WANDR

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Gotchkd.

What challenge were you trying to address with WANDR?

We were trying to create a web presence and do some research around our target market and messaging. In addition, we needed to get a pitch deck put together.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we flew out for a two-day brainstorming/whiteboarding session at their offices. We went through what we wanted to accomplish, what our message was, and what our product was. After this, they had an idea of the message we wanted to create around a brand and really creating the brand and the look and feel of that on the web. Then they showed me different graphics, pictures, and styles. I showed them the things I liked and didn’t like. Shortly after that, they sent me some preliminary designs to get my feedback and selections.

They designed and built a responsive website, which was fantastic. It was optimized for desktop and for mobile. They also did a video walkthrough which I could share with my developers. We refined the website many times. They always had a great attitude.

In addition, they also put together a presentation for me that we revised a few times. That was the end of the engagement. They gave me all the digital assets and all the files for the website to hand off to my team to be able to put it up online.

What is the team composition?

I spoke to Jinny (Founder, WANDR) many times. I was mainly dealing with Bobby (Lead Product Designer & Strategist, WANDR) who dealt with the rest of the team. Occasionally, I’d speak with one other person over there. I’m guessing there were 5-6 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with WANDR?

I saw their website and reached out to them. They put together a proposal that we liked.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019 until January 2020. It was a four-week sprint but we had to factor in holidays.

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

I love the end result of the design process. They give a lot of value for your money. It’s very high quality. Me, my investors, and anybody that has seen the demo in the industry so far have been really impressed. Whenever there was a mistake, they’d catch it very early because we had such frequent calls.

How did WANDR perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very good. We worked in a four-week sprint. For a four-week sprint, there was a lot of contact Jinny would check in at least once a week. Sometimes, they check in 2 or 3 times to make some introductions for me and my company and to connect me with people who could help me get my business off the ground. She’s been very generous with her time in doing that.

Bobby never just disappeared if there was a problem. He didn’t stop responding to emails and phone calls. If there was an issue at all, he’d take responsibility for it, and make it right. I’m sure he’s working on lots of different projects, but he made it seem like this was the most important project in the world. They did video walk-throughs of all the designs, which they did on Figma with a clickable demo.

The fixes were done in real-time. We’d do a call and he would fix things I didn’t like on the screen. He had the best attitude. We used email and web calls with screen sharing functionality. They also had a web management tool and used my management tool, Monday.com, which I requested.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity and good attitude were impressive. They really got what my product was all about and they seemed excited about it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were incredibly professional and did a great job. It went as smoothly as I could expect anything to go in terms of development. I expected there to be more problems than there were. I expected delays and price manipulation, but it didn’t happen that way.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go in there with a good idea of what you want to do. They can take it to the next level.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a technical engineer at a startup that focuses on autonomous vehicle technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with WANDR?

We had a product launch with a customer soon. We wanted to develop a user-friendly interface. At that point, we tested the product on public roads and highways but with our own drivers and engineers in the truck. We needed to get to the point where only one driver was necessary. We wanted a more intuitive and elegant interface for the driver to tell them what’s going on in our system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

WANDR created the visual design of our new driver interface. We had ideas and gave their team a couple of screenshots of what we built. We also showed them our visualizer that presents raw data. We gave them a demo of our truck to show what our technology’s capable of and what scenarios truckers encounter. Their team created all of the designs for the screens from the ground up.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people in total. I talked to Ed (Head of Strategy, WANDR) and Mike (Head of Partnerships, WANDR) who was on the strategy side. There was another individual who led the project as well as a visual designer

How did you come to work with WANDR?

I posted the job on Upwork. WANDR found the post and reached out. I also interviewed a couple of freelancers and design agencies but decided to go with WANDR.

How much have you invested with them?                         

The project cost $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in December 2019, and it wrapped up in January.

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

The designs look good. All of our team including our CTO was involved in this project and we’re all happy. I’m happy with how the project unfolded. Everyone in our company’s happy with the new design.

How did WANDR perform from a project management standpoint?

One of their team members participated in daily check-ins via ZOOM to give updates. Anytime there was a question or an update, it was delivered to us in a timely fashion. They presented the timeline before we signed the contract and met it. Their team had good communication, so the project went smoothly. I was happy with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Before the project began, I was worried about finding someone given the time of year. I’m impressed that the project was done fast and resulted in quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project started off slowly because it’s hard to say what technology we had and were targeting. I suggested an onsite visit to give a demo but that happened in the second week. If we could have scheduled the visit earlier, the first part of the project would’ve gone faster.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

More direct communication with the visual designer would make the process better. I didn’t get many chances to talk to the visual designer. If I had a suggestion for a design element or wanted to know the visual designer’s ideas, I had to go through a middleman. That slowed the process down.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product at Zoe Financial, a marketplace that connects individuals with a curated list of independent financial advisors. I oversee our entire digital experience, including both consumer-facing and B2B products.

