Angle2

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Self employed Consultant for IT Accessibility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2, and what were your goals?

Designing and programming of a very versatile testing and reporting solution to make accessibility testing easier. The application had to be programmed in Electron in order to be executable on operating systems like Windows, macOS and Linux.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

It was a recommandation from a friend. My deciding factors were transparency, comprehension and price.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

• clarification of the concept
• prototyping
• UI design
• UX research
• development
• feedback and coordination of the next steps

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

About 9.

• Business owner
•  Project Leader
• Project Manager
• Programmer
• Usability and UX-Experts
• UI-Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Expectations are completely met. The application´s almost finished and very sure will work like expected.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We used Slack for communication. Also Email. Zoom for Video Meetings. Every step was transparently and well coordinated. The time spent was accurately documented and is always accessible in Google Docs. Also Whimsical and Figma for collaboration in UX / UI and commentation.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The grade of comprehensiveness, the clarity in communication, transparency and reliability. Regarding the fact that Angle2 comes from Kiev and all cooperation took place under the exceptional conditions that Angle2´s land was being attacked and bombed throughout the whole project. But still we could write and tald as much as we wanted.

Although the press gave us the impression of a land almost completely destroyed and without electricity these people managed it to make an absolutely great job. Such grade of reliability under these conditions is outstanding. I can only recommend not to hesitate to get into business with Angle2. They really deserve it.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of product innovation for the software company. I was responsible for determining the requirements and managing the budget for the product redesign project

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2, and what were your goals?

We were challenged with the need to find an affordable external partner which could provide us with a modern and intuitive user experience and interface for our web application. We needed to implement this redesign in a way that would allow us to update it as needed on our own implementing new features in a fully integrated and elegant way.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Angle2 after seeing their portfolio of work. We had a limited budget and an already feature rich application. Some of their previous work appeared to be very good at making dramatic and intuitive improvements to large web applications. This fit our existing software design well and was within our budget.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our key deliverables were delivered on a weekly basis and in a strategically prioritized manner beginning with the most critical elements of the web application first and the less complicated elements came afterwards. Angle2 were extremely proficient in using Figma for the web components and were able to integrate feedback in real-time updating the individual elements in our meetings and provided great insights into how we might improve the user experience while still including our feedback.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with six team members, those members were the owner, two project managers, two user experience experts and two user interface experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The deliverables were created in a very easy to use and easy to maintain design system format on Figma and they integrated extremely well with our React based development environment. The development process was very detailed and also very rapid. Each week we had new elements which our developers could beginning planning to integrate into our web application. Each week we could see how our redesigned product would improve some new function or task for our users.

We were able to begin implementing the improvements even before the project was completed because it was so well integrated with our existing workflows. We were able to reduce the number of steps necessary to complete the tasks our users perform most while also increasing the visibility of those tasks in such a way that errors and missteps were reduced.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Angle2 were very good at delivering on time and at explaining next steps in advance. We were able to understand the reasoning behind design decisions and could visually interact with the design decisions in real time to see how they added value to our customer's experience. The management team showed their experience and professionalism in every interaction and we had an exceptionally positive team spirit during the entire project.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

This company has very good transparency in their pricing and project management. We never needed to wonder how much something might cost or which the pricing might vary in terms of billing from one week to the next. We felt we got more than we paid for throughout the duration of the project.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Angle2 is a mature company with well established practices and professional team members. None of the improvements I can think of would significantly alter my overall positive assessment of the team. The key improvements which might increase their success are expanded languages that they are able to collaborate in. However they are already competent in English and German as well as their native Ukrainian and Russian. Perhaps they could expand their team in order to be able to work on even larger projects but that is about it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Harbor Research, a research and strategy consulting firm focused on developing new growth strategies for our clients around emerging technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Angle2?

One of our clients was developing a SaaS product for tracking metrics on a large-scale gaming platform. We were providing strategy consulting for that client, but they also required help in UI/UX design, so Angle2 helped us out with that part of the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had a couple of calls with Angle2 to make sure that we were all on the same page regarding the strategy and approach. They then helped us develop some user stories that allowed us to understand how different users of this SaaS product might interact with the platform.

