PHLOOQ :: EVALUATING DESIGN FIRMS :: THE FINAL 3

I have spent the last week interviewing and soliciting proposals from design firms to design a Web site for PhlooQ (see http://phlooq.com).

The last few posts included some of the dimensions of what I am looking for in a design team for PhlooQ's web site. (A team that will ultimately drive the interfaces of the widgets, the ads we develop, and the brand identity in general.)

I may choose a firm and then decide to change creative direction but I'd prefer to find a design team that PhlooQ can grow with and keep as a partner over the long haul.

The dimensions that I talked about were:

1. Flexibility of mind

2. Ability to understand what we do, where we are, and where we are going

3. Demonstrated design capability

4. Affection for the team

5. Cost

6. Responsiveness

&

7. Risk taking

I called out #7 in my last post about "chickenshit." Everyone is a critic and these types will tell you what they don't like but they can't tell you what they would do instead. They won't risk putting their own ideas out there. My last post was focused on those folks who will tell you what they don't like but can't or won't tell you what they want to see.

These contributors fall into the people you hire to complain to you...they will tell you all that is wrong and wait around for you to give them another idea to complain about. They revel in the self-satisfaction of telling you that yet again another idea is bad or wrong. These folks wait around until you give them the safest, least common denominator idea: an idea so basic that they can't find a complaint about it. And then they encourage you to execute on that!

I want a design firm (and friends, and partners, and colleagues, and even customers) who will upgrade the quality of their complaints to constructive suggestions for improvement. I am interested in people who take the time to walk through the thought exercise of asking themselves, "I don't like this for this reason, okay so why is that? And now that I know why I don't like it, I can actually explain how this might be done better!"

I am looking for a design firm that is an endless fountain of ideas for improvement--I mean, I know when the UI sucks. I want you to create a solution that I didn't think of--I don't want to sit around and tell you all the ways it can be better and then watch you copy down my thinking and spit it back to me.

I've spent the last few days uncovering my own thinking about hiring a design firm. I have made transparent my flaws and my predispositions...I have narrowed the field down to three firms:

Skona
Kasman/Squillante
Lift

Skona: http://www.skona-advertising.com

Skona had the team I really felt akin to. There was something about their vibe that I bought into. Plus I love the demonstrated design skill from their Meyer Sound ad campaign. The "real" quality that is part of their Voice won me over. I was not so impressed with the Web sites they did. I felt like they had a decent idea of what we did though they did not request to connect with me on Facebook. That said the vibe was good and the way they talk about committing to an effort until a client is satisfied was great.

Kasman/Squllante: http://www.ksgraphic.com/

This pair probably had the highest pure design skill of any firm I looked at. Their minimalist approach was almost showy in how it made apparent their design skill. The way they think through the design problems they have solved is worth highlighting. I like these two very much! ...but felt like I would have to work on "connecting" with them. I also felt they were very deliberate and the kind of time pressure I might put on them could really squirrel the relationship.

Lift: http://liftagency.com

This group demonstrated the greatest flexibility of mind. The dynamic mind of the lead designer, Baumert, was impressive...as he seemed to think fast and react quickly. Every idea I tossed out he responded to and built on in a way I was hoping one might--with a twist or two I had not thought of! He is on Facebook and RSVP'd to the PhlooQ meetup event in Foster City (see http://phlooq.com). Also his demonstrated design skill is top notch. I liked the Dislocated Clothing part of his portfolio. Also, his proposal had cool surprises in it-- a risk taker!

Tomorrow? The winner!