<div class="payload-richtext"><p>CGSociety is a global organization that helps digital artists connect, get informed, learn, and promote their work. We took the platform from prototype to launch, covering UI/UX design and development with the latest technologies and best practices.</p></div>

Designed and built a professional CG artist network

<div class="payload-richtext"><h3>About the project</h3></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><p>CGSociety supports digital artists at every level, giving them a place to share work, exchange tips, network, and find their next job on web and mobile. Our story with the project began in 2014 with CG+, our own community for CG artists. After CGSociety acquired CG+ in 2018, they kept us on as the development partner for CGSociety 2.0.</p></div>

Services

Industry

<div class="payload-richtext"><h2>Goals</h2></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><p>The client wanted to make it easier for CG artists to connect by building a community created just for them.</p></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><h2>Key challenges</h2></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><p>The client had a clear vision but no infrastructure. The platform needed ground-up development, from design and UI to software and logic.</p></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><h2>The process</h2><p>We started with prototyping, then moved on to design and development, focusing on usability and a flawless user experience.</p></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><h3>UI/UX design</h3><p>We designed the platform following the latest UI and UX standards, with a dark, content-first interface that lets artists' work take center stage. To keep a big team in sync, we adopted a UI Kit that allowed multiple designers and developers to work simultaneously while keeping the product consistent.</p></div>

UI/UX design

<div class="payload-richtext"><h3>Development</h3><p>We built the platform using cutting-edge technologies and <a href="https://shakuro.com/services/webdev-socialapp">web development</a> best practices to make sure it works smoothly at scale.</p></div>

Development

<div class="payload-richtext"><h2>Outcomes</h2></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><p>We started with a broad idea and vision and ended up with a global-scale product used by digital artists around the world.</p></div>

Customer Testimonial

Inspired connects innovators and investors, making collaboration seamless and impactful. Platform helps visionaries present ideas, attract investment, and build partnerships for real-world change.

SOCIAL MEDIA, SITE RELIABILITY ENGINEERING, SRE, DOWNTIME, UPTIME

Maximilian Werner

A digital platform connecting innovators and investors

Mirko Romanelli, a product and industrial designer focused on minimal design, elevated by details and materials.

WEB DESIGN, BRANDING, PORTFOLIO WEBSITE

Mirko Romanelli

Website for product and industrial designer who creates complete experiences

Kirill Chepizhko

<div class="payload-richtext"><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Project summary:</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Shakuro created a digital art web platform from the ground up, executing the entire design and logic, software development, and UX/UI. They now conduct fixes and changes in an open engagement.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Feedback summary:</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">As Shakuro introduced new features, user numbers grew steadily, and uploads, comments, and likes increased on the platform. The team’s integrity, extensive experience, and proactive project management continue to earn them top marks.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Introduce your business and what you do there.</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">I’m the CEO of Secret Pacific Division. Our company wanted to launch a website for digital artists. We still don’t know if we’re going to work on other websites, but that’s basically our product. I’m in San Francisco, and a few people are working for me.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What challenge were you trying to address with Shakuro?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">We needed ground-up development, including the whole design, software, UI, and logic. We knew that Shakuro had experience in building a similar platform. We had an idea but no infrastructure, and we hadn’t figured out the logic of how that interaction would happen. We found some competitor websites that looked similar to what we wanted. We needed an abstraction of all that, plus improvements. We brought Shakuro our vision, and they took over completely. We started with a broad idea and ended with the product.</p></div>

<div class="payload-richtext"><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What was the scope of their involvement?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">I’m not a technical person, but I believe the site was built using Ruby on Rails. Shakuro also did some specific domain setups and other particulars. The project was split into frontend and backend. One person led the team on the backend, and we also were assigned someone for the design. I was only talking to a single person about the UI and our ideas, and that individual relayed information to the people who were implementing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Due to their experience with similar platforms, they also offered ideas. It was something they didn’t have a chance to do before, and it felt right. Also, the functionality is really vast. For example, we needed a set of images implemented, but it had to be simultaneous with, let’s say, 10 images in a row. We didn’t know how to do that, but Shakuro had an idea about uploading and tagging images, which they helped us develop and perfect. They found a way to propagate the same tag throughout all images and alter them.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They also suggested and developed instant messaging within the website, which none of our competitors had at the time. Now, we have messages between profiles.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How did you come to work with Shakuro?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">We found them by word-of-mouth after they developed a previous popular platform. We started developing our own because if that platform went away, the website would shut down. We knew that Shakuro was the original developer, so we reached out to them through the website and looked at their portfolio. Their previous experience definitely attracted us.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How much have you invested with Shakuro?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">We’ve invested over $50,000.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What is the status of this engagement?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">It’s kind of a blur because we had a rough start at the idea stage. I don’t remember the exact date or month, but I know it’s been going on for 1.5 years roughly. The project has wrapped up, and we’re in limbo at the moment. We will need more development and are still talking to them. It’s an open contract since we go back to them for fixes and changes. There’s currently no new development, but maintenance is still happening.</p></div>

SOLUTION

<div class="payload-richtext"><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">We like to keep our specific numbers private, but you can see the activity on the website by recent uploads, which happen every day. The growth rate was pretty stable while we were rolling out new features. We had to stop for other reasons, but as we were implementing more and more stuff, we had something like 1,000 users a month. We saw increases in commenting, liking, and uploading.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Shakuro also helped us implement a support system, which they didn’t develop but tailored for us. It includes pop-up support on the right side of the screen. Once that was in place, we had a lot of user feedback coming in directly through that tool. We had users asking for certain features, and I’ve discussed these suggestions with Shakuro. Some of them have been implemented already, and others were minor changes in the UI.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>How did Shakuro perform from a project management standpoint?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">I would give them 100%. They took over the development completely after the idea stage. I had no problem with their management whatsoever. We had daily Skype calls where they showed me the progress, and I either approved it or sent it back.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What did you find most impressive about Shakuro?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">I have a friend who is also working with them based on my recommendation, so I can speak about several projects. Their integrity is the most impressive trait. Often, when I had ideas that weren’t the best or that were expensive, they were upfront and told me which ideas would not be viable.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They were transparent in setting costs and giving feedback. Not everyone is like that. A lot of developers will blindly follow your direction. I relied on their experience, as this was my first big user platform project. Their candor gave us considerable value.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Are there any areas Shakuro could improve?</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">If everything was cheaper, we’d all be happy, but I don’t think they’re the most expensive company. Rates depend on the market, and they can always go lower. I would prefer to have some people working in my office, but they did a good job in a remote capacity.</p></div>

Designed and built a professional CG artist network

About the project

Goals

Key challenges

The process

UI/UX design

Development

Outcomes

Customer Testimonial

You might also like some of our recent stories

A digital platform connecting innovators and investors

Website for product and industrial designer who creates complete experiences

Have an idea?
We can help.

Designed and built a professional CG artist network

About the project

Goals

Key challenges

The process

UI/UX design

Development

Outcomes

Customer Testimonial

You might also like some of our recent stories

A digital platform connecting innovators and investors

Website for product and industrial designer who creates complete experiences

Have an idea? We can help.

Have an idea?
We can help.