What challenge were you trying to address with WANDR?

We wanted to overhaul our website with a focus on making the design consistent. Certain visual elements didn’t match, and that was an issue for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I made a list of landing pages and other core pages that we wanted to focus on at the beginning, and we went through a number of different exercises to help WANDR understand our business. They talked to a few of our users directly and looked through some comprehensive third-party research that we had. 

From there, they moved forward with designing how the site would display information both from a visual and a content—or copy—perspective. They also mapped out the structure of the site and produced several wireframes.

We spent about a week doing rapid iterations with different wireframes, and, once those wireframes were in place for both mobile and desktop, they started on the actual visual components. The visual components took about two weeks to complete. 

What is the team composition?

I collaborated mainly with Ed (Head of Strategy, WANDR) and Fred (Product Designer). Fred was my point of contact for specific updates, and Ed was a project manager that synthesized ideas and came up with strategies. I also spoke with Jinny (Founder, WANDR), Mike (Head of Partnerships), and a third individual to get supplementary feedback.

How did you come to work with WANDR?

I came across Jinny’s profile while searching for people to help with a separate project. When I realized that WANDR is an agency, I decided not to use them for that project because it was so limited in scope, but I still enjoyed speaking with Jinny and Ed. They were professional, and I could tell that they would be able to deliver visual elements due to their expertise.

I reached out to other firms for web design services, but WANDR was my first choice. I set up some time with Ed to discuss the scope of the engagement, and he came back with a proposal within a few days. We set up a date to get started—probably a week from when I received the proposal—and that’s when we kicked off the project.

Working with third-party vendors is always a gamble, which is why I used Clutch to help me decide. I was anxious about the amount of money that we were planning to pay them, but they assured me—like most agencies do—that they would facilitate a great engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran for the past three weeks, and then maybe a week or two prior to that if you count the establishment of the outline of the project as well.

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

The communication and support were top-notch, and that made for an enjoyable experience. We’re moving onto the development phase now, and WANDR is still willing to answer our questions and provide additional services as needed. We’re already getting traffic and seeing growth in our marketing funnels, and I attribute most of that to their deliverables and the fact that they were on point with their initial research.

How did WANDR perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Figma and another visual progress tracking tool. I spoke with Ed over the phone as needed, and we did daily Zoom meetings and emails as well. In the beginning, the workshops were facilitating most of our communication, and that iterative process was very fluid. They also set clear expectations in terms of the timeline.

Although Fred was my main point of contact, the other team members would jump in with their ideas during meetings. It never felt like there was just one specialist running the meeting; the whole process was very collaborative. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Another indicator of the quality of their work is my willingness to partner with them again. The reason why I’m leaving this review is that they did such a wonderful job, and I know this feedback will be valuable for them. I’m super happy with the outcome, in particular how they've helped me by taking some decision making off of my plate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish they had sent me their Clutch reviews during the initial conversation phase. Those were super helpful to me, and they could’ve used them to highlight specific parts of their process to add a layer of assurance.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear understanding of what it is that you want. They’re always going to be some ambiguity, but if you have outlines of what you want to accomplish, that’ll make the process a lot easier. The team from WANDR will help with that process, but make sure to come to the table with ideas.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tech startup - I'm the head of marketing and I was charged with finding a UX designer or design firm to help us craft a minimally viable demo!

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR ?

UX Design

What were your goals for this project?

App design so we could start demoing our product.

How did you select this vendor?

We found WANDR on Upwork and then compared them with 5 other vendors on Clutch. After a 30 minute call with each vendor, we selected WANDR because they actually showed us the Figma designs they produced for a recent customer. We actually felt they knew what we were trying to accomplish more than anyone else.

Describe the project in detail.

We were building a Business Intelligence Web App and needed help turning our ideas and mock ups into a professional, modern looking application.

What was the team composition?

We had a UX lead/strategist and a UX consultant and they would strategize with us on Zoom and then they would work with a designer to implement things.

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

Our app looks awesome and the project was completed ahead of time!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Super efficient. Between Slack for file sharing and day to day communication, and our daily stand ups during the three week project, communication and file sharing was really smooth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How quick they produce quality designs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at this time. It was awesome on our daily standups we would provide feedback. They would often make changes during meetings rather than waiting for the next call. Really good experience.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a CTO for a Brazilian company that provides solutions for urban mobility, like on-street parking pay, bike rentals, and more. We are the number one player in Brazil and now we are starting in Costa Rica.

