Wolf&Whale

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Snack, a mobile app development company that makes short-form platforms. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Wolf&Whale?

We wanted to develop a sports app.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

Wolf&Whale designed the UX/UI in Figma for a sports highlights app we were developing. However, they first developed our branding. I wanted something very sporty that didn't alienate any demographics. Wolf&Whale then created the branding package, which included app icons and colors. 

 Then, they completed a step-by-step, wireframe-to-mockup creation process. Their team led a discovery process and invested themselves in the overall conceptual plan. After the discovery, they delivered the low-fidelity wireframes. We then branched out and added the color scheme, fonts, and other branding materials. 

What is the team composition?

I've worked with Todd (Founder & Design Director), a designer, and another teammate.

How did you come to work with Wolf&Whale?

I scheduled interviews with the top five UX/UI designers on Clutch and found Wolf&Whale. Todd was the most well-suited for the job. I interviewed dozens of UX/UI design companies, but when I talked to Todd, he was thinking about long-term goals. He wasn't just thinking about the app's features, but its overarching messaging, branding, and flow and the changes they would undergo as technology advanced. We wanted a company that would think about the big picture, and that was Wolf&Whale. 

I also saw their portfolio and previous experience. Todd was a minimalist while still delivering high-level design. Everyone I showed Wolf&Whale's portfolio knew that they'd be perfect for our project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $200,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

This first project with Wolf&Whale began in December 2021, and although the project is done, we're still working with them.

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

I raised seed money to develop the app using the UX/UI Wolf&Whale designed — we were able to get an investment from a renowned celebrity. Our pitch desk highlighted Wolf&Whale's UX/UI design. Wolf&Whale really understood what we were trying to convey with our branding, and I was confident in their deliverables, which I've used during meetings with the NBA. 

I've since completed two more projects with Wolf&Whale. The other platforms we've launched with Wolf&Whale's designs have gained excellent traction and user growth. 

How did Wolf&Whale perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the reasons I keep working with Wolf&Whale is because they always meet deadlines. They're really helpful and accommodate our last-minute changes. We primarily communicate through Slack and email. Whenever they develop new versions of a design, they'll screen record the design on Loom and send it to me. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When thinking of long-term branding and business solutions, it's often necessary to use two different specialists. However, Wolf&Whale is unique because they can blend the intricate UX/UI elements with the business solutions. I also appreciate how hands-on Todd is — I'm not getting passed on to a lower-level employee. Todd is on-call and super responsive to my emails whenever we're working on projects, even if I send them at 1 a.m. He's a pleasure to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Wolf&Whale has been great and their work is excellent; I can't think of anything for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd suggest that customers have a clear idea of their project. Wolf&Whale is helpful when it comes to maturing ideas, but they thrive when there is a clear vision. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as the director of technology at a volunteer organization in New York. Essentially, our company connects volunteers with the community organizations that need them. I handle everything from our IT infrastructure to web development and UI/UX design. I’m also responsible for our Salesforce CRM. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Wolf&Whale?

We hired Wolf&Whale to help us as we were trying to renovate our website. Our team had a single UX lead, and she could only do so much, so we needed Wolf&Whale’s expertise in UI/UX design. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we consulted with Wolf&Whale and discussed how we were achieving our goals with a particular product. Much of our user research was already done by our UX lead. Then, they create high-level wireframes. From there, they built detailed mock-ups and a design system in separate trials using Figma.

We’ve already seen the wireframes and the mock-ups they’ve created, though they’re still working on the design system. The Wolf&Whale team has made suggestions around personalization, giving us dashboard choices. They’ve also helped us think about our end users, what their motivations are in using the website, and how to help them meet those motivations. 

Moreover, we’ve also been talking with Wolf&Whale about our brand color, which is red. It’s quite challenging to apply it to the website because the color red means “stop” in so many ways. However, their team has been using it to represent website actions, such as clicking buttons and links. So far, they continue to provide guidance on how to use that brand color. We’ve also talked about using dark mode on the website in a way that stays consistent with our brand. Our teams haven’t designed any mock-ups for dark mode, however. 

What is the team composition?

Todd (Founder & Design Director) is my main point of contact, though we’ve also had meetings with Tim (Advisor). There may have been another designer assigned to the project, but we mainly interface with Todd. 

How did you come to work with Wolf&Whale?

