Making the complex simple through strategic design
Combining the best of authentic customer research, UX/UI design craft and strategic thinking Studio LDN creates user experiences that are truly data driven - connecting more customers to your brand, products and services. Founded in 2018, Studio LDN is a modern experience design consultancy obsessed with understanding and improving the way humans interact with their digital world. We provide impactful strategies, customer research and product development to create digital platforms, mobile apps and websites, as well as provide corporate UX training.
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Scalable digital assets for student housing communication.
Managing 20 different student properties across Australia that require content updates, unique campaigns and message rollouts, Campus Living Villages needed a consistent and refreshed structure across their digital channels. Without an endless budget we were tasked with creating a creative ‘platform’ to support their team roll out updates across all of their properties, campaigns and marketing.
This required a deep dive into existing research, strategy docs, goals and personas to recommend a structure that would work. We have worked with Campus Living Villages for a few years now so have deeper insights into their audience, business challenges and goals. Our research also identified what tools, processes and needs the team required to push new content live.
We collaboratively worked together to roll out example assets and guides starting with one campus in Australia as a test case.
After a comprehensive review of all digital assets across the CLV website, marketing, social and corporate, we discovered early on that they were in need of some design consistency.
We reviewed and aligned brand collateral, created consistent messaging pillars and began building a scalable design kit for all digital material. Our research identified that students were interested in hearing more across three areas – accommodation, experiences and on-campus support.
Following our design rollouts there was an instant improvement to the look, feel and cohesiveness across all Campus Living Vilages assets, and the team are now saving a lot of time internally as they have a clear guide and roadmap to brief and roll out all the creative needed.
A digital platform that makes insurance more trustworthy.
QBE were seeing a decline in insurance policy sales and low conversions from their online insurance quote experience. Studio LDN were engaged to help discover why customers were dropping off and to design a better performing digital experience across multiple insurance products.
Through extensive stakeholder interviews, customer interviews and call-centre shadowing, research investigated what factors made buying insurance a challenge. It was discovered that customers found QBE insurance jargon confusing and that there was a distinct lack of trust in their online insurance quote process. Customers were looking for more transparency in pricing and product.
The design solution dramatically simplified the current experience and also introduced more transparency in quoting with clearer breakdowns in price and product features. Working closely with the QBE product and legal teams, we helped reduce the number of questions asked during the quote process from 18 to 10 – helping save customers time.
Following our improved design solutions Studio LDN was able to facilitate a 500% increase in conversion rates in the first 6 months for QBE.
A digital platform to empower merchants to make better decisions.
Mastercard merchants we’re confused and unsure of the effectiveness of their digital marketing efforts, using platforms like Facebook and Google. Studio LDN were engaged by Mastercards creative agency to support and discover new opportunities to create better digital marketing experiences for merchants.
Through an analysis of Mastercards existing research, documents and customer surveys, we were able to hypothesise what was missing from the current digital marketing experiences. We discovered that they lacked any real understanding of the impact of their digital marketing efforts. They wanted deeper insight to validate their ROI.
Using the foundation of anonymous customer transaction data, Studio LDN designed an experience that allowed merchants to explore and compare what their customers were spending their money on – with their business, and similar businesses. This facilitated the discovery of spend insight, giving merchants the ability to create highly targeted marketing campaigns.
First time users are empowered to get a campaign up and running in no time. By creating an easy to learn process and intuitive experience, our design interface was created to lessen the learning curve, helping repeat visitors to come back time and time again.
During the UX and UI design process, light user testing was conducted to check in on the experience, ensuring it stayed laser focused to meet the needs of merchants.
A strategy to help students get back on campus.
Campus Living Villages experienced a significant drop in student village occupancy rates as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced the shut down of university campuses. Studio LDN were engaged to design a campaign that offered revised accommodation options to students that enabled them to return to university life while restrictions were still in place.
Through analysis of customer survey data and government COVID-19 guidelines, research investigated what was important to students when choosing accomodation and how that related to the current environment. It was discovered that students needed more flexibility in their accommodation options – with price, room booking terms and the ways in which they could study within social distancing restrictions.
Campaign media was booked across Facebook and Instagram, targeting students where they were already engaged in conversation around university. Existing Campus Living Villages digital advertising was very copy-led, meaning we had to focus more on using words rather than photography. So Studio LDN designed a series of campaign messages to drive awareness of the flexible accommodation options, in a way that was cheeky, topical and culturally relevant to COVID-19. We wanted to join the conversation in a way that made Campus Living Villages a talking point, rather than an interuption.
From this Campus Living Villages saw a 40% increase in conversion rates.
Reviews
the project
UI/UX Design & Web Dev for Humanitarian Aid
"They were nice, professional, and had an easygoing approach to the project."
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 digital content lead for a humanitarian aid based in Sydney, Australia. I manage the strategy and production of content across all our digital channels such as social media, email, and website.
What challenge were you trying to address with Studio LDN?
We were looking to redesign our website, so we engaged with Studio LDN.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Apart from the research and development of our website’s UI/UX, Studio LDN helped us create a more flexible component-based system that allowed us to build pages with agility. The project started with a discovery phase where we implemented a workshop, to understand the problems of our business and identify our key audiences.
From there, we were able to define the site’s architecture and how the layout should look. We used Figma for the design of our website and built it using WordPress with a plugin called Elementor.
What is the team composition?
We worked with James (Design Director & Founder) and Benoit (Lead Designer).
