studio~humm

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Product Marketing of a leadership and management training startup based in the US.

For what projects/services did your company hire studio~humm?

We originally hired studio~humm to help us refresh and codify our visual identity across our website, and were so elated with the results that we kept working with them across a wide variety of other projects: landing pages, sales collateral, investor presentations, event booths, physical products.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had engaged a number of other designers and agencies in the past and had lukewarm results. Initially, we were struck by how joyful and vibrant studio~humm's designs were; as we got to know the team, we loved how easy it was to communicate and collaborate with them.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We worked on many projects with studio~humm, and each with its own workflow -- which only illustrates how easy it was to work with them. For example, our website redesign spanned weeks and needed multiple iterations across multiple pages. For this project, studio~humm worked with us end-to-end to codify visual brand guidelines, then applied them to our most heavily trafficked pages while incorporating best practices across UX and content design. Other times, we needed quick turnaround on client-facing presentations to win or augment a client deal. In these moments, we would provide studio~humm with a brief, and given the timezone difference, would communicate and collaborate asynchronously with recorded screenshare and video.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We mainly worked with two (absolutely brilliant) designers from studio~humm.

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

Studio~humm has been a true partner throughout one of the most tumultuous times of the startup journey: going from an idea to finding product-market fit. Nearly everyone who has seen our site or collateral -- potential customers, industry leaders, investors, candidates interested in job opportunities -- has commented on how polished and thoughtful our presentation is, and that said polish was instrumental in winning their trust and business.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with studio~humm was an absolute joy. They delivered stellar work on time, and always took the time to deeply understand and build upon feedback.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

No matter what projects and timelines we brought to studio~humm, they always remained calm, professional, and upbeat -- and would proceed to knock the project out of the park.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at Applica, an AI company that focuses on automating documents for businesses. 

What challenge were you trying to address with studio~humm?

We engaged studio~humm to make our complicated technology more accessible to people.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Originally, we engaged studio~humm for web development. However, they were heavily into branding, so we ended up using them for all the aspects of this project. Our team did extensive research to determine our key buyers, our current messaging’s problems, and our new messaging goals. We then gave all of this information and competitive analysis to studio~humm to give them an adequate background. 

From there, they put together mock-ups of the direction we wanted to take from a visual perspective. Then, we worked together on our branding, colors, fonts, and more. We did a few iterations of those because we wanted to be more progressive than other companies in our space; we pushed studio~humm to be even more creative. 

Eventually, we landed on our current website’s design. It had a completely different color palette, fonts, typography, and imagery. After that, we continued working with studio~humm to put together a document that guided copywriters around the dos and don’ts of writing for our brand. It was a style guide that showed us what punctuations to use, which words to capitalize, and how we should speak about the company and our technology in terms of tone. 

Once we determined the overall look and feel of the website, we started sketching it out. I worked closely with studio~humm to determine how the sitemap would look like. Then, we created wireframes. Lars (UX Strategist) and I worked on the website’s copy, and then we turned it over to Adrian (Co-Founder & Brand Designer) and Dan (Co-Founder & Principal Designer). 

Adrian and Dan built the actual website on Webflow and handled the animation, imagery, functionality, and everything else. They also made sure that these things were linked to our existing infrastructure. After that, they tested the website and we deployed it.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Lars, who also served as our main strategist, copywriter, and business development person. I had the most interaction with him throughout the project. Then, if I had more specific questions about the website functionality, I spoke directly to Adrian and Dan.

How did you come to work with studio~humm?

We Googled the best design and website development companies around, and we somehow stumbled across studio~humm. I sent them an email about the project, and they told us they were more focused on branding and web design than development. 

From there, we asked studio~humm and another agency to deliver mock-ups — we wanted to test them first because we’d been in a situation where a company promised us they’d deliver great work but didn’t. We ended up choosing studio~humm based on the ideas they had. Their creativity was different from anything else we’d seen, and that was what we wanted to use to stand out. As a result, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €25,000 (approximately $28,000 USD) for the site’s branding and logo. Since our internal designer didn’t have the capacity to make new PowerPoint designs based on the new schema, we ended up paying studio~humm another €3,000–€4,000 (approximately $3,300–$4,500 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted for three months from August–November 2021. 

