Research & Design

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in marketing at Charleston Southern University.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Research & Design?

They created and designed an interactive map for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using blueprints, satellite imagery, and our photos to create a three-dimensional view of our campus with SketchUp. From there, they inputted several points on the map that users could click on to learn more about that building on campus.

For instance, if someone clicks on our science building, photos and videos from that building appear along with links to information on our programming. Using the interactive map, viewers can learn about our campus and even take some guided tours.  

What is the team composition?

I communicated with two of their teammates: one designer and one business manager.

How did you come to work with Research & Design?

After thorough Google searches and examining virtual tour options on other university websites, I found a tour that I really liked. I started trying to find out who created the platform. We reached out and discovered that it was their team that handled the other project, so we were set on using them. At the time, we were also engaged in a website rebuild project, so they worked with us on our budget to ensure that we could get what we needed. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $29,000 on their work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Early after launch, we were getting about 900 visitors each month. Recently, we started getting closer to 1,600 visitors each month. It’s been easy for our developers to add new functionalities in the background. The platform is clean, straightforward, and easy to use. Many virtual tours are complicated, but they avoided that with a streamlined approach. 

How did Research & Design perform from a project management standpoint?

While we got started later than planned due to complications on our end, they stayed on-track throughout development and delivered when they said they would. We communicated through email and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The detail in their design work is second to none. He even asked which kind of tree we had on campus to make sure they were reflected on the map correctly. When customers zoom in on the map, they can almost see individual leaves on trees and water rippling in the pond. They’re detailed and take feedback into account. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They gave us many options to integrate the product into the backend of our WordPress site. I was under the impression that they would handle that for us, but we had to get our web developer involved on our end. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They did more than I expected. However, the earlier you can communicate information to them, the better. It may be more difficult to make changes further down the line.