Ultimately, we defined four different types of users for which we defined different user journeys. This process allowed us to establish the requirements needed to best support those users.

Next, Angle2 helped us map those user stories to create the set of features and functionalities, and they also developed the wireframes. We showed the wireframes to the client to ensure that we were aligned with their needs.

After getting our client’s feedback, we shifted over to a Figma model, where Angle2 helped us design the actual product. This platform ended up being a web app, for which Angle2 designed the website’s frontend and the interface only paying users saw after login in. The heavy lift of their involvement was focused on UI/UX design for the platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, one primary designer, 1–2 other designers working in the background, and someone from Angle2’s leadership who ensured we were getting everything we needed throughout the engagement.

How did you come to work with Angle2?

We did a lot of research, and we were about to hire a freelancer. However, we decided that we wanted more structure and hired Angle2, whom we found online.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2021–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we knew the product requirements, Angle2 was able to fill the gaps and bring their UI/UX design expertise to help us successfully design a very interactive product. They brought their own ideas to the table while working through what the client required.

The client only had positive comments on Angle2’s designs — their work exceeded our expectations. I also didn’t expect them to be so collaborative and willing to iterate with the client on the changes they requested.

How did Angle2 perform from a project management standpoint?

Angle2 performed very well. They were very responsive, flexible, interactive, and collaborative throughout the process, which made them capable of taking our client’s feedback and translating it into the output we were looking for.

Any discrepancy in the budget came from our end or our client’s end for not being completely clear about what we were looking for. Even if we went over budget, it wasn’t by much.

Additionally, everything Angle2 did was professionally done, and their timeline management was great. We ended up extending the timeline, and they were flexible enough to keep working with us even though they probably had other things going on.

Even though they were in Europe and we were in Denver, we never had a problem getting a hold of them. We communicated via Slack and email, and we had a call every other week to get updates and provide feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Angle2’s level of collaboration was impressive, and their design work was great. They were actively engaged in the design process, which was very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been great if Angle2 took a little bit more initiative. Since we are not designers, I didn’t always understand how to provide feedback on something or explain what I was looking for. Taking the initiative to define some design elements would be great for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to have a well-defined vision before going in, and be prepared for multiple discussions from the get-go. The more you interact with them initially, the more smoothly the process will go. Additionally, try to figure out ways to communicate your problems effectively and spend the time ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of an online writing game and community. We motivate people from around the world to write more words and to keep a daily writing habit through the use of game mechanics on our online platform.

Writers can write their words using our editor, organize their words into files and projects, play a game with those words, customize their characters, build homes, and connect with other writers in our forum. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2?

We needed a partner who would first understand our product and community (thousands of writers who use the site everyday to write) and then would help us redesign the entire platform so that it would be consistent, engaging and easier to use. We hired Angle2 because of their experience in both UX and UI and in this project we covered both.

An additional challenge ontop of redesignign our platform was the need to make sure that our game art was still heavily prevalent and just as engaging for our community. We pride ourselves on our art and the game world we created, so we needed a partner that would not only be able to do the basics of designing a nice Dashboard, but also take on the challenge of redesigning the game. Angle2 was able to take on this challenge en performed really well. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Angle2 after an exhaustive research phase where we went through about 100 different vendor profiles on Clutch and similiar sites. After narrowing the list down to 10 we conducted video interviews with each one and in the end it was A2's focus on UX and their excitement to tackle the challenge of redesigning the game that made us choose them.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project was divided in two main phases. In the initial UX phase they first researched our industry and competitors, then investigated our product and community to better understand them (surveys, video interviews) and then when we felt they understood our product we moved into Information Architecture and User Flows.

After this indepth process we created wireframes for each page before finally moving to the UI phase.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

From Angle2 we were able to work directly with one of the founders as well as UX and UI leads. Additionaly we were able to work with junior UX and UI designers who worked under the supervisision of the more senior members.

