Case Study
Archifeed
Miami, USADigital Experience Design, Communication & Brand, Board Level Consulting
Archifeed provides an innovative online platform for students to showcase their work, while streamlining the accreditation process for architecture schools.
Audit
Cousins initiated the project by conducting an in-depth audit and engaging in conversations with the founding team to understand their requirements and objectives. The initial focus was on creating an external application for student portfolios at the Miami School of Architecture, in collaboration with the School's Dean and the research unit, RAD LAB.
Cousins also anticipated the need for startup formation, stakeholder agreements, intellectual property protection, and assistance with feasibility studies and fundraising efforts.
Setup
Building upon the audit findings, Cousins assigned a dedicated partner to the account and curated a team of experts from their network.
Partner
Victor Ayache
Managing Partner, Consultant at Cousins
Collaborators
Charbel Eid (Technology, development)
Director at Digital ITS
Anna Ogden-Smith (Strategy, Design, Digital)
Director at Bananamonkey.
RAD LAB
Research unit at Miami School of Architecture (SoA)
Workshop
01/ Business Formation and Partnerships
Through comprehensive conversations with the founding team, Cousins facilitated the development of a solid legal foundation for the project.
This involved formulating a shareholders' agreement and equity distribution strategy to govern the initial partnerships, which were crucial for early adoption and funding. Cousins also engineered a "distribution copyrights" strategy to protect the equity of the founding team and mitigate potential dilution from other partners.
02/ Application Design & Digital Strategy
This phase was carried out by Bananamonkey, a design studio located in London and Beirut. We researched platforms with intricate user experiences, ranging from apps and airports to signage systems and modular designs. The branding concept was developed around the central idea of Mcluhan theory of media, which states that the medium is the message. The app serves as the medium through which we communicate, in contrast to the architectural work that will be showcased on the platform.
A modular design system would take away the anecdotal content of the work and would put forward the materiality of the background, the medium or the application.
By implementing effective project management techniques and fostering collaboration among cross-functional teams, our consultant adeptly optimized the process. In less than six months, they spearheaded the prototype creation and initiated the development phase of the mobile application. This allowed for efficient progression from concept design to concept validation and user testing.
04/ Headless Database Strategy
In order to underscore the significance of data and user content and to establish a strong foundation for the mobile application, the consultant from Cousins implemented a stack structure that relies on a headless database approach. This architecture effectively decouples the frontend and backend components and is capable of accommodating future API integrations as well as potential data mining and leveraging strategies. Through this decision, the consultant successfully highlights a data-centric strategy.
05/ Activation and Post-Activation Support
After a successful launch, Cousins introduced a post-launch framework designed to support the application throughout its lifecycle. Victor, who was the partner on the project, currently serves on Archifeed's advisory board. This ongoing involvement ensures continuous support and guidance for the application's evolution and ultimate success.
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