Teal Media

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations at More Perfect Union.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We needed a company that could help us update and migrate our existing website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired Teal Media to migrate our website from Webflow CMS to WordPress and expand our website pages. We initially had just a landing page and a home page, and they helped us build out subsequent pages to demonstrate our chapters and our blog posts. They also helped develop some of the images and textured graphics that we have on our site.

Aside from that, Teal Media helped us elevate our SEO by Integrating the plug-in Yoast into the site, allowing us to analyze our SEO. They also gave us recommendations for how to improve our SEO efforts and integrated various forms into the site. They connected our gravity forms to Zapier and then connected that to our CRM.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Ellen (Designer), Jason (Chief Technology Officer), Jessica (Principal), Joey (Developer), Perry (Frontend Engineer), and Tiffany (Sr. Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

I had received proposals from a couple of different agencies. When I reached out to Teal Media, they seemed to be in the same approach that I was seeking, which was switching to WordPress. And when they had proposed their designs, they provided me with some examples and case studies that they had done in the past. 

Most of their work was really clean, mobile-friendly, and easy to use, and this was a really big part of why we chose to work with them for this project. I had also gotten referrals from some past clients that had worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid $54,000 for the web development project. I have since hired them on a retainer basis.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Teal Media delivered everything on time and within budget. Our website works flawlessly, and there have been no concerns about the content of the work that's been accomplished.

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Teal Media has been extremely easy to work with. They’re very communicative, and I can tell that their organization within their company is top-notch. We use Basecamp to manage the project, which keeps me aware of their progress and what the next steps are. 

The project manager is also incredibly helpful and accessible — they always give me ample time to accomplish what I need to do and keep me up to date with any changes that might have happened. They’re also very flexible and accommodating to our changing needs.

We typically communicate through email and Google Hangouts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Teal Media has been very transparent and flexible. There were definitely times when we went beyond the scope of the project, but they’ve never given us any additional charge. They’re also really quick to adjust designs when we aren’t happy with them. Just knowing that they’re always willing and able to adjust to our needs is an integral part of our relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to explain the needs of your organization from a macro perspective so that Teal Media can work towards that and not just accomplish what’s needed at the moment.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of strategic communications at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We hired Teal Media to handle a complete rebranding of our organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the beginning of our engagement with Teal Media, they evaluated our existing branding while working in conjunction with another vendor handling polling and messaging research for us. The research from our other vendor drove a lot of Teal Media’s branding process, which meant the branding process started several months after we brought on Teal Media. 

Once the branding process started, Teal Media began developing a new logo, tagline, and color palette for our organization. After three design iterations, our team finalized the branding, and then Teal Media delivered new branding materials, including stationery and social media templates. We did, however, develop several branding materials in-house using the branding Teal Media developed. 

Once the branding was complete, Teal Media designed and developed a new website for us, utilizing InVision and WordPress. The website’s purpose was to educate new users on our central messaging around the importance of supporting the separation of church and state in the US through nonprofit advocacy. We also requested Teal Media integrate a new CMS and migrate the thousands of pages of content from our previous site to the new one. Once the website was done, Teal Media helped us roll out the website and the new branding in one fell swoop. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Tyler (Senior Project Manager), a research director, and several designers.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

We put out an RFP and five companies bid on the project, including Teal Media. We researched each company and then hired Teal Media. Additionally, my former digital director had previous knowledge of Teal Media, and I’d received positive feedback about their work from one of their previous clients.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $220,000 with Teal Media. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Teal Media was from September 2020–March 2022. However, they’ll follow up with us in August 2022 for a six-month branding evaluation. 

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

I don’t have any specific metrics about the success of the rebranding because we only rolled it out two weeks ago. However, everyone in my organization, from the CEO to the design manager, is happy with Teal Media’s work. 

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been working in communications for many years, and I’d say Teal Media was one of the top consultants I’ve worked with in terms of their project management. Their team kept us on track and communicated clearly — they ensured we stuck to timelines even though our very opinionated team often takes a lot of time to make decisions.

