Home Smart 100 2014 Concept.vu (NSW) – 2014 SMART 100

Concept.vu (NSW) – 2014 SMART 100

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This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation came to life when…

We noticed a need to communicate with multiple stakeholders in a centralised space, and to streamline the design and video approval process.

After years of working on projects for clients, we discovered that the review and approval process was convoluted, ineffective, and inefficient.

We would send an idea to a client over email, and the client would then respond with multiple changes or show the design to someone else. Meanwhile, the purpose behind the concept and its design was lost in translation.

We looked around for a solution but couldn’t find one that was focused on approval.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

The purpose of this innovation is to declutter and streamline the entire feedback and approval process for creatives and clients.

Concept.vu offers transparency for clients and creatives, and also provides a central location for everyone involved in a project to communicate.

It does this by…

Allowing producers and creatives to present and explain each design to the client in a clear manner. The clean interface puts visual concepts front and centre, and clients can comment and annotate on specific parts of the design or video. Threaded comments keep communication centralised, and the interface is designed to keep everyone focused on approving the concept.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Concept.vu is focused on client feedback and approval, and the entire platform is designed with this in mind. It reassures clients, and is easy to use for clients and creatives.

In addition, it supports video and audio, and works on older browsers such as IE8 – this is essential as many larger clients have locked desktops with older browsers installed.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Reducing design iterations, costs and the amount of time spent on change requests.

It also presents designs in a clear and beautiful way, so clients instantly understand the concept and feel comfortable approving it.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

Design collaboration platforms which allow users to share designs with clients and allowed clients to comment on them. Approval was a feature that was tacked on and clients often start to ‘play designer’ rather than focus on approving the concept – which is what all creatives or producers want! Most also only support images, or video – not both.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Redpen – focused on feedback rather than approval.
Cageapp -focused on collaboration rather than approval.
InvisionApp – focused on collaboration and workflow.

Many of these also don’t work on Internet Explorer, which hinders a client’s ability to use it.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Concept.vu is made for creatives. This encompasses designers who want to present work remotely to clients and collate feedback, marketing departments, or creative directors who want to work on internal projects and pitches.

More importantly, it is exceptionally useful for producers and account managers who need to present work to clients and have confirmation of signoff and approval (particularly for large corporations with multiple stakeholders).

Concept.vu can also be used by creative publications and websites, such as magazines and online newspapers. Basically, just about anyone who is working on a creative project!

It is available for sale through…

Concept.vu has four plans which are available (all of which have a free 30 day trial). It suits freelance designers, studios, and agencies. Our plans include custom branding, unlimited users and unlimited concepts. There is also a limited free version.

Our marketing strategy is to…

We want others to try out Concept.vu, so we offer a free 30 day trial on all plans. We are also running a 10 week Instagram competition at launch entitled #vumyspace, where creatives can win one of 10 Wacom tablets by signing up to Concept.vu and uploading a project, taking a photo of their workspace, and sharing it on Instagram.

Your Turn — VOTE!

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We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.

FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.