ZeMind Studios

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a technology company developing online apps, and my position at the company is head of operations.

What challenge were you trying to address with ZeMind Studios?

We didn’t have as much of a substantive technology background in development as we did in the business and legal sectors, so we were looking to engage a development team to work with us that was young, had ideas, and were positive and easy to work with.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They currently serve as the main developer for our iOS and Android products. Our main project right now is one that they have helped us build from the ground up. We talked with them about our big ideas and some of the themes and functionalities we wanted to be implemented in the app, and they built out those features for us.

iOS was where we directed the majority of our energy at the beginning because it’s a little more centralized, but since we started expanding to Android, we’ve found that those users tend to be much more engaged with our product. We’re now directing a lot more resources toward that as well, and the platform is now fully cross-platform.

How did you come to work with ZeMind Studios?

When we met with their founder, we had a great first experience and got along very quickly. He understood our ideas very quickly and gave us feedback right off the bat, which was really encouraging. We knew that they had enough expertise and motivation that we could trust them to help us develop our ideas into real products.

How much have you invested with them?

Our investment in the project so far has been around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged them in September 2018, and we are continuing to work together.

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

It’s a bit tricky to measure their impact directly because what they’ve done is help us get our product out into the world. Obviously, the majority of what we do on our team is operational, like running social media, writing, and doing research, but at the end of the day, none of that would be possible without what ZeMind has done in building our app.

What I can say is that we’ve been releasing updates to the app almost every single month since we released it, and all of those have made the product better and address any issues almost immediately. In that respect, we have been incredibly satisfied with the work that they have done and continue to do.

How did ZeMind Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is almost perfect. We keep an open spreadsheet between the two teams so that everybody is always on the same page about what work is required, what the costs will be, and what deadlines we are currently working towards.

They’ve never had a problem meeting any of those requirements, and if we’ve ever been unclear about something, both of our teams do a great job of reaching out and clarifying what needs to be done, which we have really appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that stood out was their artistic work, which took us a little bit by surprise. They have a really good team of artists over there and are able to turn a lot of big ideas around very quickly. That was really impressive to us and definitely benefited the engagement hugely overall.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s tough to say because, with the resources that we have been able to give them, I don’t think there’s anything they really could have done better. They have provided services well over the scope of what we originally asked of them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner of PFM LLC. Our company develops iPhone apps.

For what projects/services did your company hire ZeMind Studios?

We hired ZeMind Studios to build a complex image recognition and manipulation program to fit within one of our apps.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal for this development project was to create a functionality that could recognize and replace a portion of a photo.

How did you select this vendor?

We found ZeMind Studios through a referral from another business.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We described our goals to ZeMind at the start of the project. Based on our explanation, they built out a program that detects a certain part of a photo and allows the user to seamlessly stitch it into a different object. They designed it so we could easily add it into one of our mobile apps.

What was the team composition?

We were only in contact with a couple of people who handled our project.

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

The services ZeMind provided greatly improved our app. The enhancements, as a result, led to more sales of our product.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Communication from the team was always very prompt.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

ZeMind contributed very valuable work. They helped us achieve a complex goal I wasn't even sure would be possible. I was very happy with the results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, there are none.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an executive producer for Jam3 Inc, an experience and design studio. 

What challenge were you trying to address with ZeMind Studios?

We needed help developing an AR iPad application for a large sports company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZeMind Studios integrated into our team and handled end-to-end development of the native app. They built a pipeline for the model integration into the experience. Their team also created the entire user journey from entering the email address to starting the experience—which involved augmented reality, project mapping, and sound design.

We built a shipping container, and users would take an iPad into the shipping container with them to start the process. The iPad camera would see a marker on the floor and pick that up as the trigger point. From there, on the iPad, the user sees a 3D model of a soccer player performing cool tricks in front of them. We did photogrammetry to capture a 3D person doing all those tricks and then rendered that into a 3D model which ZeMind Studios helped animate.  Meanwhile, we had project mapping of graffiti artwork on the walls and top of the container which we also mapped to music. Every time the user interacted with the 3D model, the walls would change to a different artist and different music, making it an interactive 90-second experience. 

Webcams placed in the shipping container captured the user doing the experience as well as what they were manipulating on the walls with the character. It dynamically composited a video for output so that when we captured the email at the frontend of the experience, ZeMind Studios built a funnel to send that video within five minutes to the user for sharable access. 

What is the team composition?

Patrick (Founder, ZeMind Studios) took ownership of the project which made us feel comfortable. Additionally, we had a project manager and 5–6 Unity developers.

How did you come to work with ZeMind Studios?

They have been a partner of ours from before I started with the company. One of our producers had worked with ZeMind Studios at his previous studio and had built a great relationship. When he came to Jam3, he recommended we use them whenever we need them because they are great. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from October–December 2017.

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

The app launched successfully, and our client was incredibly happy. We’ve since had a fruitful relationship with the client, who has introduced us to other businesses as well. Users enjoyed the app as well; one event had an 80% participation rate. We’re happy with the results, and we’re thrilled with ZeMind Studios’ work as well.

How did ZeMind Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Thanks to experience working with us, ZeMind Studios folded into our team and our disciplined processes seamlessly. They were highly available and responsive from start to finish. We communicated via Slack, and I was the point person to call if escalation was ever needed. I never had to call ZeMind Studios to check on their progress or tell them that their products didn’t meet our standards.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ZeMind Studios was receptive to honest conversations about task feasibility and costs. The team also demonstrated calmness under pressure, and for any live event, they provided support. Even Patrick was there to fix any last-minute issues. As we’ve furthered our relationship with our third-party client, we asked ZeMind Studios if they could take on another project. They were completely honest that they lacked the bandwidth to deliver the quality we were looking for. I appreciated their transparency and ownership throughout our partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t come up with anything. It was a great experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

ZeMind Studios worked best with a clear objective. Make sure you know what you need them to do. You can’t really have ambiguity in development.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kidsprojects is an Edtech company which offers a platform to develop children's soft skills

For what projects/services did your company hire ZeMind Studios?

Development of our MVP

What were your goals for this project?

Getting a working simplified version of our App for testing with pioneer users and show it to various stakeholders.

How did you select this vendor?

Own research and initial discussions with ZeMind Studios. Strengths were references in mobile apps, in gaming, overall level of professionalism and culture fit.

Describe the project in detail.

The project consisted in developing our initial wireframes, workflows and graphic items into a working App.

What was the team composition?

For ZeMind Studios:

• Project Lead
• UX/UI expert
• Android Developer

And overall supervision by Patrick Weekes, ZeMind Studios Founder&CEO.

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

The project was delivered as per specifications, on time and on budget. Deadlines were all met.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between teams proved very smooth. Daily interactions were carried out at Project Teams level. Commercial matters were handled at CEO level.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They act with integrity, presenting all options and ramifications to their clients. Ability to quickly mobilize and understand the project. Value: seeking best value for Client. Professionalism: keeping the Client informed at all time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not on this project.