Teal Media managed the project in Basecamp, and we had at least one Zoom meeting a week to discuss the project. Most of our communication was through Basecamp, although we emailed as well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that Teal Media listened to our needs. We presented them with a very complex rebranding project for an older, loyal audience who liked our old branding. However, Teal Media updated our dated branding to attract younger, more diverse audiences while still appealing to our original audience. Their team was exceedingly creative, patient, and sensitive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Teal Media could expand their in-house messaging capacity because it was sometimes a little difficult to coordinate the messaging development process between two vendors. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to hire Teal Media! Also, I’d suggest that customers learn how to use Basecamp as soon as the project starts to avoid miscommunication. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive vice president of patient advocacy engagement and education for the National Patient Advocate Foundation. We work to provide people access to equitable, affordable, and quality healthcare.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We needed a company that could help us refresh our website. Our website was old — it was almost five years old and it did not reflect the depth and breadth of the work that we did. It was poorly organized, very difficult to navigate, and not engaging enough for an organization whose focus is on engagement and advocacy.

We decided that it was time for a total refresh of the website. We wanted to reorganize the content that we were presenting, and we wanted the site to mirror the work that we do instead of just being a repository for our materials.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media did a total redesign of our website, which involved changing the way people navigated the site, what the user experience looked like, and what content we wanted to highlight.

They redesigned the site on a WordPress platform. They also updated the site’s technology and content management system, making it easier for our team to load content on the site and keep it updated.

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least seven people from Teal Media. 

How did you come to work with Teal Media?
We sent out an RFP, but we actually found Teal Media through my niece, who had worked with them before. We chose Teal Media because we loved their thoughtfulness and the rigor with which they approached the RFP. Their responses were very personalized — they even showed us sample websites based on how they were planning on approaching the project.

We also loved the work that they had done before, and the chemistry with our team and theirs was excellent. They were very open, creative, and curious. Most importantly, they actually spent time learning about our organization prior to working with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere around $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from March 2021-November 2021.

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

After we launched the site, we saw more visitors than we had ever had before. The anecdotal feedback that we've been getting is excellent as well.

One of the things that we really wanted to do was drive more people to our homepage. We wanted people to not just get to the different parts of our website through a Google search, but to actually go through our homepage to see everything that we offered. With that in mind, we saw a significant increase in the number of visits to our homepage as well the time spent on it.

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Teal Media performed excellently in terms of project management. We stayed on schedule and everything was very well done.

We used Basecamp to manage the project. We also had regular meetings as well as learning sessions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Teal Media listened to us. They tried to see things through our lens, and they used their expertise to take the goal that we articulated and turn it into action. I’ve done a lot of websites throughout my career, and oftentimes companies had just told me what they thought we should do based on their perspectives. But this wasn’t the case with Teal Media. Their biggest asset was the way that they listened carefully to us to be able to understand our perspective and goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything that Teal Media could have done differently — everybody on our team was extremely happy with them and their work. In fact, we’ve already hired them again to do some more design and development work for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to really be clear about what you want, what your goals are, what issues you want to address. It is also your obligation to prepare for the project and commit the necessary time and resources for its success.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State; we’re a nonprofit organization that advocates separation of church and state for religious freedom.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We wanted to rebrand our company, create a tagline, revitalize our mission and vision statements, and create a new website to modernize our cause and ensure that it resonated with a broader and more diverse audience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media did rebranding and website design and development for us. Currently, we’re in the testing phase to ensure that everything is functioning properly.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with eight members of their team, including a project lead and project coordinator, which are our main points of contact.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

They were referred to us, and we chose them because they had great reviews from their references. We also read that they understood the progressive movement, which enabled them to get concrete results from their collected data. Additionally, we clicked and connected with them during the pitch.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’re delighted with their work; they’ve provided us with incredible results on our website and the new look and feel of our cause. They’ve been helping us attractively present ourselves to a more diverse crowd without shaking our identity in a profound way for our old-time supporters. Overall, we appreciate their products and are delighted by their processes, and they’ve executed perfectly all along the way from step one — they’re pros on what they do!

