Studio Rubric

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and executive producer of a commercial production company based in Detroit Michigan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Studio Rubric?

When Local Boy started we needed a website. After trying to build our own, I reached out Studio Rubric to help add some functionality to the site and they eventually polished it off and finished it for me.

What were your goals for this project?

Goals for the project was to create an easy to use, yet professional website to showcase our work as a production company.

SOLUTION

How did you select Studio Rubric?

At the time they were a recommended vendor from Squarespace and some extra help needed turned into hiring them to complete an overhaul.

Describe the project in detail.

It always starts with a phone call to describe what we're looking for. They then took that info, created solutions for them, and then added their own ideas on top. I would say building a website like mine is an easier task at first glance. They had to make sure everything was update-able in the backend for me.

What was the team composition?

The team has grown over time. So while the first site may have been a designer and a coder, I know more people have touched my website with new ideas, updates and problem-solving.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My website has nothing for sale. It's not an e-commerce site. However, within seconds of landing on a website, you know immediately if it's a place you trust buying something from or is a group you want to work with. They helped me implement good ideas for the website and have been a trusted partner when updates are needed or problems arise.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

One thing I like is their screen capture tutorials for updating the back end of the site. It's effective and efficient. They record their screen while narrating what needs to happen and it serves as a tutorial for me to keep around for future use. It's brilliant.

Are there any areas for improvement?

For what I am asking of Studio Rubric, I cannot foresee any areas of improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at Weglot, a multilingual solution that helps translate and display websites in new languages. We take a website that is only in one language and we make it multilingual in a matter of minutes. We have around 50,000 websites. We work with brands like Nikon, IBM, and Spotify.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Rubric?

We were looking for a web agency to develop a Squarespace website. We wanted to have a showcase website where we would show the power of combining Squarespace and our company, Weglot.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our Squarespace website.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people.

How did you come to work with Studio Rubric?

We reached out to them because they were already using Weglot on a past project for one of their clients. They also had a track record of building great Squarespace websites.   

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with the results. The brief and the guidelines were very open on our side. It was a challenge for them to come up with something so defined, but they succeeded. They came up with a great website. It’s beautiful. We gave a little feedback, but nothing major.

How did Studio Rubric perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very good. We were really happy with the process in general. It was a very detailed and organized process. They had a very clear roadmap of where they needed our feedback and validation before going to the next step. I’m really happy with the people we worked with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really liked their creativity. They had a lot of great ideas on how to design the website. I appreciated their creativity. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, their expertise on Squarespace was very useful. They know the tool very well. You can rely on the team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Confirm the roadmap and deadlines with them beforehand. Be reactive. You should be ready if you want things to go smoothly and move forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of a leadership foundation. Individuals interested in fishing can partake in a program where they’re learning the soft skills of being a leader, giving back to their community, all while getting active.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Rubric?

We needed a website to educate people about our foundation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had an initial discovery meeting. They came back to us quickly with a mapping out of what the site could look like and what they could do for us. They also created a password-protected portal for the program participants to get their curriculum, homework assignments, and tasks.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an owner and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Studio Rubric?

Another founder had worked with them previously. It was a natural fit to work with them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019, and we wrapped up in February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re pretty happy with the end result of the site. We thought it would be more successful with everyone at home for the pandemic, but it turns out a lot of people are sick of being online. Whenever there were inquiries on how to do things, they were very responsive.

How did Studio Rubric perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. There were no issues on their end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication, follow-up, follow-through, and professionalism all stand out. They understand the client’s vision and bring it to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve had no issues whatsoever.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, they’re professionals. The team is easy to work with, likable, and communicative. As long as you communicate what you want, things will work well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an agricultural marketing company. We specialize in helping ranchers and small businesses in the agriculture industry print and deliver direct-mail products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Rubric?

We were looking to refresh our brand. It had gotten slightly stale since launching ten years ago. We wanted a brand update and a new website to follow.