We found them through Google. I reached out to a number of firms to get an idea of what might make a partnership successful. We also wanted an organization that we could work with over the long haul. In the end, Wolf&Whale seemed to be a good fit for our company because of their familiarity with our product and their approach to the project.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and our work is ongoing. 

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

Wolf&Whale has stuck to our tight timeline, and we truly appreciate that. There has also been constant communication between our teams. 

How did Wolf&Whale perform from a project management standpoint?

Wolf&Whale’s project management has been great. The team has followed our schedule, and their resources communicate clearly when they need feedback. As a whole, the management has been good. 

To communicate, we use emails and comments over Figma. Our teams also have periodic discussions via Zoom, specifically when they provide walkthroughs of the deliverables. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Wolf&Whale takes a fresh look at things and doesn’t allow themselves to be hemmed too much by pre-existing ideas. At the same time, they can adjust such ideas based on business realities; certain things are great to imagine but aren’t realistic. Simply put, the best thing about working with them is their creativity and sensitivity to business reality. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning of the project, we underestimated how long certain tasks would take, so the tasks took a little longer to finish. We would have benefited from more back and forth communication. However, this is a minor issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Since Wolf&Whale works quickly, set aside enough time to give the project adequate engagement from your side. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Senior Producer for a digital design agency. We design digital products and services for some of the largest brands in a variety of sectors. I manage the end to end process on multiple projects with multiple clients.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

Our company is a design agency and we hired Wolf & Whale as a third party design firm to come in and help us with a project. The project was to redesign an ecomm website for a large client. The client has seen high volume of sale from their showrooms, but lack sales from the web.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to make the site easier to navigate, clear from a brand perspective and drive the path to purchase.

How did you select Wolf&Whale?

We found Wolf & What through an internal recruiter. We had seen and talked to a number of other designers/agencies and no one felt right. Immediately after talking with Todd from Wolf & Whale we knew he and his team were the right fit, and we were right!

Describe the project in detail.

The project was the restructure the user experience of a large main brand. Once that structure was established we would apply that structure to four sub brands. However, each brand required it's own look & feel. So, Wolf & Whale came in to help create a number of look & feel explorations. Once the directions were chosen Wolf & Whale was dedicated to a specific brand track and fully owned the entire redesign process.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with Todd, the Creative Director who was also managing 1-2 junior resources internally for multiple tracks of work the branched off the main site redesign.

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

The project is still in development and not yet live so there are no metrics yet. However, the client that we worked with was tough to manage and we couldn't have gotten through the work without Wolf & Whale.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

At the start of the project we set up daily calls to check in on the status of work. As things progressed and we started to understand each other a bit more those daily calls turned into bi weekly and then just weekly calls. This is due to the level of work and trust that was gained when working with Wolf & Whale. Communication was easy and quick via zoom or slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really appreciated their attention to detail and patience. We knew that Wolf & Whale was extremely talented in design, but this project required more patience than anything else. They have a great ability to take stressful moments and easily create stunning and detail-oriented designs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were moving really quickly on this project and despite that Wolf & Whale really delivered. Sometimes the client caught elements that we wished we had on our own, but that was really the nature of this beast of a project. Wolf & Whale did a really great job.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Guardian life is one of the top dental insurance carrier in the US market. I'm the lead product manager on Guardian Direct, which is the highest growth sector at Guardian Life targeting at consumers.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

Guardian is going through a redesign effort for its dental exchange site, in order to provide clear and detailed information before user purchase on healthcare.gov or state exchange. Wolf & Whale is hired to re-invent the user experience of exchange site.

What were your goals for this project?

To provide a modern and differentiated experience of purchasing insurance.

How did you select Wolf&Whale?

We had partnered with Wolf & Whale in multiple projects previously, W&W is has been an amazing trusted partner for our design.

Describe the project in detail.

Wolf & Whale helped us to map out the site structure, designed an optimal user experience, conducted multiple user testing to pre-emptively collect voice of customer prior to development, and work with cross-functional teams to incorporate all internal feedbacks. The output was outstanding and spoke so highly of by everyone who was engaged in the project.

What was the team composition?

Lead from Wolf & Whale manage a team of designers and copywriters. Guardian lead product managers, designers, developers, insurance product experts, executive leadership were all involved in the process.