For context, we were in discussions with studio~humm for a long time. By the time our leadership team made the executive decision to start working with them, they were already contracted by another client. Because of that, we didn’t start this project until August 2021.

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

In terms of design, we had a basic look and feel before, but it became colorful. People were pleasantly surprised by it. We wanted something unique to reflect the progressive nature of our technology, and our leadership team was pleased with the final design. 

Specifically, our CEO said that studio~humm did an amazing job; they also cost a third of what most other agencies would charge for the same amount of work. That was my benchmark for success; our CEO was highly involved in the company, and making him happy wasn’t always easy.

From a business perspective, we looked more professional. As the website launched only recently, we didn’t have a lot of hard data to measure. However, our website gained better functionality, and we stood out in a positive way. Our internal team was pleased with it, and it was also received well externally. 

How did studio~humm perform from a project management standpoint?

The studio~humm team was great at staying on schedule and providing updates. They used Asana, and they sent weekly email updates on what they were doing. They let us know if anything had fallen behind and if we needed to move anything around. Overall, they were on top of everything, and I appreciated that.

We communicated mostly over Slack, Zoom, or Google Meet. In the beginning, we did a lot of discovery calls through Google Meet, but for day-to-day communications, we used a shared channel via Slack. We used email for unified invoices. On top of that, our communication worked out well despite our time difference; they were six hours ahead. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The ideas they presented from a digital standpoint were unique. We typically saw a lot of the same structure among websites, especially for B2B businesses like Applica. None of the designs that studio~humm presented us looked like those websites — their design looked highly customized for their price point. 

Overall, their creativity and imagination were impressive. They could interpret our brand and bring it to life in a way that we liked. The team also took a lot of time to refine their output. They kept at it as we gave them feedback until we arrived at a place where everyone on my team was happy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they were a bigger agency, they’d have greater work capacity, and we could’ve started the project earlier. However, we knew about this, and it was more our fault that we didn’t sign the contract on time.

In other words, though they were a small shop, what they produced was exceptional. They delivered everything they promised, met the deadline, and didn’t go above our estimated cost. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open-minded to studio~humm’s ideas — they’re creative people. You might have an idea of what you want, but they can present it in a way that you’ve never thought of before. Let them bring your ideas to life and trust them. The team has an amazing eye for design and can do things that others don’t have the skill sets to accomplish. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager at a global mobility company in Berlin. We offer relocation and language services to businesses hiring international talent and to individuals relocating to Germany.

For what projects/services did your company hire studio~humm?

Our company expanded fast over the past years and shifted its focus B2C to B2B mainly and we needed a redefined brand image and a new website to reflect this change. The brand was underdeveloped and the website evolved organically, none of this reflecting the rapid professionalization of our business.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We found three companies online and requested quotes based on a very detailed briefing. After initial discovery calls and comparing the three quotes we chose studio~humm for their excellent price-quality ratio and for their engagement in the proposal formulation.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project started with a discovery workshop interviewing the co-founders and managerial board about the history and ethics of the brand. The outcomes were a new brand positioning, redefined brand principles and a tonality and style guide. Once the new brand identity has been discussed and approved, the designers put together a mood board showcasing possible design directions, a custom illustration system, typography and a redesigned logo. There were three iterations and feedback rounds on the designs.

In parallel, the UX strategist worked with us on defining the new sitemap. In one month we had discussed and approved the new brand strategy, design system and website wireframing. In the second month, the developer (a trusted partner of studio~humm) started setting up the CMS templates and preparing the stage for the implementation phase. In the third month of the project, the high fidelity mockup pages, functional website wireframes and the first round of website copy have been completed. In the fourth month we did CMS training (we had shifted to a new CMS with this project), implemented feedback on design and content, and started testing on the server.

The project was completed in four months but the launch date was delayed mainly due to bottlenecks on our end. Throughout all this time, studio~humm and their partner consulted and supported us whenever needed, despite the project running over time.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with the whole team: two designers, a UX strategist and content writer and an external partner for the website development.