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project handling is above the norm; they’ve always been on time, managed us gracefully and firmly, and reduced anxiety levels around what could’ve been a blow-up. 

They also make the process easygoing, enabling the product to be as good as possible — every person in our staff deeply appreciates and is aware of their expertise.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know how to understand our cause to make it come alive in a beautiful and accessible way in modern times — they do all that exceptionally well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I ask myself the same question all the time, but I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they’ve been responsive, cooperative with our other consultants, and have guided us gently but firmly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Talk to them to see if they’re aligned with your issue; they’re experts on their work, but them being all-in is an added bonus.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of communications at The Colorado Trust, a private philanthropic foundation based in Denver with a statewide focus on Colorado.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We had the same website for six years, and it was time to refresh its look and streamline the path to our popular pages. We were looking for someone to revamp our website. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media conducted a comprehensive redesign of our website. First, we had planning meetings to figure out our strategy and approach. They spent a lot of time learning about our organization and target audiences. We also discussed what we were hoping to achieve with the redesign. 

From there, Teal Media created wireframes and conducted UX testing. After finalizing the design, they proceeded to develop our website.

We’ve already launched the site, and Teal Media currently provides us with post-launch support and maintenance. They’re working on some lingering QA items and post-launch enhancements.

What is the team composition?

We regularly work with six teammates, including Jessica (Principal), a project manager, designers, and programmers.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

We had an RFP process and gathered 40 proposals from firms across the country. We had 8–10 finalists, narrowing it down to four. We ended up choosing Teal Media over their competition. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $140,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve started working together in March 2021, and it’s ongoing.

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

Teal Media’s work has received nothing but positive feedback from all of our stakeholders. 

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Teal Media is outstanding at project management. I’ve been part of several website redesign projects at various jobs over the years, and they are the most efficient agency that I’ve ever worked with. They’ve stayed under budget and on schedule the entire time, and we’ve encountered a few surprises along the way.

We use Basecamp to collaborate. We’ve never had a meeting last longer than an hour — they come in with clear agendas. They are responsive to any questions and concerns we have. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m stunned by how efficient Teal Media’s team is. The process they follow is clearly time-tested and well-honed that I never have to worry about anything. 

We never encounter curveballs — they’re confident with their abilities and good at listening to our concerns. They push back when needed, and they’re pretty much right about everything. They’re a well-oiled machine through and through. 

We find ourselves leaning into their expertise and advice whenever possible. It’s amazing how they guide us into different solutions that we have not been aware of. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We have nothing but positive feedback for Teal Media.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Teal Media’s team — they really know what they’re doing. Be open-minded and respect their expertise. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital lead organizer for I AM ALS, a nonprofit that works towards finding a cure for ALS. We empower and mobilize patients to lead in the movement for an ALS cure, and we also provide direct resources to those who are living with ALS and their loved ones.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We had a website from when we officially launched in January 2019. It allowed us to introduce ourselves to the community, but didn’t necessarily connect them with the services we offer. 

We wanted to build a really innovative, user-friendly hub where people could go and easily connect to the resources they need, while also still letting people figure out who we are.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media updated our branding and the visual design of our website, as well as carrying out the development for the new features to make it function in the way we wanted it to. The site is based on WordPress.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of about seven people, including Jessica (Principal) and Jason (CTO). We worked with Austin (Web Developer), Anna (Project Manager), and Liz (Director of Client Services), who helped do the initial research. We also worked with Ryan (Associate Creative & Experience Director), who informed us on UX and how we could improve our design elements.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

We found Teal Media through one of our board members, who had worked with them previously. They were one of five different companies that submitted proposals to our RFP. 

At the end, it came down to two different teams, including Teal Media. We had a session with each team to really talk through our challenges and see who might be a better creative partner for us. 