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

Site is still being developed, detailed traffic / conversion improvement metrics is yet to be seen. From design perspective, we have already received overwhelmingly positive ratings from user testing.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It's just like part of internal team, Wolf & Whale understands our business, and was very responsive and flexible in design requests.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The willingness to go beyond what has been asked for, and provide additional support even after projects have been wrapped up. Further more, all work has been done remotely with COVID constrains, I'm very impressed with what the team can achieve without physically interacting with clients and users.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for Capital Group. It’s a consultancy that offers several project management services, including IT consulting and telecommunications, for federal government agencies

What challenge were you trying to address with Wolf&Whale?

We needed to redo our website and become more active on social media.

What was the scope of their involvement?

As they got to know our company, culture, attributes, and styles we liked, they came up with design ideas they felt would best suit our business. We shared our goals and business objectives and collaborated with them on design elements for the website.

From there, they determined how they could best help us achieve those goals.
They built a website from scratch on Webflow. They also designed the CMS for the new website.

Now they help us with social media strategy and guide me through content development.  They equip me with the tools needed for success.

What is the team composition?

We work with Todd (Design Director) and Tim (Brand Strategy). 

How did you come to work with Wolf&Whale?

I found them on a website called Awwwards. I chose them over the other agencies I interviewed because of their experience with consultancies. They also had great work in their portfolio and were the most personable.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around August 2020 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

As the first brand agency we’ve worked with, they have definitely set the bar high. They’ve truly invested the time into getting to know us in order to understand the direction we wanted to go in with our brand. They present tangible deliverables whenever we need them. We enjoy working with them. They haven’t steered us wrong yet.

How did Wolf&Whale perform from a project management standpoint?

They are extremely communicative. Their progress reports include detailed information regarding what they need from us. In their presentations, they often use visuals, such as slide shows, to convey information.

They want to ensure that we’re satisfied every step of the way. We’re able to comment and give feedback on Figma, as well as the other tool they use for presentations. We communicate via weekly calls for our virtual meetings, and emails. It’s obvious they put time and effort into their presentations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from their excellent technical capabilities and knowledge, their personalities shine through in everything they do. Working with them is always fun and collaborative. They take their job seriously, but still seem to enjoy what they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go into it with an open mind. Trust them to be the experts. They’re innovative and may present ideas you haven’t yet considered. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CCO at a global hospitality design firm based in New York. We specialize in boutique design experiences across multiple sectors, from hotels, restaurants, and bars to residential and commercial spaces. We have four offices across the globe and employ 200 staff.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

We hired Wolf&Whale to help us rethink and reposition our online experience. We have an award winning portfolio of work, but suffer from an outdated site. W&W were brought on to help create a new image and structure for the experience, opening up the rich legacy of our work to visitors seeking to learn more about us.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to achieve a fresh new look, in synch with our core company values. We wanted to open up our rich portfolio of award winning projects to visitors and add layers of depth to the site which would allow users to explore and learn more about our work. We wanted to convey more on the company culture and core values. And better tell the story of who we are.

How did you select Wolf&Whale?

They were shortlisted through an RFP process

Describe the project in detail.

The initial process involved conceptual direction generated in part by W&W and ourselves, as well as a new structure for the site. After this we moved into prototyping look and feel and subsequently roll out across all sections of the site. This was an exciting process as it lead to a very collaborative effort and a lot of iterative fine-tuning to get to the final product.

What was the team composition?

W&W came to us with a core team of designers and developers. We always had the Project Lead and Director on all calls, and then as design advanced, they began to involve developers.

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

We are not yet live, but the site is living up to all our initial aspirations...

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a very iterative process, and W&W were very good at listening and taking feedback. We found their collaborative nature very successful and found them very easy to work with.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciated their responsiveness and collaborative spirit. They were always quick to come up with options and new ideas when we were not quite aligned on solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are overall very satisfied with the work they produced

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO of Shortcut, which delivers haircuts and wellness services to homes, offices and hotels across the United States.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

Wolf&Whale originally designed our mobile interface, when we performed a massive internal update to services and our network of Pros. They more recently designed our web booking platform with its own distinct style from our mobile experience.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to expand our footprint on the web, while giving our website customers a booking platform that avoids an app download.

How did you select this vendor?

We found Todd a couple years ago on AngelList, and we've had a great working relationship ever since. Definitely would hire again.

Describe the project in detail.

We provided a list of pages and screenshots that needed to be re-formatted for a different form factor, a web browser. With increased real estate, Todd helped us reduce down to the important factors, create a navigation flow that made sense, designed assets for each page, and converted them with Zeplin to a form that made coding easy.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Todd Torabi almost exclusively.