At all stages it felt like there was good communication on their side internally and we never had to repeat ourselves or explain something to a new team member joining the project. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results so far have been fantastic! We shared a preview of our work with our community and even drastic changes got ratings of 9/10 and higher. Because the redesign hasn't been launched yet we don't have more concrete results, but one of our major goals of the redesign was to have a complete design system we could keep at the end of our work together. Angle2's team are extremely organized and the system they are creating will benefit us internally greatly.

We're really excited to launch this update!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with Angle2 was easy and we were in constant communication both through Slack and weekly progress update calls with their team. They never took more than 24 hours to respond to a question and one thing that stood out about working with them is how clear they are with their hours worked.

Every two weeks (or one week when we asked) we got a complete breakdown, by the hour, of what each of their team members worked on and we had the opportunity to discuss it with them before any charges or invoices were sent. Everything felt very transparent, I could trust them, and it led to a great relationship where we both able to focus on our work so we could deliver the best results. All of our team members were included in conversations by Angle2 and their voices were heard throughout the process, it felt like a true partnership.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

How easy and straight forward everything was. I've worked with other design providers in the past and it has been a mix of missed deadlines, over inflated budgets and half done projects. Everything with Angle2 was as we could have hoped.

The did what the said they were going to do, for the cost they said they would do it, in the time they said they would have it done. We didn't have to pressure or chase after them and they delivered at the, or in some stages above, the quality we would have hoped. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

One small area for improvement could be the cost estimation of the project - although this isn't something I would fault them for because of how big our redesign was (well over 100 screens on desktop + the same on mobile).

This is something I discussed with the team already and when we did realize we were a bit over budget they jumped into action and came up with a strategy where we could still finish what we wanted at a fair price. When something was well above what they estimated it would be, they were kind and fair enough to bring that cost down and absorb it on their end, so the budget wouldn't rise anymore. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a B2B SaaS company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2?

We hired Angle2 for UI / UX design of our entire SaaS platform. This includes full end to end delivery of various major and minor features from UI / UX perspective.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were working with another firm earlier and were not getting the right collaboration from them. Found Angle2 through a recommendation and Yuiry was amazing to work with.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We've been working with Angle2 team for the past 6 months and don't plan to stop anytime soon. They act like a core part of our team and every single person on the team is acting like a core member of our team. We have worked with them on several major products and minor features all the way from the inception to delivery and audit of UI / UX after it's been built. So effectively, they help us through the full lifecycle of UX.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our team at Angle2 consists of UX expert, UI specialist, a project manager and the CEO joins once in a while to make sure things are going well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Incredibly happy with the quality of work delivered by the team. They really do deeply care about making us successful and I can see that in the amount of research and thinking they do before designing something for us. The whole team is very good to work with, deliver things on time and always stay on top of their work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very easy to work with, we frequently collaborate with them over slack channels and zoom meetings. Easy to work with and quite flexible.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I was most impressed by the way each and every person in their team really cared about what we were building. They took the time to understand our domain, understand our users and did the research before suggesting designs. Most people don't take the effort to do this but Angle2 team deeply cares and this is reflected in the quality of work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

They probably don't need the project manager for all engagements and should make it optional. Not that the PM takes a lot of time and definitely doesn't bill many hours. But not everyone cares about having a PM.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Director of an innovation funding consultancy. We are a start up that has been going for over 2 years now.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2, and what were your goals?

We had issues with attaining documentation from clients, and also giving them visibility of our process. We approached Angle2 in order to develop some software that would allow the client to upload documentation, make edits to the information in our reports, and also schedule calls with consultants if they have a question. This software would give us an edge above the rest of the competition in our market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We found Angle2 through a website called themanifest.com. However we spoke to a whole series of different UX & UI development teams from around the world before deciding to use Angle2. We were looking for developers who were personable and would assess the entire scope of the project before giving us a quote. We needed these qualities as we were not sure about the entire scope of the project, so needed a team who were flexible, personable, and reactive. Angle2 gave us all of these qualities.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

First of all Angle2 scoped out what we required the portal to do by creating a storyboard with us. We then moved onto the UX phase of the project where we could work out the framework of our vision. We spent the most time on this as it was the most important stage. Once we had decided on our framework we moved onto the UI stage, and then development.

