It was an incredible 2018 for us, and there is a lot to be thankful for. It was a year of bold changes in our professional lives. This year really started in October 2017 when we (Douglas Rockhill & Shai Reichert) finally took the leap and started our own company, The Experience Design Studio. This was a leap we’ve discussed for close to ten years as we worked together across two agencies and countless projects. We worked for some of the largest agencies and brands in the world and always felt the next logical challenge was to build our own shop with a healthcare focus and build it better than what we were seeing from the large agencies in the industry. We wanted to create a shop that was purpose-built for today’s challenges with UX and technology at our core and a focus on the complete customer journey.
From Live streamed Chocolate Christmas Trees to enabling Pharma and Healthcare brands with Lead Gen capabilities, 2018 Was Quite Eventful here at XDS.
So, we took the leap, opened XDS and started letting a few folks know we started our own shop. Our first project came in a few days later and it was one of the most interesting projects of our careers – creating the first social chocolate Christmas tree. Godiva needed to create social buzz during the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Utilizing their flagship NYC store, we hung programmable LED lights on a real-size chocolate Christmas tree that was commissioned for their window display. Via a simple tweet fans could control the lights – changing the color and pattern of the lights in the store window.
From there XDS was off and running. We helped Rainmaker Thinking, Learning Ally, Acquis Consulting, and The Bosco with new websites, marketing materials, and CRM platforms. We partnered with agencies such as JUICE, Lippe Taylor, Quattro, Snow Companies, and MBooth in bringing their digital projects to life and helping their clients.
With our vast healthcare experience, we had the opportunity to work on several projects for major pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, Novartis, Sanofi, and Verastem.
We also completed several projects throughout the year to help Shockwave Medical bring their innovative new medical device to global markets, including the recent launch of their new website.
Lastly, we got serious about our CRM and inbound marketing capabilities, even more so within the healthcare space, becoming a HubSpot Certified Partner. A few of our clients are already reaping the benefits of our certification and expertise, which provides them with free onboarding, as well as helping their lead generation efforts.
2018 has been an incredibly busy and exciting year for us. Full of new challenges and experiences that has made our first year in business the best and most fulfilling of our careers. 2019 is shaping up to be even better, with major projects and clients lined up, including Rubius Therapeutics and Intersect ENT, shiny new office spaces in Ambler and Charleston, and new employees kicking off the new year.
So, here’s a toast to 2018 and a thank you to all the people – clients, partners, and family that have made 2018 a really great year. Now it’s time to get back to work.
Douglas Rockhill, Co-Founder, Creative