Studiopresto

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a restoration company that’s building our own piece of technology to branch off into a new company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Studiopresto?

They’re helping us with our online branding and design.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created the interface design for our mobile app as well as our desktop app. In addition, they’ve designed our logos and are in the process of designing the website as well using Webflow. They’ve also created the content that we will use in our branding and online presence. Further, they’re designing a PDF template to go along with the branding.

We brought our ideas to them, and they sent back a brief filled with questions about each potential service that would help guide our ideal process. After we send the brief back, they create a proposal in the form of a presentation that outlines what we want and scope of work for their side. They also include the costs for things like further iterations or changes that need to be made in the quote.

What is the team composition?

Lana (Project Manager) is the main point of contact. Stan (Founder) is the original person we reached out to after seeing his portfolio online.

How did you come to work with Studiopresto?

We found them on UpWork when we were looking for a UX/UI designer. The final choice came down to Studiopresto and one other company also based in Ukraine. We chatted with both over Zoom, and Studiopresto was very structured in the questions that they asked and very accommodating, meeting at the time that was best for me even though it was 6am her time.

The other interview I had seemed more nonchalant and casual, and I liked Studiopresto’s professionalism. They knew exactly what the process would be and how to move forward. We also felt that they were reliable and that their designs were beautiful.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2021. We keep re-engaging with them because we come with new ideas of things we want to do.

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

We’re still in the early days of our business, but the level of confidence that Studiopresto’s work has given us in terms of our journey and professionalism is outstanding. It makes us feel that we’re doing something serious here. We’ve seen a big improvement in internal morale.

We’ve also been able to deploy one of our apps to the App Store, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the design that Studiopresto provided.

How did Studiopresto perform from a project management standpoint?

I speak with Lana on a daily basis. They’re a bit behind us in terms of time zones but we make it work. I usually have feedback from her when I wake up in the morning. We have a good process of ongoing communication.

They’re very good at communication an reliable, as well as open about any delays they’re experiencing. They’ve also been upfront about teammates having to relocate with the situation in Ukraine in as well.

After using a Slack trial for a few months, we transferred over to email, and there has been no difference in communication or clarity. We used Figma and InVision for presentations and drafts, which allowed us to leave comments. If the feedback we wanted to give was more tricky, then we sent them a video message explaining it.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even with the situation in Ukraine right now, they haven’t stopped working. We have nothing but respect for them.

Their teamwork stands out. I only speak to Lana, but I can tell that their whole team works cohesively because there haven’t been any delays or unforeseen mistakes. They’re all on the same page.

I really want to show our appreciation to them for their reliability and perseverance during this difficult time for them. We were prepared to pause the project for a few weeks to allow people to relocate but they only asked for two days to respond to items rather than one day. They have a great attitude. They’re the best team I’ve worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this stage. I don’t have anything to critique them on, as they do really well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as possible: more information is better than less information. Additionally, have an idea in place that they can deliver to its fullest potential. Clarity in whether you want them to take full creative liberty over the design is also important. I say this because I made a mistake in communicating one of my points to them and it caused a mishap, which prevented me from using the beautiful design they created the first time around.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder and CEO of an organization that specializes in financial systems.

What challenge were you trying to address with Presto?

We wanted a website and a platform with a range of financial metrics and graphics, so Presto handled the full design and website development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We divided the development into different stages. The first stage was a conceptual construction of what the website would look like. We went back and forth with different concepts. Presto’s team was very responsive and available around the clock to answer our questions during that period. The second stage was the design of these concepts. We received 5-10 different design variants over two months. That took quite an extensive amount of time.

We modified the concept several times, and they were very cooperative. Finally, the third stage has been piecing what we felt would be necessary on the website. We have chosen elements from a range of design variants to combine together. Currently, they're completing this stage.

They're using a range of design tools internally. We received an InVision prototype to see the interactive pages and the range of different designs. However, the tools they are using to develop the site have been Python and Django for our unique and custom financial metrics. They’ve also used ReactJS, Plotly, HTML, and others for different areas of development.

What is the team composition?

I work closely with a project manager. We coordinate, and then she speaks to the engineers, the designers, and the creative artists.

How did you come to work with Presto?