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR ?

We have an Android/iOS app with over 6 years, and it reached a time to rethink the user experience. This app is somewhat complex, because it must support a lot of business rules for over 50 cities where we operate.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to recreate the user experience in a way we could give user the simpler interface possible, with local identity. Also, the user interface should be adaptive to different kinds of services that we provide, like on-street parking payment, bike rental, and other services we may add in the future.

How did you select this vendor?

Our company likes remote work, but we never hire any professional or consultant before meeting them in person. WANDR was selected because of its full attention to our requirements since the very beginning, when we were "just looking" at the market for a company that could help us with the project. We took a flight to LA to meet them in person, and the meeting confirmed that WANDR was the company we were looking for.

Describe the project in detail.

After we hred WANDR, I went to LA again for the project kickstart meeting, where we spent two full days brainstorming the project, reviewing each detail on the project requirements. At this time, I met the company director, Jinny Oh, and the lead designer Bao Vo, both very competent, that gave me every perspective I was looking for. I also met Michael and Jenna, both very kind.

Then, we started working remotely, with schedule conference calls involving another designer, Stephane Masseron, that was living here in Brazil at that time, working in a project. It was perfect, because our company director does not speak English, and Steph could interact with him in our native language.

The project evolved very fast, they were very responsive and very easy to communicate, beyond expected in availability. They were really interested in our project and gave us full attention to the details. The delivery was in time, according to what we have agreed. Not only we are very happy with their work, but we also got new friends. WANDR guys are amazing.

What was the team composition?

We started with Jinny and Bao, when we brainstormed the project in person. Then, we were assigned a project manager and leading designer, and a designer, but we had access to all team members during all the project. All of them were very accessible all the time.

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

We are still working on the development of a new version of our app with the new design WANDR created, but we are completely happy with the outcome, and we are sure our customers will love the new user interface, much clean and simpler than what we have.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

All WANDR tem was accessible all the time. Before we hired them, we had fast email response and communication. When we started the project, they were available all the time for in-person meeting in LA, then remotely in scheduled conference calls. We are very happy with their availability.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We always expect excellence from people we work with, but I got really impressed with their interest in helping us with the project. It's fantastic when you find engaged people that really commits to what you need, and WANDR met every expectation. That's why I said before, we got our project amazingly done and got new friends!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything we requested we got in time and above expectations.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Umami Girl, a lifestyle brand that caters to women centered around our website.

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR?

They redesigned our website to align with our branding shift from a food blog to a lifestyle website for women.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a beautiful, optimized website to support our expanding lifestyle content. Our primary focus was on delivering a fast, elegant UX for mobile and desktop environments.

How did you select this vendor?

The vendor who developed our website subcontracted the design to WANDR. We’re so grateful to have been introduced to WANDR. Their contribution was the key ingredient in our success.

Describe the project in detail.

WANDR designed the current look and feel of our site. With wireframes as guides, they created the overall site design, as well as customizable content templates (posts and pages).

What was the team composition?

We initially worked with Jinny (Founder, WANDR) and Ed (Head of Strategy, WANDR). The detailed design work was done by Nadia (Product Designer, WANDR).

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

The new site has been a huge success. We finally have the look and feel our brand deserves. It's helped us expand our audience and attract partners and sponsors.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

WANDR was extremely responsive and delivered on-time. They incorporated feedback beautifully and turned around design revisions quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

WANDR is the perfect type of company for the current era. They choose great designers from all over the world and let them work remotely. They care about producing great quality work and not about any of the corporate bloat. This was clearly evident in the process and results of our project. We couldn’t be happier.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were truly happy with every aspect of the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a software consultancy and development shop. 

What challenge were you trying to address with WANDR?

About two years ago, we hired WANDR to handle a lot of our UX/UI work. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

WANDR has led the UX/UI phase for most of our major web and mobile app developments as well as websites we've done. We create a variety of web and mobile applications for e-commerce, healthcare, HR, and lifestyle. They start from the underlying information architecture and continue all the way through the final high-fidelity design. 

Frequently, they design the entire UX for a product from scratch and own that whole process. We either provide wireframes, or they work directly with us on projects for our clients to help get them where they need to be. They've both grown simple concepts into hybridized designs and also come in at later stages after we have a spec document. 

What is the team composition? 

My main point of contact from WANDR is their CEO. We've interacted with at least 10 other designers they assigned to our projects. 

How did you come to work with WANDR?
    
