Look Book Creation for Impact-Based Investment Firm
- Other Design
- Less than $10,000
- Apr. 2020 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 4.5
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“They did a really excellent job of capturing our vision. I was really amazed when I saw their work.”
- Healthcare
- Toronto, Ontario
- 51-200 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
ThompsonStenning created brand collateral for an impact-based investment firm. Using the provided data, they created a visually appealing look book that isn’t too text-heavy.
Senior leadership is pleased with the project’s outcome. ThompsonStenning was able to incorporate feedback in order to deliver exactly what their client envisioned. Their responsiveness and ability to stick to timelines ensured a productive and positive engagement.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am a program associate at one of the largest impact first investors based in Canada, investing in innovations across a wide range of health and development priorities.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with ThompsonStenning?
The initiative launched about a year and a half ago. We have our first cohort of innovators active around the world and we are currently reviewing our second. We didn’t have any basic or strong collateral materials that could be used both to engage potential partners, potential funders, stakeholders, or anyone else interested in learning more about the initiative.
We decided that rather than doing many smaller pieces like postcards, stickers, and that type of thing, to invest in a bigger product that would be more of a look book or portfolio prospectus overall
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
We essentially provided them with just the information that they would need, the data we wanted to include, the innovators we wanted to highlight, the content that we needed to provide on our end, and very, very limited insight on our end in terms of what we wanted it to look like.
We really wanted to let them flex their creative muscles and see what they could come up seeing as though that is their area of expertise and certainly not ours. We gave them a bare-bones PowerPoint deck that had nothing in it but text and the information we wanted to include.
We had a great initial conversation with them and they asked how we wanted the brand to look. We expressed that we wanted it to be very visually appealing and not too text-heavy although we had given them all this data and text. Taking that conversation, they translated it into reality and produced various decks and drafts.
We gave them a lot of creative range and they initially sent us a couple of different paths. They sent over a mock-up of the initial few pages of the look book with a couple of different options.
From there, we worked to refine it down to one final template that we liked. Once we got to the point where we finalized the first couple of pages and the look of those, that was when they then built out the template for the rest of the book.
What is the team composition?
I have been working with Sarah (Co-Founder) and Sheldon (Co-Founder). I communicate primarily with Sarah, but Sheldon has been on all the calls we have had, and he is usually copied on all of our communication. They have been so lovely, responsive, and very professional.
How did you come to work with ThompsonStenning?
We launched our RFP for graphic designers, and I received six or seven bids. We reviewed the technical bids and financial bids from all of them, and there were a few things that made ThompsonStenning stand out. First of all, the bid they submitted was very visual which is always a good sign when you are looking for graphic designers, and the organizations they had previously worked with were well aligned. They had the aligned substantive experience that we were looking for. They understood the audiences we were going to be reaching out to and their portfolio was super impressive. We took a look at the work they had produced and really liked the look of them.
How much have you invested in them?
All together their quote was around $7,000. We have been invoiced for significantly less than that so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began with them in April 2020, and it is still ongoing. We are still finalizing the look book but that has been entirely on our end.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They were extremely helpful from really us giving them very minimal inputs to creating something that we are extremely happy with.
We have shared the nearly final draft with our senior leadership, including our co-CEOs as well as our funders of this initiative and we have received really positive feedback across the board. Everybody loves it and feels that it really has set a new standard for the collateral material that we produce across the organization. Everyone has been very happy with it and we are excited to finalize it and to be able to make it public.
They did a really excellent job of capturing our vision. I was really amazed when I saw their work.
How did ThompsonStenning perform from a project management standpoint?
In their original proposal, they said it was something they could have completed in 6–10 weeks and they definitely would have been able to because they got back to us on every timeline and they exceeded every deadline that we had set. They are very responsive. We have had delays on our end with being able to get back to them with feedback, additional content and a few other things that changed which is why we are still putting the finishing touches on it.
I was really amazed by how well they were able to incorporate my feedback when I was so all over the place, but they were able to produce something that was exactly what I was looking for.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I haven’t worked with many graphic designers in the past so I don’t have much to compare to, but I will say that they are very lovely to work with, very responsive, and they are always happy to jump on a call to discuss anything. I think what really amazed me about their ability was to have such limited direction from us and to produce something. I felt like they were reading my mind and put together what I was visualizing but I didn’t know how to actually produce or communicate very clearly. They really did an excellent job of translating that vision into reality.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The only thing that comes to mind is that we use a number of stock images for the book, and overall, we are really happy with how they are looking. We have worked with them to make sure that the people represented in the images are capturing our full target audience.
Part of that is the direction from our end, making sure that we let them know from the get-go about the types of images we would want to have in that. One thing that would be helpful for them to maybe think about going forward is the audience of the materials when purchasing from stock sites.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I would definitely encourage someone else that is going to work with them to have an initial brainstorming call with the team for at least an hour.
I remember when I had this call, I thought it would be quick because I didn’t have too much direction to give them and it ended up being over an hour and it was very useful. They asked a lot of probing questions and just having that discussion really set the stage for us to have a successful partnership.
I recommend that you definitely brainstorm before going into that call about what you hope to achieve. Make the most of that orientation and context-setting conversations to get off on a strong foot.
RATINGS
-
Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
"They have exceeded every deadline."
-
Cost
4.5Value / within estimates
"Part of the reason we chose their bid was because it was very reasonable especially compared to the others."
-
Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"We have already engaged with them again across a number of other portfolios across the organization.
