your goals for this project?

To create an original company identity and a website to enable us to engage the client and provide them with a pleasant user experience.

How did you select this vendor?

We received offers from vendors mainly in Greece, but Pine had been recommended to us by an associate and we requested a quotation from them as well. The decision to use Pine was driven mainly by price and their team composition.

Describe the project in detail.

We worked with Pine to help us create our brand, as well as to develop and deploy our website from scratch. We were looking for a bespoke, high quality design, but we received much more than just that. Pine’s contribution to our market research, our business model and our digital strategy has been invaluable.

What was the team composition?

A design consultant, UX designer, UI designer and a graphic designer throughout the duration of the project.

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

While our website is not yet on line, we believe that we have achieved the desired company branding and within the agreed timeframe and cost which is fully aligned with our expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The co-operation was of a very high standard with Pine engaging from day one to fully understand the requirements and how to best perform to achieve the required goals. Constant communication and updates, even during difficult decision making times, helped us feel confident that they were able to deliver a good end product.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Pine was very good at engaging with our business, getting a feel for our potential customers and what they would be looking, ultimately designing a brand that we think is a perfect match. They also have extensive expertise in UX and UI, which made the final output of the project very pleasing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I have worked with many companies over my career and can safely say that we were impressively well served.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director of an events company. We organize the biggest European festival on the future, Brain Bar having an attendance of over 15,000 annually.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pine Design Kft.?

Our challenge is to become a company serving content year-round which thus around is to built a community around our brand. For this, we would have liked to create an online platform, allowing our audience to interact with one another.

What were your goals for this project?

We hired Pine Design to facilitate a discovery workshop, do some UX research and help us in creating the specifications for an MVP for our platform. We needed to map our competition and come up with a comprehensive idea about the functionality.

How did you select this vendor?

We were specifically looking for a small, agile company where everyone is invested in the project from the ground up. Pine Design was referred to us by a business partner, so in addition to other UX researchers we have been working with in the past year, we decided to get a quote from them. The team and their background was convincing, so we decided to work together.

Describe the project in detail.

For the first phase, we held some preliminary meetings to make sure Pine Design understood our goals. We already had a sketch of the project put on paper, so once we set a baseline, they reviewed what we had come up with and proposed some adjustments.

We also needed Pine to help us in doing UX research to make sure we understand the needs and pain points of our target audience. Afterwards, we held a discovery workshop with all stakeholders where we reviewed some of the best practices and insights from the research and came up with a potential list of features and functions. We then narrowed these down to create an MVP we can start testing with and get a quote for from developers.

What was the team composition?

We had 2 UX researchers, a project manager and a UX designer.

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

The reason we hired an external company was to make sure the thought and development processes were streamlined. We wanted to keep a strong focus without having to compromise the number of ideas. This was a 100% success, I believe the process was fast and very efficient. We also needed to make sure everything we do lives up to customer expectations for which we needed a team of experts familiar with industry trends. The specification they created at the end reflects just that.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I really liked how everybody was very hands-on and easy to reach. I had a lot of questions regarding the workshop and I was always able to talk to someone about them. Everything was delivered in time, so we had time to review and request changes when it was necessary. After the workshop, everything was digitized and loaded up into Miro, where me and my team were able to continue the work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Like I said, I was impressed with the openness and approachability. Many times with agencies, you experience an inconceivable amount of red tape even if you just have a simple question. I also felt that the researchers have really done their homework and asked great questions, which I think in this field is particularly important.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything went well, so I can't really recall anything.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder in a young startup, working to build a competitive crowdsourcing platform for data scientists.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pine Design Kft.?

UI/UX design for an online crowdsourcing platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to optimize the user experience for our platform and discover the motivation of our potential users for using the platform

How did you select this vendor?

We have worked with Francesco, one of the co-founders of Pine before and we really enjoyed working together and were totally satisfied with the result. So, when we wanted to further iterate on our UI/UX design, Pine was our first choice.

Describe the project in detail.

We have approached them with a set of screen mockups we designed for our platform. After a few meetings and iterations on the design, we were ready to validate it with user testing. We assembled an interview script to validate the UI/UX and uncover the possible motivations of the target group to use our platform.

So, we went way beyond just design, we were going deep to see what makes our users tick. After conducting the user interviews, working with two very talented UX researchers from Pine, the findings were summarized in a short interactive workshop.

What was the team composition?

I was mostly working with two very talented UX researchers.

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

We are before launch, so I cannot put a quantitative measurement on the outcome of the project yet.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Effective and smooth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to provide deep insight into the core of the product itself sets them apart.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot think of anything at the moment.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Founder & CEO of LiveRobe, a fashion-focused online marketplace for upcoming designers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pine Design Kft.?

We were looking to launch the 2nd phase of web development and needed assistance with UX/UI design.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pine Design Kft. executed a UX audit of our platform. They held workshops to go through our entire concept. They then launched into UX design, which they delivered in sprints.

What is the team composition?

Francesco (COO, Pine Design Kft.) was the project manager and my main point of contact. I met some other team members during the workshops.

How did you come to work with Pine Design Kft.?

I met them through the agency that developed our application. After seeing Pine Design’s portfolio work, I decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $5,000. The scope of work entailed around 100 hours of work at $50 per hour.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between October–December 2019.

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

While I can’t provide any quantitative feedback, I’m very satisfied with their work. They delivered everything in a timely manner.

How did Pine Design Kft. perform from a project management standpoint?

They excel at communication. Francesco was extremely supportive, answering all our questions. We used Asana to collaborate, and it allowed me to stay aware of all project updates. We communicated mostly through email and phone but I also worked with them in their office.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by the ambiance of their office. It allowed me to be productive while maintaining calm in a stressful startup environment. I also appreciated that their team was supportive through the tense development stages. Finally, I learned a lot from Francesco, who has a lot of experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I wouldn’t change anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Honesty, credibility, and trust are important. Cooperate and be open to their ideas. These things will have an impact on your end product.