We went through several rounds of proposals on Upwork. Our team reviewed the applicants' history concerning financial metrics, dashboards, sophisticated economic websites. We picked Presto predominantly because they have a full suite of employees from graphic designers to backend and frontend programmers. They also have project management, which for us was critical as we don't necessarily want to have conversations with the engineers and designers directly. 

We've had some experience in the past that can cause confusion, particularly if language is an issue. That’s why we wanted a project manager fluent in English that could manage all the employees for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we have invested about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in May 2020, and it's still ongoing. Presto is finalizing the product.

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

Originally, our project was meant to be quite a small budget project. However, after we saw what Presto’s capacity was to embody the concept and deliver designs, we decided to extend the project. Every time they delivered, we were impressed by their quality, that we extended the project even further.

We keep adding and introducing new features that we want, and Presto keeps delivering beyond what we expect. From a design point of view, they're exceptional. I have never seen work like that, and I worked on several platforms in the past. 

I think that's one of the biggest takeaways; the fact that they have the graphic designer and several creators that can truly produce customized materials.

When it comes to the graphics of the charts and the metrics of all the financial data, we were very impressed with how they developed it. Everything is resembling the designs, as well as being completely functional to all of our needs. We've had many deliverables over the past year.

How did Presto perform from a project management standpoint?

The engineers from Presto coordinate with a couple of our employees through Slack because they connect the frontend of the site with a lot of the data that we have in-house. Internally, they are using JIRA to track hours and give us reports on who has done what, how long it's taken, and how much it costs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The overall package was most impressive for us. Presto can deliver both front- and backend development and art. In the past, when we worked with companies, they either specialize in frontend and then outsource the design or graphics to someone else or their developers.

Presto gives their customers the full suite of services, and that's what distinguishes them the most. Clients can simply go with a raw concept, which is what we did, and they can create everything, even though they have no foundation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The price of their services is more expensive than other providers, and I wouldn't say that they can improve on that because they're providing a higher level of service than others. But that's one thing that can always be improved from the customer's point of view, getting something cheaper. If customers are unclear about what they want when speaking to a project manager, they’ll add their own interpretation, and there might be cycles of correction. 

Any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to know exactly what you want. They are an expensive agency, so you should take the time and diligence to know exactly what you want them to do. Once you provide them direction, they’re exceptional.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the founders of a wine tasting game startup. I oversee software development and in extension, brand identity and design activities.

For what projects/services did your company hire Presto?

As a startup we didn't have the time or competencies internally, so we needed help to create a clear visual identity that fit our branding story.

What were your goals for this project?

Having built the prototype of our product, we knew we needed a hand with the visuals. We are good at synthesizing design from a good template, so that's what we needed. A clear brand and design guide with concrete examples that would allow us to continue building our products with a consistent and professional look and feel.

How did you select Presto?

I combed through a lot of freelance websites and ended up on one that allowed me to define the job once and have multiple companies and freelancers give a bid on a pretty strict startup budget. We received a wide range of proposals that we filtered through, but Presto stood out with exactly the type of results I was hoping for, but I thought was out of range with our budget. After looking and their portfolios and talking to Lana from Presto, my team and I decided to give Presto the task.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We tried to be very well prepared with a branding brief, our story, screenshots of our product, mood boards and so on. Presto had a briefing questionnaire with a lot of good questions to help them assess our needs. Luckily the questions were very well in line with my prepared material, so the process was nice and quick. The first milestone was a brand identity with logo. Presto delivered within a week some great suggestions, one of the logo concepts clearly looked like it had received the most love. After only two minor iterations on that concept, we had the perfect logo with the perfect balance of simplicity and story telling. I was very impressed. Next milestone was a web landing page design. In this process we got to see the visual identity in concrete implementation which prompted us to take a small step back and adjust some of the foundational colors. The Presto did the perfect amount of hand-holding and helped with an even better solution.

What was the team composition?

All correspondence was between myself and Lana who's a project manager at Presto. I feel we had good, timely and clear communication, even though design easily becomes a subjective matter.