Due to the fact our scope kept expanding and we had a rebrand during development, we went through a few iterations of both development and UI design, however Angle2 were highly reactive to our needs and quickly made the changes we required to a high standard.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were about 5 people on the team. We had Victor and Yuriy who helped us manage the overall project throughout the process. We also had Jane on UX/UI and Igor and Kristina on backend development. Overall the team seemed to work well together throughout the whole process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Overall the project has been a success so far, and we have managed to continually add to the original design with ease.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They have a great approach to their projects, and they all work together to solve any issues quickly and efficiently. They also take a very personal approach with their clients. This allows them to solve issues and make changes rapidly, even with English being a second language for most of the team, we found that if we had not described something correctly, Angle2 were very quick to solve the issue and make the changes required.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We've had direct access to the whole team, making it easy to communicate our ideas. Things can be lost in translation if you only talk to a project manager.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The only areas of improvement I would suggest for Angle2 is that they needed a slightly more experienced UI designer who is as reactive and efficient as the rest of the team. The person we originally had was a little young and therefore did not understand our needs as quickly as the rest of the team, as due to age he did not take the same personable approach.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co founder and Executive Director of the video interview platform. We provide employers with practical solutions in recruiting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2, and what were your goals?

Our team is experienced in the HR issues with focus on recruitment. In our work we encountered challenges that were time consuming and costly, but we knew what can the solution be. We needed prefessional SW development team that would make our vision a reality. Having conducted tender among recommended vendors, we selected Angle2.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Co founders are both internationally well connected, so in the vendor selection process we didn't limit ourselves with one country or language. Having received many recommendations from professionals in this area, we invited several companies to tender, where Angle2 was a clear winner. Main reason for the positive decision was their level of project goals understanding, previous experience and quality of the team.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

It was a green field project. Our side delivered vision and goals presentation, and the Angle2 team took it from there. At every step we discuss suggestions for the technical solutions and technoligies used.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

5-6 people on regular basis. Project manager, coders, UX designers, web designers, managing director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

As the platform is not launched yet, we can only share info about timely deliveries of milestones and understandable calculations for every step of the project. We also received quality information regarding different options comparison to make our decisions right.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have regular communication with the project manager, and we receive regular updates of every step of the project. Also important feature is the regular reminders about our deliverables, so the process is not delayed.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Understandable and clear communication about the project needs and progress. Their team respects our internal situation while being proactive towards upcoming issues.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There are maybe issues that could have been done different, but nothing that would influence the quality of the end result. Also worth mentiong, that our team had some requirements that could have delayed the process without any chance for Angle2 team to speed it up.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a startup in the health insurance space. We’re building a digital health insurance platform for consumers in the Middle East to make researching, purchasing and managing their health insurance policies convenient and transparent.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2?

We’d designed and built a prototype/MVP of our platform ourselves to test out all the functionality etc. However, as a small team without any real design expertise in-house we decided to engage Angle2 to audit, polish up and redesign our user flows and interfaces where necessary.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We shortlisted and evaluated 5 or 6 different vendors for this project, and we had multiple meetings with each. We ended up selecting Angle2 for a number of reasons. First of all they were extremely responsive to our initial enquiry. Meetings were set up quickly and we had a well thought out proposal in a few days.

Second of all they looped in a senior UX researcher/designer from the first call, and her questions, insight and feedback impressed us from the get go. Finally, they have some previous experience with similar platforms in other geographical markets so they were able to hit the ground running so to speak.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Although we’d already developed a prototype the team elected to take a clean late approach so as not to anchor themselves on the work we’d already done. We started off by agreeing on and setting up our project systems and workflows... a Slack channel for communication, Zoom for video calls and Calendly for scheduling. We then set up projects in Asana, Whimsical and Figma for project/task management and design collaboration. The team started by developing the project’s information architecture and doing an in-depth analysis of our competitive landscape.