We felt certain that Teal Media would be able to provide us not just with a really innovative solution, but also with an understanding of the community we were trying to serve. 

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked on the website from March–October 2020, but we’re still working together since they’re responsible for maintaining the site.

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

We’ve seen an increase in our website traffic by over 200% percent this year. More people are coming to our website, and they’re staying there longer. 

Something that’s not quite as tangible is the positive feedback we’ve been getting from the community, who find the site to be an incredibly useful tool. 

Teal Media went above and beyond in creating something that’s making a difference in the movement. They helped us provide a different model in the rare disease space in how we can provide resources and develop tools to mobilize communities.  

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. We had a deadline, and the team knew how important it was for us to meet it, and they ended up beating it. Teal Media put measures in place to keep the project on track and make sure we delivered ahead of time.

We typically communicate through Basecamp. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Teal Media is a creative partner throughout the entire process. They came to us with ideas that allowed us to think outside the box. The team also did a really good job of taking our feedback in things that didn’t seem like the right fit and coming back with a solution that continued to innovate, but also met our needs. They were and continue to be incredible at that. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. They’ve been excellent throughout the process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with a clear understanding of what you’re trying to do, present them the problem, and ask them to come back with solutions. Teal Media will be able to come back with options that accomplish what you’re looking for.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital project management specialist of The Mission Continues, a veterans nonprofit that works in communities to allow veterans the opportunity to serve again. We connect veterans with under-resourced communities across the US through a number of programs and initiatives, such as our Service Leadership Corps and Women Veterans Leadership Program. In my role, I work on a communications team and manage our website and its redesign.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We wanted to create a website to increase engagement, donations, and volunteer signup.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media did our market research and web design. They were responsible for the first half of our website redesign. During the discovery period, they went in-depth with a survey, some interviews, and website analytics. 

They also worked on the UX and information architecture, which involved the sitemap, the wireframe and its test sessions, and the visual design. Afterward, they handed all of the development over to our team.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jessica (Principal) Tyler (Project Manager), Aruna (Creative Director), Peter (Director of Product), Ryan (Art Director), Liz (Director of Client Services), and a designer.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

I did some online research for companies that work with nonprofits, so I had narrowed it down to a list of about 7–8 firms. I had a call with those firms and talked about our goal of increasing engagement for our organization. From there, we narrowed it down to three firms, and among those was Teal Media. They listened well and didn’t just try to present without understanding who we were. 

Compared to the other three firms, Teal Media really knocked their presentation out of the park. They broke down and brought to life the goals that we sent to them. Additionally, they introduced us to an interactive map, which was amazing in helping people to better see the impacts of our organization and events across the country. Because of that, we felt like they would be good partners in the process, and we went with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in February 2020 and ended that May, but Teal Media was still available for questions after that.

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

The major metric that we have right now is just the feedback that we’ve received. We’re still figuring out the overall impact with regard to different metrics, like an increase in donations. However, based on what we’ve heard from users, they’re able to find what they’re looking for more easily. People have loved the vibrant photos, the map, and the design itself, especially in comparison to our old website.

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was awesome. We used Basecamp, and Teal Media really helped us stay on track. They had calls with our team almost weekly, and they were available for any questions when we didn’t understand something, or when we needed a couple more days to provide additional feedback.

Teal Media was very good at helping us get to where we wanted to be so that we could complete the website on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say the vibrancy — they added a lot of color and personality to the partnership. They also had a huge amount of understanding for us as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing that we had some difficulty with was with the content preparation for our website, which was partly our fault and COVID-19’s. Simply put, we didn’t have the best material for content.