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

Everyone in our team loves the end result, and every friend and family member we show our new logo, get to experience the same delightful a-ha moment that we experienced ourselves when we were presented to the concept for the first time. It never gets old.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our initial meeting was through a video conferencing service and after that, all communication went successfully and asynchronously through a messages. Whenever clarification was needed, Lana asked for it, and that's a very healthy sign of collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm honestly impressed by the value for money we got with the Presto team. I would only expect this type of results be possible much bigger budgets.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There's always room for improvements - definitely on our side too. On the logo concept, it was clear which one was their own favourite and some of the others were not going to work. I very much respect that they might have had a brain storming session and those were the results, but it left me feeling that I didn't really have much of a choice. Luckily the one choice was excellent!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of a software startup in the health and wellbeing industry. We are launching into the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia.

For what projects/services did your company hire Presto, and what were your goals?

We hired Presto to custom build the web app, iOS, and Android app for our new health and wellbeing app. Our goal was to have a stylish, easy-to-use, customer-facing application that was secure with customers sensitive information and integrated with the APIs of many other organizations.

How did you select Presto and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed several development agencies, across many countries, and decided to proceed with Presto predominantly because we felt they understood the project the best but also because they had done similar work before and we liked their styling.

They also came back to us with a detailed, itemized quote and were happy to answer all our questions.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had drawn up some basic user flows and wireframes. Presto took these and developed out the wireframes. Next, they worked on the aesthetic aspects of a single page for approval before building out the rest of the e-commerce and membership database.

Integration of several APIs was also key to the success of our project as was the uploading of a couple of large databases. Our software is built using Laravel.

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

There are 7-8 people with hands-on contact on the project. I have a project manager. Most of my contact is with my project manager but the team also consists of a team-lead, senior designers, a marketing manager, and two social media marketers.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have run to time and to budget. We are currently receiving beta tester sig-ups and product validation tests have been positive. The marketing team that is in-house at Presto has developed 8 Facebook ads and detailed email and social media funnels for our launch.

We work in sprints which equate to approximately 2 weeks each.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

The project was managed professionally with regular meetings. Presto was always well prepared for the meetings and happy to answer our questions or research answers and come back to us.

We hold meetings 1-2 times per week and also communicate via messaging on Discord and via email.

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

I think their styling and focus on user-friendly interfaces really separate Presto from other companies. Their founder has a strong design background and oversees the projects.

Also, having in-house marketing is a huge advantage for a consumer-facing app. Having the marketers, developers, and designers all on the same team makes for a far superior product delivered.

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

No. Have been very happy.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Starkup is small web development agency that focuses on Estonian and Icelandic market, my position in the company is founder/creative manager.

For what projects/services did your company hire Presto?

Presto was hired to created new web design for photography workshop website. Old design was outdated and needed a refreshing touch.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to offer client modern website with exceptional functionality on desktop and also mobile.

How did you select this vendor?

We have been working with Presto for past two years together and they are our number one go to agency for designs.

Describe the project in detail.

We provided Presto with brief about the project and Presto gave us everything from wireframe to ready product.

What was the team composition?

We are not certain about the amount of people behind the project since we had discussion through project manager.

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

The new design is being implemented to live web at the current moment, but already end-customer is happy about the design that Presto provided us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

One really big pro about Presto is speed, they deliver all products always on time and communication is quite efficient

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Presto has very quick reaction times and very fast results. They met deadlines every time and communication is clear.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There really isn't anything to complain about.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Alpha Alias, a digital services company focused on operational leadership.

For what projects/services did your company hire Presto?

I hired Presto to design and build our website, design our business cards, and to design our pitch deck.

What were your goals for this project?

Goals for the website project were to create a design with wow-factor but also keep things professional enough that we don't look immature. The company is new, but the experience we have is long-running, and we wanted to portray that with a fully custom design.

We also wanted the website to use GatsbyJS which is a React frontend because we want to use our website as an example to show clients how we build the infrastructure for super-secure digital assets.

How did you select this vendor?

I work with a lot of vendors and partners at Alpha Alias because our business model relies on expert-level vendors to execute the activity we plan with our clients.

I reviewed a lot of Presto's work for several weeks and decided to work with them because their designs are excellent and they are competitively priced.

After deciding I wanted to work with them, I had several great conversations with Helen who is one of Presto's internal project leads. She was proactive and helpful every step of the way and was pivotal in my decision making to move forward with Presto.

Describe the project in detail.

As a new agency is was very important to me that we give a good impression with a website that can last for around 2 years with its custom design. I wanted a technically elite infrastructure and a beautiful design on top of it.