They then studied how platforms in other, unrelated industries use UX/UI to solve some of the challenges we’re facing. The results of these analyses were fed into the creation of high-level UX flows and wireframes. These were then refined over multiple workshops/iterations and when we were happy with them the project moved onto the UI stage where their UI designer put together hi-fi layouts, designs and illustrations.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team consisted of a UX researcher, a UI designer and a project manager to coordinate everything. The company owner also sat in on some of the meetings to oversee how things were going.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with all the work that has been delivered. We’ve taken a conscious decision not to launch with a product that is too lean or rough around the edges. Even though we’ll have limited functionality at the start, it will at least be well designed and thought out and we’re very excited and optimistic about our upcoming launch.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We put a lot of effort into establishing workflows up front so this project has been run really efficiently. They have a good command of English so language hasn’t really been a barrier.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I’ve been impressed with a number of things. First of all they’re quick... they’re super responsive to Slack messages, they action feedback very quickly, and the pace at which work has been completed has generally been very high. Second of all I’m impressed with their UX/UI design skills. It didn’t take long for them to understand our product, and the UX/UI recommendations they make are all solid. It was not simply a case of us telling them what to design and them then going away and doing the work.

They were able to think and challenge as product owners... this is very important to us. They’re also just a pleasant bunch of people to work with, which is equally important I think!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not really, nothing comes to mind at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the company owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire , and what were your goals?

We are developing a range of fitness apps and a website and we hired Angle2 to create a professional consistent design for all of them

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We found them in Upwork and they were the best from short-listed design firms. Not only in design but in communications too. They understood the project perfectly and proposed the best approach which met all our goals within the budget and very tight timeline.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our teem needed to prepare website onboarding. Onboarding have included more than 40 screens on React JS.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

With us worked 3 persons: a UI designer, a Front-end Developer and a Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

They delivered several dozens of designed pages and React.js code for all of them

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They assigned a project manager which facilitated the process. For communications we mostly used Slack and Zoom. I want to add that they provided us with a smooth predictable process and they are absolutely great in communications. They were always available for discussion and clear explanations. They understood exactly what we wanted.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their deep expertise in UX/UI design as well as ability to keep the working process exceptionally effective

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There’s always a room for improvements. In this case, one of their front-end developer couldn’t keep verbal communications in English. The rest of thing were very good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

For this project, I was the Project Manager of a software development agency, who relied on outsourcing specific development and design tasks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Angle2?

Angle2 was required to design an intelligent, smart UI for a resources portal, as well as create and deliver all design assets through a vigorous review process.

What were your goals for this project?

The overall delivery of the project was to deliver a complex, progression and permission based resources portal to our client's strict requirements.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Long before this project, we performed our own selection process from approximately 30+ similar vendors. Angle2 were the clear leaders in this process, and we used them ever since without any regrets.

Describe the project in detail.

Due to NDA, the project cannot be described in detail, but followed traditional agile discovery and development processes.

What was the team composition?

Over the lifetime of this project, we had made use of about 6 members of Angle2's team. From their own dedicated project manager, account manager, as well as junior and senior designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client was ecstatic with the results, as it fulfilled their vision and criteria perfectly. Angle2's work fronts a live, and commercially successful product, thanks in no small part to their excellent work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was quick, and smooth. Angle2 were always responsive and sensitive to our requests, as well as confidently pushing back, and questioning, when their expertise required. Angle2 makes use of modern tools, such as InVision, to streamline the workflow process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Angle2 has always maintained excellent communication, honesty even with harsh truths, and outstanding quality of work. It's why they are my preferred partner in this field of work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their cost is fair, their quality is top notch and their delivery schedules are more than reasonable. I couldn't possibly expect more from an agency like theirs.