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

The website and new brand have been made public two weeks ago and we have received endless praise from customers and partners ever since. In terms of hard data, we've seen a seamless transition from the old website and no significant drop in sales, despite having also switched domains with this project. We assume that the new website structure will improve the user flow and although we still need more time to measure this, we've already seen sales and leads for products that were buried under many layers on the old website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a timeline set up in Asana and weekly updates via email. The main communication channel was slack, where we'd discuss simple tasks, and for more complex decisions we'd set up Google Hangouts with the relevant stakeholders. Being a small team, we worked directly with the creatives so the communication was very smooth, without much time passing from idea to implementation - we took longer to make the decisions ourselves than it took them to implement our new ideas.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

That they were able to advise us on everything that we threw their way and always came up with smart solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing from my side. We really loved working with them and we're looking forward to continue our collaboration.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of content at Cara Care, a digital platform that helps people with digestive health issues.

What challenge were you trying to address with studio~humm?

We hired them to handle our rebrand project. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

studio~humm implemented a new brand identity for us. They did some branding workshops and created a design system and new logo. The team put together a communications plan and strategy and a copywriting guide. They also redesigned our website. They designed some presentations for us, including a pitch deck for investors. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from studio~humm, including Dan (Co-Founder & Principal Designer), Lars (Content Strategist), who was really pivotal in designing the content, copy strategy, and copy for the website, and Adrian (Co-Founder & Brand Designer), who was the main designer on the project. 

How did you come to work with studio~humm?

I actually didn’t hire them; I joined my company early on in the project, so I can’t speak to that. I came in to manage the web redesign and some of the copy and communications work.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d say roughly $30,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with studio~humm in March 2020. The project formally closed in July, but we’re still working with them to implement little fixes and tweaks.

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

We were really happy with the quality of service. They were fast, responsive and receptive to feedback, and forward-thinking on design. They knew when to challenge us on decisions that possibly affect the integrity of the work. I appreciated that as the project's lead; I like working with agencies that know when to really protect the integrity of their work, but also are really receptive to feedback. 

How did studio~humm perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a really great, transparent product timeline document that they created and updated each week on Google Docs. We got a weekly update on progress and where we were from Lars, who managed the project. In general, I was really happy with the project management. 

We communicated through Slack, email for larger updates, Google Docs, and Google Meet for conferencing. They used the design mockup tool Red Pen.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that the team is really sharp and agile. Because they’re a smaller team, they work really quickly. They are very communicative and clear. They could easily distill what needed to be communicated and do it quickly, and I really appreciated that about working with them. 
Additionally, their design work was top-notch and really elevated our brand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It became a little bit challenging when COVID-19 hit and we had to do some of the creative work remotely, but that wasn’t something that was under their control. Honestly, I don’t have a ton of major complaints; we had little things here and there that were just miscommunications. Overall, we were really happy with the project.

Any advice for potential customers?

Definitely do it. They are really quick on their feet and forward-thinking, and they’ll push your brand to the next level. That sounds a little bit cliché, but I really think that it’s worth it to work with a really smart, small agency that just gets it. studio~humm just got it. It was really good working with them. 

I've worked with larger agencies, and I’ve found that there are often too many cooks in the kitchen. With humm, they were always aligned. We always knew exactly what we were going to get from them, and it was really easy to communicate and collaborate. We’re really happy with the outcome.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the editor-in-chief of a magazine. We act as a platform for emerging writers and artists, working in advertising, sponsorships, and a number of ancillary industries to promote their work, not only in print but other media.

What challenge were you trying to address with studio~humm?

We hired them to design our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

studio~humm designed a Kirby website from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three of their team members. studio~humm contracted someone who isn’t officially part of their team, but they worked closely.

How did you come to work with studio~humm?

Someone brought them to my attention, and we went through a number of phone calls with them. Before we made anything official, we outlined what we needed and wanted, and how that would look long-term.

How much have you invested with them?

Pre-vat (valued-added tax), it was €18,000–€19,000 (approximately $21,300–$22,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in early-February. They have completed the project, but it remains an ongoing relationship.

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

The quality of their work was excellent; I thought it was really fantastic.

How did studio~humm perform from a project management standpoint?

We set up a timeline, and then all of the stages happened fluidly. The coders worked alongside design to iterate a final product. There was never a single late deadline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very affable guys. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Any advice for potential customers?

Do it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a management consultant for a small payment consulting firm in Berlin.

What challenge were you trying to address with?

Our website was outdated and we were looking to rebrand our company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

studio-humm redesigned our website, templates, and presentation assets, such as business cards. They produced a brand guide based on the new style they created. From there, they helped us form and launch a social media strategy. We also implemented several electronic tools to manage the posts every month.