I approached Helen with a long, detailed project plan and she took that to her team to turn it into an actionable request for them to service. Once the project began it was clear that Helen and the team at Presto knew what they were doing, and in a lot of ways I was able to relax and take a step back while the project built itself.

The approval rounds for design and development were organized very well and Helen managed me as a client very professionally. The QA for this project revealed a lot of bugs which is natural when you have so much custom work in one project. The volume of issues didn't matter much because the Presto team tackled them efficiently and without complaint.

What was the team composition?

From the Vendor side I had Helen as my main point of contact. She went on vacation for a week during the project and they had a very clean handoff to a backup PM whose name I forget at the moment.

I also had a primary design and development resource, although I didn't need to speak to them directly because Helen did a great job of handling comms. I think some additional resources may have been involved but I don't know formally if that's the case. I just know who the lead roles were.

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

The number one KPI for this project was my personal satisfaction. I can say that I definitely got what I asked for and have been quite satisfied with the result. There are some optimizations I would like now that I have some metrics to look at and I will be doing those optimizations with Presto.

The engagement proved to be more valuable to me than expected. Presto is very good at what they do and they weren't afraid to push back when it made sense to do so. It's something I respect out of experts and they delivered.

My stakeholders are my professional colleagues and clients. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and I know that my competition on the ground here in Helsinki is quite jealous. So I think that's a successful outcome.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Helen deserves all the credit here. There was never a point where they dropped the ball or missed some detail that I have mentioned.

There were a couple of miscommunications here and there but I think they were more likely my fault than Helen's. When there was a miscommunication, Helen was very good about mitigating and getting the desired result completed without complaint.

We used UpWork as our primary communication and payment tool, and we used Google Hangouts for video calls. We used Alpha Alias's Google Docs for the project plan, and Trello for the QA burn down lists.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about Presto is their willingness to make sure their clients are satisfied. There is no project that has ever happened without some hurdles, or unexpected things popping up.

Presto had no issues with change requests, fixing bugs, or even working with a technology that is bleeding edge web like Gatsby. You can see for yourself by looking at Presto's work, they are experts in their field.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everyone can always get better at what they do. I think Presto could get better by offering a wider range of technical development for their web applications. They were able to do everything I needed, but I think a natural next step for them is more tech.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner and lead designer of Yourwebsitebuilders. We’re a web design and development agency. We focus on helping businesses improve their online presence.

For what projects/services did your company hire Presto Agency?

We needed WordPress design and development services.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to match the current design of the client's site and install a page builder for editing on each page. This would make all page elements editable, whereas only some were prior. We also wanted to favor customization and ease-of-use so a non-technical person could manage the site.

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us by a colleague. After a brief interview, Andre (Project Manager, Presto Agency) seemed competent and excited to take on this project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

I hired them to help solve a problem for one of my oldest clients. They wanted to overhaul their entire website and include a page-builder on each page so they could make easy edits. Presto Agency was responsible for taking the existing code repository, maintaining the original integrity of the design, and overhauling each page into a page builder format. They were solely responsible for managing the project, completing it on time, doing quality control, and educating myself and the client on how to work with what they built.

What was the team composition?

I worked with Andre and 1–2 other developers.

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

It’s had an immensely negative impact on my business. My relationship with Presto upset my client and lost me money. About two months post-launch, my client started having problems with the site. I reached out to Presto for support, because the problem was with the page builder, and didn’t get a response for several weeks. When they did respond, they said they wouldn't support my client or me.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I worked with Andre initially to convey project goals and set him up with all of the resources he needed. From then on, we communicated over email. Communication was slow to start, because of time zone differences, but over time it became inexcusably slow. They dropped the ball completely when it came time to launch the site. At a certain point, I was told the project had 1–2 weeks left. That was when things started going downhill. Their responses started coming every few days, instead of every day when I would check in for an update.

When I reached out for support after the project launched and didn’t receive an answer, I began copying the CEO on all my emails. I wanted him to know what was happening, but he never engaged with me.

What did you find most impressive about this company? 

I don't have an answer for this. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

First and foremost, they should improve the support they provide after the project launches. They would also benefit from improving their communication and responsiveness.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a company that designs accessories for high-end coolers. We sell exclusively on our website.

What challenge were you trying to address with Presto Agency?