We met at a networking event a long time ago. After that, we started bidding on projects together to help our firms grow. Our overall takeaways when we were qualifying them was their very impressive portfolio. In general, their approach and process mesh smoothly with our mission and how we do our work. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2016 and have an ongoing engagement. We work on a variety of projects; some have been completed, and others have just begun.

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

We've completed about 20 successful projects together at this point. Some of them have been well-reviewed on Clutch, which is an important metric. As a result of their support, we were able to close more deals and increase our revenue as well.

Our partnership was a key factor in closing up to 10 of the projects we did together. WANDR is amazing to work with. They hire highly talented designed and have great processes in place. We've had a very fruitful engagement. 

How did WANDR perform from a project management standpoint?

Slack is our main channel of communication. WANDR uses a few other tools like Sigma and Sketch to communicate requirements and manage projects. I believe they also use Flow for project management. They're extremely responsive and communicate very clearly. It's really great to work together. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a great process established for extracting and facilitating requirements. Their deliverables are beautiful and simple. The products they design make sense, and our clients love them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. Overall, we're very happy. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having a clear idea of what you want to do going in typically makes the process faster and easier. Even if you don't, they're great at helping clients figure out the process. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an online course publishing company. We work with YouTubers, TED speakers, and New York Times best-selling authors to help them create industry-leading online courses

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR?

We needed outside website design and development assistance for our new company.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to have a beautiful website that could help our growing company earn more business.

How did you select this vendor?

WANDR came to us through a referral.

Describe the project in detail.

WANDR interviewed our staff about our goals for the website. They produced several drafts of a layout for us to review and approve prior to starting development.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a team manager, a designer, and a developer. We found all three to be professional and talented.

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

We love the website tremendously, and it is quite impressive. I'm confident that the website itself has brought us new business.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I was incredibly impressed with the speed at which the team at WANDR communicated with us. We had a weekly call and numerous communications via email. They were always quick to respond and were concise in their communications.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

WANDR is the ideal package of skills and customer service.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are incredibly happy with the product and couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Boon. We’re a SaaS platform and mobile application that uses algorithms to find hiring referrals for companies. The platform automates the employee referral process by providing them with proactive recommendations based on their existing personal networks and job specifications.

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR?

We needed mobile and web application design, as well as UI/UX design.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch our public mobile app and have an updated web admin dashboard.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them because of how responsive they were. We were attracted by their strong communication skills, high attention to detail and proactive approach.

Describe the project in detail.

We began with meetings to discuss the specifics of the project. In those, we reviewed the existing designs and workflows that we had so far. From there, they began iterating and improving the designs in terms of aesthetic enhancements, interface simplifications, and streamlining workflows.

There were parts of the app that we didn’t previously have designs for. The team provided brand new designs and workflows that paired seamlessly with our existing assets.

What was the team composition?

Initially, we worked only with Jinny (Founder, WANDR). After a few months, Ed (Head of Strategy, WANDR) became the primary point of contact. There were other designers on the team, but we didn’t interface directly with them.

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

Within the first month, we were able to complete the first iteration of the mobile prototype. Considering the learning curve and the volume of work, we found that impressive. The deliverables are of high quality, which we were also pleased with.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It’s been pretty seamless since day one. We consider them to be members of our team as much as any of our full-time employees. They’re part of our Slack channel, which allows us to message back and forth anytime we need. It’s all great.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The end product is impressive, as well as their entire approach. They really make it their job to understand the product and vision, while pushing out a consistent stream of excellent work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s always room for improvement. That said, I truly can’t think of anything pressing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the on-demand field manager for a company that manufactures advanced therapy lasers.

For what projects/services did your company hire WANDR?

WANDR created our UI and assisted with the UX design.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a user-friendly, intuitive design that would never be obsolete.

How did you select this vendor?

We sought out UI/UX companies that could produce a fresh, modern look. We also needed a company that would be responsive and could learn complex ideas. WANDR checked these boxes, and we're happy that we chose them.

What was the team composition?

We communicated with two project managers. Both were responsive to our requests and clearly laid out what to expect regarding turnaround time.

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

We successfully launched a new series of lasers, thanks WANDR’s excellent work and attention to detail. Despite some unexpected issues, they did a great job and satisfied all of our needs. The result was great, and they helped us accomplish our goals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was primarily through email, with a few Skype sessions thrown in. Their response time was always good, while the turnaround time was quite quick.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed with their ability to learn fairly complex concepts about the project. If future opportunities arise, we will not hesitate to reach out to them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm quite happy with the way the project turned out. I can't say I have anything to add here.