Outside of the main design and branding work, they also supported our other efforts to improve our presence. This included guiding us toward what equipment to purchase for our podcast efforts, editing and publishing the first few episodes, etc. They also took professional photographs of our staff to include on the website as part of the rebranding.

What is the team composition?

Four teammates were working on our project from studio-humm, but I primarily worked with two of them on a regular basis. Within their team, they provided a designer, a content manager, and a few teammates who worked on our coding and backend needs.

How did you come to work with studio-humm?

I searched for the best web designers in Berlin and chose them based on my research.

How much have you invested with them?

Overall, we spent roughly €20,000 (approximately $22,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2018–March 2019.

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

We don’t have any metrics yet because we only recently launched the new brand, but we expect to see positive results soon. Internally, we’re all thrilled with the work studio-humm did for us and the engagement was a success.

How did studio-humm perform from a project management standpoint?

They were an incredibly professional team to work with. We used Slack to communicate and they were responsive throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood the importance of a personal touch within a brand and were invested in our success. Flexible in their approach, they showed a genuine interest in meeting our goals. Their team was also warm whenever we interacted, and we felt comfortable trusting them. They ensured my company had a better image than we did before starting the engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were great—there’s nothing to be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just because they’re a small team doesn’t mean they don’t have the ability to successfully complete your project. Trust that they can handle a larger workload.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a partner and head of marketing and business development, for a luxury clothing and accessories firm. I’m in charge of all revenue-generating activities, including marketing and branding.

For what projects/services did your company hire studio~humm?

We needed to improve our branding and online presence. Our challenge with studio~humm was to update all visual elements in order to reflect our product line and our position in the market.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a new visual identity and website ready by the planned re-launch date.

How did you select this vendor?

We heard pitches from several agencies and design studios. We chose studio~humm as they had the deepest understanding of our needs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

After our initial briefing, we established the project’s scope and requirements. We remained in constant communication and they gave us guidance and insights on development. After they completed the design stage, we collaborated on testing and moved toward a seamless launch.

What was the team composition?

The team included Adrian and Dan (Co-founders, studio~humm), who contacted me for feedback.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We launched our newly redesigned brand and website on time. The impact was visible over the following six months, as our brand reflected our quality and helped us gain consumer trust.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Dan was the de facto project manager. He and Adrian worked independently most of the time and contacted me to get feedback on the project’s direction. The project went very smoothly and remained on track with our requirements.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team easily came to a deep understanding of our brand requirements. They worked without requiring unnecessary involvement or focus from my end.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could use improvement in their A/B testing offering. They had a smaller team at the time, and they did most of the testing, but I did some myself.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the communications manager for Creathor Ventures, an experienced venture capital firm that invests in early-stage tech and healthcare start-ups across Europe.

For what projects/services did your company hire studio~humm?

Our website was outdated, so we needed a new site that better represented our goal to invest in technological pioneers.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a modern and visually-appealing website that would give visitors (especially founders and potential fund investors) a good first impression of who we are and what we're doing, without overloading the pages with too much content. Technically, we needed a CMS that would allow us to easily implement future changes ourselves.

How did you select this vendor?

One of our porfolio companies recommended studio~humm. We had quotes from 5–6 other agencies, but their price/performance ratio and the general first impression made us choose them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

After an initial kick-off workshop to discuss our goals and expectations in detail and give them a better understanding of our company, they developed a styleboard and created simple wireframes we agreed upon. At the same time, we jointly worked on the photographic imagery and video content. We had feedback calls at least once a week while they developed the website with Webflow. They finished the partnership with a workshop to teach us how to work with the Webflow CMS.

What was the team composition?

The project team consisted of a project manager, web developer, imagery specialist, and a few other developers, as needed.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We're happy with the results and have received positive feedback after the relaunch. The site is exactly what we had in mind when looking for an agency.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their project management was good; they never caused any major delays. We used appear.in for regular video calls, and emails and Google Docs for status updates and task lists.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were Webflow experts and had a clear idea on where to take the website, design-wise. They requested structured feedback after the completion of the project to further improve collaboration in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Documentation could've improved. We agreed that short written summaries of next steps after our calls would've helped. Apart from that, there wasn't much need for improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of technologies at a financial technology company. We work with a financial services provider for rapidly growing online businesses that are under-served by mainstream banks. We worked with studio~humm on that company's website.