I wanted to freshen up my website and make it more modern and user-friendly. In order to generate more online sales, I needed better organization around how my products were offered.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an idea of what I was looking for, but I tend to leave it more open for the design company. They’re the experts, and I try not to give too much direction. I gave Presto the list of problems I wanted to solve and then let them run with it. We did a couple revisions, but it was relatively minimal. Presto mostly primarily on the design. They improved the product organization and navigation through the site. I provided all the content.

They do relatively quick work, and they communicated well. I’ve been pleased with them and hired them for other projects involving a different business.

How did you come to work with Presto Agency?

Another business I work with had used Presto in the past, so I already had a relationship with them. My partner found them on Upwork originally.

How much have you invested with Presto Agency?

We’ve paid around $1,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in October 2016 and ended in the same month. It was only a two-week project.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I've had positive feedback from customers. I really like the design they did—they delivered what I wanted. I had a couple of comments early on, which Presto easily adjusted to. When I caused an error a couple weeks ago, they jumped right in and fixed it without charging me. Working with them has been great.

How did Presto Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were proactive in asking me what they could do to improve. We used Asana to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about Presto Agency?

They’re a low-cost alternative to finding a designer in the States, and the quality is on par with US designers. It’s easy to work with them. If I had the choice and it cost the same as a local company, I would stay with Presto.

Are there any areas Presto Agency could improve?

I advised them to give a detailed list of what would happen, the timeline, and associated cost. I believe that would set expectations for the client and provide something to look back on in the future. They did act on that.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an inbound marketing firm that specializes in content marketing and sales enablement. We also have a website development arm that specializes in HubSpot development. I’m the CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Presto Agency?

A few years ago, we had a challenge in capacity when it came to designing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been working with Presto Agency on and off for several years to fulfill capacity needs. They’ve worked on 15–20 projects for us, which have all been design-focused. They typically create PSD’s [Photoshop documents] for coding and HubSpot. We set up wireframes with our client and figure out what we want the structure of the page to be, and then send that to Presto. Depending on the client’s needs, they create one, two, or three versions of the design based on the wireframe. We collaborate to refine that down to a final product in the form of a PSD, which we give to the development team to code.

They’re very adaptable in terms of capacity and what they’re willing to take on in a given timeframe. We’ve gotten better over time in communicating the timelines to them, which need to be crystal clear. They’ve delivered very good work in a timely manner over the course of the last two years.

How did you come to work with Presto Agency?

We originally sourced them on Upwork.

How much have you invested with Presto Agency?

We’ve invested $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together a year and nine months ago, so roughly July 2015. Our relationship is ongoing on a project basis. The most recent project was completed on March 8^th, 2017.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Every site we’ve designed with them has increased conversions by roughly 50%. Some of this is due to changes we made to their original designs, based on our knowledge of what works to convert. So, it’s a blurred line there, because we very much consider it a partnership with our client, Presto, and us. Collaboratively, it’s been very effective. We keep using them because they deliver very good designs.

How did Presto Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack to communicate. They perform very well in project management. As long as we’re clear on deadlines, they’re good about sticking to the date.

What did you find most impressive about Presto Agency?

Their adaptability is the biggest thing for us. We often go from having a little bit on the design side to starting six different design projects on the same day. They’re usually available to start on a new project in a short period of time, and that’s been huge in helping us scale our design capability.

Are there any areas Presto Agency could improve?

Not particularly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

This particular project is an NFT related platform, I am a co-founder and MD.

For what projects/services did your company hire Studiopresto, and what were your goals?

We hired Studiopresto to develop the landing page to collect interested people for our waiting list before launch. It was a challenging task as the space is rather new, we also have different target audiences so coming up with a solution to fit all was not easy.

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

Their communication was professional, the presentation was sleek, they asked all the right questions and demonstrated knowledge and care.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Design a landing page and the different steps of the form to collect user data and implement it, the site is also compatible with all resolutions and devices.

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

I believe three, I had one project manager to communicate with, I was given breakdown of all work in accessible format, very detailed and professional.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We are just starting to use the page so don't have statistics yet but the initial feedback is 100% positive from both our team and our prospects.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Deadlines were kept, communication was ongoing, all my questions were answered on time. All while their homeland is being invaded. I don't think I have ever seen that sort of dedication and professionalism and I have worked with developers globally.

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

Their dedication to getting the work done to the highest standard was impressive.

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

No, can't think of anything.