Design Phase Support

Though the Untold team are not design specialists, we appreciate being involved in all creative aspects of a project. We enjoy supporting the design phase with our technical expertise and our understanding of the software lifecycle.

Working with External Design Teams

Untold prefers active participation in supporting all phases of the design process in lieu of the passive relationships that development partners have traditionally taken.

We inform our design partners as they create, helping to reduce revisions and wasted effort on their part, and ensuring feasible technological solutions on our end.

Symbiotically, we've also found that the earlier we're involved in the design process, the better we understand the designs, both from a visual and a functional perspective. In the same way that agile software development can refine, shift course, and refocus, great design must necessarily go through many iterations to reach the best possible outcome. The more context we have about the history and philosophy behind those iterations, the better suited we are to implement the spirit of a great design.

Blended Sprints

Though all projects present unique timelines, the Untold team prefers to development alongside the design phase.

Early design sprints are often accompanied by parallel development to get the initial architecture up and then move to implementing approved designs step by step. Ideally, final design handoff takes place within a web or mobile ecosystem that is nearly complete to ensure that the final review process is most efficient.

Accessibility & Usability Testing

Untold’s development practices reflect the latest accessibility and usability concerns. Auditing and user interface (UI) tuning required to build truly accessible sites is a key step for us. Both ADA compliance and WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines are taken into account for all web and mobile properties that serve cross sections of the general public.

Design Systems

Component libraries (or style guides or pattern libraries) offer an organized approach to standardize and quickly adjust web and mobile design assets. Untold is comfortable implementing component libraries across multiple platforms and use cases.

We are happy to act as a technical consultant in terms of selecting, architecting, and build out your component library, as well as implementing solutions based on and using component libraries.

Wireframing and Proofs of Concept

In today’s web and mobile development world, assisting the design phase of any project requires a nimble wireframing partner. Helping our design partners get their designs quickly and easily approved accelerates project velocity. Untold takes pride in collaborative approach to either enabling quick wireframing for our partners or knocking out the wireframes ourselves.

Sometimes wireframes aren't quite enough to effectively communicate an idea or set of features or animations. Prototyping and building proofs of concept, no matter how small, are selfishly some of our favorite things to work on. We've built prototypes for everything from augmented reality applications to interactive comic book readers, and believe strongly that rapid prototyping and proofing is one of the best and most cost-effective ways of testing wild ideas.

Design System Install

Untold takes great care to implement brand elements to perfection. Our creative partners invest immense time and skill in creating a unified visual language, and our efforts should reflect theirs. Whether using component libraries, pattern libraries, or static style guides, the Untold team makes sure that all visual design elements are elegantly executed across web and mobile.