For what projects/services did your company hire studio~humm?

We needed to design and implement a new brand, then incorporate it into a website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a defined visual representation of the brand and a corresponding website ready by the planned launch date.

How did you select this vendor?

We considered several companies but ultimately chose studio~humm following an internal recommendation.

Describe the project in detail.

After we established project timelines, we had an initial briefing to discuss the ideas, goals, and values we wanted in the website. We used mood boards to create a cohesive look and feel. Then, studio~humm submitted a proposal for the homepage. We requested a few adjustments, and they made the changes. Once both sides were happy with the style, their team built the rest of the pages.

The studio~humm team redefined the sites UX/UI with their design strategies, improving the digital client onboarding process and the online banking interface. Their branding elements were also incorporated in company presentations, marketing collateral, and event materials. We continue to work with studio~humm to maintain these efforts.

What was the team composition?

We had a main point of contact.

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

We were able to launch the website and the business at the same time. The site gained traction in the market and helped new customers learn about the company and their service offerings. The studio~humm team’s work helped strengthen brand awareness.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their team is responsive and communicative at all times. They manage a smooth process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were transparent, patient, and thoughtful, which really helped us define our values and strategies.

Are there any areas for improvement?

When we have urgent projects, there’s sometimes a delay because they have other clients. It’s important for us to agree on timelines.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm Director of Communications across the Middle East and Africa for a cloud-based technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with studio~humm?

We needed adaptation and localization of key visual content. It needed to be locally relevant across a range of countries based on our brand guidelines and completed on quick turnaround times. We had also expanded our communication channels to include digital and social, of which visual is a key part. We didn’t have those competencies within the team and we needed it done on a realistic budget.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with studio~humm on a retainer basis for both consultancy and project delivery. They function as part of our internal team allowing us to integrate their brand, creative, and visual capabilities into the team. They will often serve as a sounding board or even like an artistic director. They also create content and execute, applying our brand guidelines to internally-facing projects like stakeholder presentations or materials and externally-facing projects like regional social channels. We’ve completed five or six projects with them at this point.

What is the team composition?

We work with two of the founding partners.

How did you come to work with studio~humm?

I was previously at Oracle where I worked with one of the partners as a self-employed contractor before he founded studio~humm. I wanted to establish the same model of support as I had had at Oracle.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and it’s ongoing.

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

It’s hard to put a price on visual brand. I think about it as the cost of not having done it. Within our corporate communications team, if we didn’t have studio~humm, we wouldn’t have that competency in-house. A lot of things we do wouldn’t happen. For example, we can all look at third-party data about how social campaigns require compelling, optimized, and bespoke images. Without this relationship with studio~humm, we wouldn’t have that.

Another way to look at it is that, if I didn’t have studio~humm—and I had to build the capacity in-house—it would be significantly more expensive. It would likewise cost more if I had to use our existing brand or marketing agencies, who have incredibly high markups and aren’t interested in that type of quick turnaround work. studio~humm delivers quality for less budget than outsourcing to other agencies.

How did studio~humm perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack and Trello. We run everything through an agile framework with two-week sprints.

We’re a small internal team working hard across a large number of projects. They’re responsive in terms of being part of internal team calls. They communicate if they’re not getting what they need. If something is holding them up, they’re open about the impact that’s having on their delivery. They’re very proactive.
 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because you’re dealing with the owners, the people you’re dealing with have a strong interest in the client relationship. The person I’ve given the brief to is the person that will primarily work on it. At the same time, you’re dealing with the people who do strategy as well as execution. Their speed of delivery is impressive. They understand visual frameworks and identifies. Their body of knowledge around brand representation is solid.

They also understand the internal guidelines that you sometimes have to work within. The first idea might be more creatively exciting but the second idea is more feasible. They understand the approval processes and internal demands placed upon us to choose the second idea over the first.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We use them in a very defined way. They may, though, need to consider as they grow their business to take on significantly larger projects. They’ll need to scale to meet demand while maintaining strong personal relationships with clients.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clearly defined brief and allow studio~humm to give you feedback on that brief. Unless you’re a graphic design visual expert, they know more than you. Treat them as the experts that they are.