The awesome thing about Teal Media was that they asked me for feedback, and I appreciated that. I don’t think that should really be an issue in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In general, if you’re not doing the development with Teal Media — only the design — have conversations with them about the functionalities of various buttons and elements, and what they’re supposed to be so that it transitions well. Overall, be open to new ideas, and let them be the experts.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the acting VP of Digital at Voto Latino, a civic engagement organization that helps organize the Latino community to register to vote and participate in politics.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We were looking to register 500,000 new voters in 2020 and needed to reimagine our website as a tool in our voter registration and participation effort. Our goal was to target voters in a way that was welcoming and engaging.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Teal Media completely overhauled our WordPress website. The team walked us through the full process, including research on our target audience of young Latino voters who are unlikely to be active in politics already. They also evaluated what the staff wanted out of the website, conducted surveys of our audience as well as one-on-one interviews, and audited our current website. 

The Teal Media team created a user profile that we used to make all of our decisions about layout and content going forward. Their team was responsible for all fo the design and visuals, creating a color palette. Our team provided content but their team created the layout of the site, reorienting the site to be a civic engagement hub.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five members of the Teal Media team, including Liz (Director of Client Services, Teal Media), Ryan (Art Director, Teal Media), Jason (CTO, Teal Media), Jessica (Principal, Teal Media), and Tyler (Project Manager, Teal Media).

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

We had over 30 firms reply to our RFP, but, having worked with Teal Media before at a previous position, I knew they would do a good job.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $80,0000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement ran from August 2019–January 2020.

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

The amount of people who have registered to vote through the site has increased significantly. Our new site is really oriented around our goals, which has helped us achieve them. The site also stands out from other political organizations, it’s not your standard red, white, and blue. Teal Media has a very in-depth research and discovery process which is exactly what we needed.

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Teal Media hit every deadline. It was very easy to work with them. Our teams communicated through Basecamp and they were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Teal Media team is incredibly thoughtful, conducting thorough research to help create the best possible solution. They always kept our end goals in mind and clarified what they were doing each step of the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we had a really good experience with Teal Media.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them for their research skills and trust the results they give you. They’re focused on helping achieve your goals and provide valuable advice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Equal Rights Advocates is a national civil rights organization primarily focused on fighting gender discrimination and protecting gender civil rights. I’m the deputy director, as well as the director of our strategic communications and branding.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We weren’t doing a great job with digital donors, our website was one of the biggest reasons for that. Users were also having trouble navigating our site to connect with us and meet their needs. 

We needed to find a way to keep our supporters engaged in our issues. Our site at the time just wasn’t a good channel for mobilization. That drove down engagement and interest. In turn, it was affecting our reach. We were beginning to do great on our other digital platforms, but our website was holding us back. Our team needed help to change that.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t know where we existed in our market in relation to similarly-positioned organizations. Teal Media provided some critical market research, user information, and interviews that confirmed our areas for improvement. That also gave us a pretty good idea of what our values were as an organization, compared to others.

For instance, we knew that our base of supporters was of a certain type of demographic. We also suspected that, in order to keep growing, advancing, and pushing ourselves, we needed to begin to connect with other audiences. What that meant was that everything needed to change: our tone, our look and feel, and the functionality of the site. The site needed to become a lot more strategic, rather than reactive in its UI/UX.

Before the partnership, no one would want to engage with our brand. It was sad, boring, and old. We started partnering with Teal Media to update and refresh our visual brand. They updated our logo, bringing it into the 21st century. They brightened the colors and gave us a new brand guide to dictate how we create our collateral.

Teal Media gave us a refreshed palette. We kept the blue we had originally but brightened it up a little bit, and we added a bright pink and yellow, which was an interesting and counter-intuitive choice. It aligned us with human rights issues, but we stand apart from it. I think it’s because of the pink.

I knew that we had a legacy brand, and there was a lot of emotional investment in our digital presence from different audiences, primarily an older feminist audience that was very connected to our original founders. I needed to find a way to keep them without becoming stuck in the past. We accomplished this through the rebrand.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, when we were scoping out the work, we worked with Jessica (Principal, Teal Media). She was my primary contact. Then, when the bulk of the work was going forward, Katy (Art Director, Teal Media) was our primary project manager. She shepherded us through going forward from there.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

They’d done some one-off projects with my company before I got there. When it was time for me to think about a long-time partner, I put out an RFP. The brand refresh project was a way for me to test them out, and they had a great methodology.