We needed an affordable agency that could deliver a modern and customized Squarespace website. While Squarespace templates are sleek, they’re fairly cut-and-dried. We were seeking someone who could help us break the mold with a truly custom look.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team was very structured. They sat down with us and kicked off a pilot phase, where they asked us questions about our business. After getting a better sense of our goals, they proceeded to identify our needs. We then followed a standardized process of collaborating on an overarching user interface. This included the content, as well as the look and feel. At every step, they provided weekly reports on what they’d completed.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Justin and a couple of designers and developers. I interacted with no more than four team members during the project.

How did you come to work with Studio Rubric?

I found them through a listing on UpWork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000. The website was in the $4,000–$5,000 range, and the UX/UI design was around $3,000. The branding elements were around $1,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in March 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They built us a website that we could be proud of, and our refreshed brand has received positive feedback.

How did Studio Rubric perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily used email and Asana. We always had a pretty clear view of what their team was working on and what they still needed to complete.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While this might sound silly, I enjoyed the fact that the team leads were brothers. They came across as being very down-to-earth and were willing to discuss business problems.

I’ve worked with other agencies that are too focused on creating something insanely unique, and I appreciated that these guys weren’t fussy like that. Instead, they narrowed their focus down to the things we needed. Content-wise, they were able to offer a personal touch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I really don’t have many negative things to say. I really enjoyed the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a publishing company that publishes a curriculum for literacy education. We serve thousands of districts across the country and around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Studio Rubric?

We needed to build some digital products that allowed teachers to have access to the curriculum remotely to share with students remotely in the light of COVID-19. We sell paper books, and there was no digital component, so we needed those to complement our printing offering.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were multiple components to the project, including an online store. With the website, we were looking to create a digital shopping experience that would allow people to purchase digital and physical products in the same cart. Customers can buy one of our books, along with a digital subscription that provides ongoing support and professional development.

For digital products, we needed to convert our text-based curriculum into a digital app where teachers could log in from anywhere and access those materials.

The online store also needed a lively design to develop our brand. Our older platform wasn’t user-friendly, containing stock photography. We serve schools and kids, which needed to be reflected in the brand and look of the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around five.

How did you come to work with Studio Rubric?

Justin (Partner & Co-Founder) used to live in Chicago, and we shared office space for a while. I was looking for an illustrator at a previous company, and Justin and his wife had a design studio. Years ago, we connected.

After he started Studio Rubric, we were looking at a few different firms to work on this project. Ultimately, it came down to them because of previous experience, their competitive price, and their ability to get the work done within our timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I love the way that the site turned out. It accomplishes a lot of the goals we set. While it’s early to tell regarding the digital product, their team still was able to deliver within a short time crunch. We wanted everything ready by July 1st for the start of the school season. We launched a week late, but given everything that was going on, that was certainly fine.

We’ve certainly received positive feedback on the website. The teachers are starting to use the digital product now, so we might see valuable feedback soon. Our sales have been up significantly. Along with site traffic, all key indicators have been positive.

How did Studio Rubric perform from a project management standpoint?

We continue having weekly calls to check-in. We use Notion for project and task management, keeping track of priorities for the site and digital products. We also communicate through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My preference is to work with small, flexible, and responsive companies. I would say Studio Rubric does that well.

Their team takes the time to understand and listen to what we’re trying to do. They’re easy to talk to. Communication is key with projects like these, and their team does it well.

Everyone is invested in the success of the project. We feel like we have their eye when it comes to priorities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We did end up having to leave out some features in order to launch on time. There was a bit of a rush at the end, but I don’t think that’s foreign to anyone who has worked on a project like this. We did have to sacrifice some functionalities and didn’t have as much QA time as I would’ve liked.

If we were to do this the next go around, I think we’ll have an in-depth conversation about what we’re diving into, how much bandwidth we need, and how much time it’s going to take.