How did you come to work with Studio LDN?
They were recommended and brought on by a contractor we used to work with. James was very professional in the initial meetings, and they seemed to understand what we were talking about. We ultimately went with them because they had the trust of our supplier.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent less than $50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from June–August 2021.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We haven’t launched yet, so I can’t talk about any kind of success metrics at the moment. However, I think they successfully delivered the brief that we initially agreed upon. They did really well in the discovery phase, and with the way they went through the details of what we needed to achieve for the website.
The biggest shortcoming we had was they didn’t really integrate some of our brand elements, which is quite important for our company. I don’t know if those brand elements would’ve compromised the component system, but that was something we had to work through a bit.
We wouldn’t have gone through that hurdle if they addressed that in the initial phase but nonetheless, we’re really happy with the end results.
How did Studio LDN perform from a project management standpoint?
They performed well and the people that we worked with were great people who I enjoyed working with. They were nice, professional, and had an easygoing approach to the project.
We typically used Monday.com, and Zoom to communicate and implemented the SMART objectives method for the project management.
What did you find most impressive about them?
What distinguishes them from other providers is how in-depth their discovery phase was. It allowed them to really understand what we were trying to achieve, and it felt like they were delivering something that was going to benefit our goals as an organization.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We had a lot of ideas thrown around in the discovery phase, but they were dropped off along the way. Maybe linking back to the original scope could’ve helped minimize getting rid of those ideas.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
My advice is to be clear on the brand guidelines and elements you want to see in the design, and discuss the non-negotiable aspects of the project. I would also suggest paying attention to the process and making sure you’re on top of everything.
the project
Platform UI/UX Design for Data Services Company
"We trust what they give us because we know how good they actually are."
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 COO for National Property Data. We provide data services to the real estate and property industry.
What challenge were you trying to address with Studio LDN?
We purchased an existing platform in the marketplace, but it was very dated so we wanted to rebuild it.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We engaged Studio LDN to help us with the UX of our progressive web app. Prior to the development, they did a number of investigations, an internal exploratory, and discussed the existing platform with our current and previous clients — they also talked to potential customers who’ve never used our platform before.
They then came back with ideas around the weaknesses of the other platforms, so they’ve been helping us design the UX framework. Studio LDN has been working on this project since the start of the relationship, and we consider them as our strategic partner working with our development team. They’re with us to make sure we meet the UX and design guidelines, and provide us with consultation whenever we get user feedback.
What is the team composition?
James (Design Director & Founder) is our main point of contact, and we also work with a designer and a couple of additional resources for particular projects.
How did you come to work with Studio LDN?
A marketing company we previously worked with introduced us to Studio LDN, since we were talking about investigating our UX. We actually already mapped out a number of projects that we needed for this platform, so we decided to start one project with them — that project ended up doing well, so we’ve given them every single project that we’ve got.
How much have you invested with them?
I think we’ve invested around $100,000 AUD (approximately $73,500 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
The project officially kicked off in November 2020 and they’re still providing us with ongoing consultancy.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The way they approach the work is excellent. There’s no question about the quality of the work that we receive from them, and everything they do is quantified and qualified. We trust what they give us because we know how good they actually are.
So far, we’ve only made minor adjustments to what they delivered, rather than significant rewrites.
How did Studio LDN perform from a project management standpoint?
Their project management has been really fantastic. They meet their deadlines every time and on the occasions when they don’t, it’s usually because there’s a change in the scope.
Furthermore, we have a weekly check-in with them through Zoom, Asana and Sigma for project management, as well as JIRA and confluence for the development — those tools give us insight into the design and functionality of what they’re working on.
What did you find most impressive about them?
What stands out for me is their passion for the development of the project — they live and breathe it, which we can see from the work that comes through. Apart from that, I really like how they understand and get involved with the business, so working with them is very easy.
They make us feel very comfortable in our lack of knowledge in particular areas, which is great because we’ve got so many stakeholders.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They have nothing to improve on. I can’t fault them at all.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I would suggest trusting them because they’re the experts. Additionally, make sure that you involve yourself in the work with them — that can make your product much better, and they would always be happy to collaborate with you.
the project
Branding Campaign for Student Housing Provider
"We are loving the whole process so far."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the Senior Marketing Manager ANZ at Campus Living Villages. We have 20 different properties that we need to roll out unique campaigns for.
For what projects/services did your company hire Studio LDN?
We needed support to provide a fresh new look for our corporate and consumer brands and update our assets to suit. We don't have endless budget so wanted a messaging and creative 'platform' that our internal teams could roll out across all of our properties, campaigns and always on marketing
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
We had worked with Studio LDN before and loved their work.
Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.
Studio LDN did a deep dive on our research, strategy docs, goals and personas to recommend a refreshed brand look, then we worked together to roll out example assets and guides
How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We worked with most of the key people on the team
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
There was an instant improvement to the look, feel and cohesiveness across all of our assets, and we are now saving a lot of time internally as we have a clear guide and roadmap to brief and roll out all the creative we need.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Very effective, we love working with James
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
James and the team really put a lot of care and time into understanding our business, goals, audiences and challenges, and are also brilliant creatives which lead to a great result first go
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
We are loving the whole process so far. We are continuing to work with the team.
While the platform is yet to launch, Studio LDN was able to adhere to the initial scope of the project to successfully deliver the final output. The internal stakeholders were particularly impressed with the company's culture and immersion in the discovery phase.