When they submitted a proposal, they also submitted a list of references, and all of those said the same thing. Project management was really important to me. They had a sensible and strategic way forward for their clients, and they just built really smart websites that took content strategy and really innovated on it. 

How much have you invested with them?

The entire project cost $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in the fall of 2018 and ended in the fall of 2019. In an ideal world, this would’ve been a nine-month project. In reality, this typically takes 12 months.

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

Having a website that communicates our visual brand very succinctly is amazing. Now, I can reinforce the brand in other places. Everything else makes more sense now. We’ve also had immense growth in traffic to the website, which is fantastic.

I wanted people to be able to find us, get help, and engage with us, and that’s happening with the website. Our analytics are showing that more people are coming to our site than ever before. Our SEO is great, working exactly the way it should.

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Basecamp as a project management tool, but we also had weekly or semi-weekly check-ins. They had a rigorous schedule. When they developed part of the project, we’d organize a video call.

They’re a distributed team, mostly on the East Coast, and we’re out here, on the West Coast. On our calls, we’d give our initial impressions, and then we’d collaborate on a feedback document.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Teal Media really does understand our mission and needs. They understand the pain points of an advocacy organization because they understand how advocacy works. Because of that, their strategic solutions are geared toward maximizing engagement.

In the nonprofit context, it's important to engage with the mission in a way that compels the person to either fund our efforts or assist with lobbying. In order to move people to take that level of action, we need to connect with them get them out of their comfort zone. They understand how to communicate in a new way.

Everything we put in our website now needs to have a purpose, or it doesn’t go up. They built that kind of pressure and strategy into the backend.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish they would upgrade to the new version of Basecamp; it’s a bit more flexible and has a better-looking interface. Actually, I do wish they’d use Slack for communication. We’re a Slack environment, and it makes it quicker for us to communicate with consultants. Other than that, Teal Media is a great team. They’re funny, progressive, and smart. That’s all I want.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients need to know what they want. If you're wishy-washy, you may waste time. Clients need to be focused, understanding their strategic direction.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of web strategy and technology at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit that addresses a range of issues in the US.

What challenge were you trying to address with Teal Media?

We were looking to redesign our website.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had kick-off meetings where their team converged with our stakeholders. What followed was an extensive and in-depth discovery phase, which involved an in-person workshop and user surveys. After they collected information on our target audience, Teal Media delivered a deck that summarized all of our gatherings.

We then launched into building out an information architecture. They mapped out the new website, and working off these wireframes, they designed the necessary additions to the site. It wasn’t a complete redesign since there were several recycled assets.

We have an in-house technical team that’s currently building the site that they designed. They’re continuing to provide quality assurance to ensure that our implementations are consistent with their design offerings.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with four people from Teal Media. The team consisted of a project manager, a lead designer, a site architect, and principal strategist.

How did you come to work with Teal Media?

I sent an RFP to a couple dozen firms. Teal Media’s excellent proposal suggested that they were the right match for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our work in October 2018 and wrapped up in May 2019. However, they continue to provide ongoing support.

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

Thanks to their exceptional work, the website looks a lot better. I’ve worked with various designers and creative designers, and Teal Media is easily among my favorite. In addition to their extensive design know-how, they understood the internal dynamics of working for an organization like ours. It’s hard to reach a consensus when you have several stakeholders, but they were able to navigate that very skillfully.  

How did Teal Media perform from a project management standpoint?

It was great having a design firm with both technical expertise and great project management skills. They used Basecamp for project management, and InVision as a file-sharing tool. We’d also have conferences over Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and management skills blew the other agencies I’ve worked with out of the water.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. I would do the whole project with them again in a heartbeat.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re great listeners, and they do an excellent job of being inclusive. They’ll do a great job.