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

Web booking was very important, as it improved access to our platform, especially for those who signup from their workplace. Now close to half of our Office Event signups happen through the new web portal.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We found a weekly meeting structure that made sure we were always in sync, but gave the company clearance to work with minimal overhead.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company works incredibly fast, with thorough questions, and great organization.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were satisfied with the quality and timeliness of the project. Look forward to hiring W&W again for the next project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Cape provides an integrated drone solution that makes secure, cost-effective drone operations accessible to agencies and businesses of all sizes. My role is VP of Engineering, in charge of mobile and cloud software teams.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

A complete UI/UX redesign of our web application, as well as a redesign of our primary mobile app.

What were your goals for this project?

We had a very rudimentary web application user experience, and we needed to redesign it to be professional, more usable, and more useful for our customers.

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to Wolf&Whale by another colleague of mine.

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the project was a complete redesign of the UI/UX of our web application. This included user studies, persona development, user experience architecture, design, art, mockups, wireframes, testing, implementation, and iteration.

My role was lead and coordinator of the activity (I mostly ran the meetings, and was the primary driver for the tasks and deliverables.). Todd (Wolf&Whale) produced the designs, answered questions, provided updates and ad-hoc changes to the design, and help with iterations as the deployment milestone got closer.

What was the team composition?

I'm not sure exactly how many folks at Wolf & Whale were involved, but Todd Torabi was the primary contact. On our side, we had a Product Manager, two engineers, a QA person, and myself.

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

This project was critical to Cape's go-to-market strategy. Our CEO loved the design and the feature set. It has been very well-received by customers and partners. We were extremely pleased with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Todd was both reliable when it came to managing tasks and also flexible when it came to (sometimes late-breaking) changes to the design requirements. He was always available for communications, acted as "part of the team", and had an amazing "can-do" attitude that went a long way towards the project's success.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with Todd's flexibility and adaptability. We frequently had to change scope, features, and requirements along the way, and he took it all in stride.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would have done a better job at task tracking. We used Trello for tracking tasks with Todd, but internally used JIRA. Keeping those in sync was a bit of a challenge.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a leading classic car publication with over 2.5 million users. We produce high-quality video content and authentic editorial storytelling. I'm the director of digital product development, digital marketing, and social media.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

We hired them to for a rebrand and UX/UI overhaul of our website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to revamp our layout to increase sharing and engagement, reduce our bounce rate, improve loading times, and deliver a good e-commerce experience. Since our audience expects high-quality content, and younger users are rapidly moving to mobile devices, responsive design was also a key part of the project.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them through an RFP. 

Describe the project in detail.

They completely overhauled our website and updated our brand. We explored several designs that kept our unique brand and values in mind. Our editorial regularly contains more than 25 photos per article, so the layout needed to deliver a smooth experience while emphasizing our renowned storytelling. They consulted on brand direction, completed all our design assets, and handled web development and content migration. 

What was the team composition?

Their team had a design director, UX designer, art director, and three web developers. They added more team members as the project scaled up. 

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

We have increased our overall web and mobile traffic, time on site, and number of newsletter subscribers, while reducing our bounce and exit rates. We also created a foundation for e-commerce revenue. We're still revered as one of the most effectively designed and differentiated automotive publications.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their communication was so strong that they felt like part of our team. We used Slack, JIRA, and InVision.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their founder, who is a business-minded designer, thoroughly understood our challenges. That's difficult to find. Their forward-thinking design gave us a huge leap forward.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we were satisfied with their deliverables.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Currently a Design Lead for an insurance company based in New York City.

For what projects/services did your company hire Wolf&Whale?

Wolf & Whale was able to provide us with on going design support as well as designing and defining new products/services.

What were your goals for this project?

Our products and services are meant to empower individuals with access to their own insurance.

How did you select Wolf&Whale?

Wolf & Whale came highly recommended and their reputation as being highly creative and dependable.

Describe the project in detail.

We needed a website redesign for one of our services which was archaic. Prior to development, Wolf & Whale had to scope the design timeline, define the product and modernize the user experience. They were able to provide a design strategy, content creation and on going design support.

What was the team composition?

Wolf & Whale had a team in place that provided copy, research and design.

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

Stakeholders were pleased with the new redesign and users were now able to use the platform efficiently.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I personally did not sense or detect any mismanagement of the product and processes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I am impressed with their willingness and readiness to help at moment's notice. I always appreciate their ability to ask for things that they need or ask good questions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing at this time.