Partnering with Frank to Build IFBikes.com

In the dynamic world of web development--or in the agency world for that matter--you always have to ask the questions, "Who is the client?" and "What do they want and need from this relationship?" On our recent launch for Independent Fabrication, the end customer was not really a CWD client. The client relationship belonged to Frank Creative, one of our creative partners. Frank Creative is a top-tier creative agency located in Portland, OR. The company has a long and successful history of creating brands that rock. You can read more about the company on the Frank Creative website.

In a lot of ways, working with a Partner in this business is like working with a Client.

• We need to educate both parties on our process, focusing on the relationship between solution requirements, timelines, and budget.
  
  
• We need to educate both parties on the strength's and limitations of our development platform, Evergreen.
  
  
• We need to work with both parties on setting clear expectations regarding how and when to use certain technologies to deliver the right mix of form and function.
  

There are also the challenges of designing for the web environment that includes browser and cross platform compatibility issues that aren't a consideration in the print realm.



But there are also some definite ways that the relationship with a Partner differs from working with a Client.

• Timelines are more complex since two parties are being held responsible for meeting deadlines rather than just one.
  
  
• Creative collaboration presents new challenges and opportunities, demanding a need for new types of workflow.
  
  
• Project management takes on a new form as one party (the agency partner) is essentially responsible for interfacing with the client and then translating their feedback into actionable language for the other party (Cascade Web Development in this case).

As a result of these differences in the team make-up and workflow, projects like the recent launch of Independent Fabrication serve to both strengthen our creative partner relationships as well as force us to tighten and refine our processes internally. Over time, these relationships have grown into very tight bonds that create predictable and reliable outcomes that end up benefitting the final solution and client. Combining our talents has lead to some major breakthroughs for Cascade Web Development and our partners. The IF website wasn't the first site we've partnered with a creative agency to build and it certainly won't be the last.

We hope you enjoy the new IF experience and you can look forward to more launches to come from us and our creative partners into the future.