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We are excited to share with you our recent project - the visualisations of the Harlow Quarter development. Located in the heart of Harlow's town centre in Essex, this modern apartment complex is a much-needed addition to the existing housing mix. The development comprises 163 apartments, including a selection of studios, 1-, and 2-bedroom apartments, as well as retail space, all spread across a 4.5-acre site.

Harlow is a popular choice for commuters, with excellent transport links to UK cities and towns. The development is served by two mainline stations, providing direct commutes to London Liverpool Street in 30 minutes, Stansted Airport in 17 minutes, and Cambridge in 40 minutes. Easy road access to the M11 and M25 motorways, as well as frequent bus services from nearby Harlow bus station to neighbouring towns, make Harlow a well-connected town.

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Developed and managed by Strawberry Star Homes, Harlow Quarter combines high-specification interiors and beautiful outdoor spaces to bring the best of modern living to Harlow. Private balconies are available for selected units, and two private residents' roof terraces, one with a children's play area, offer beautiful views of the town. The development also boasts a daytime concierge, CCTV and audio entry phone system, and 164 secure cycle spaces for residents.

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Our goal at The Digital Bunch was to showcase the extremely busy life on the streets in this neighbourhood through our visualizations. We delivered both daytime and nighttime images for this project, highlighting the lively atmosphere of Harlow's town center.

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Architecture

Revitalizing Harlow

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This is an R&D project we did in-house to try out the newest version of Unreal Engine. Creating this animation was a great combination of technical skills and artistic input we have in our studio. We are the ones who created a creative brief for the story, and then came up with software solutions.

This project was presented during the Business and 3D Visualization Conference in the Autumn of 2022. 

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The new version of the Unreal Engine allowed us to work with decals and lumen technology. Just to check all possibilities, we came up with a story based in the city of the future - where all light comes from artificial light sources, and the ground is covered with garbage. Lument technology is great to show neon city lights, and decals were helpful when we wanted to lay out pavement markers, catch pits or bins. 

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Product

Unreal Mystery

**We redesigned Valley Insurance Associates' website and built a custom CRM system to help them with surplus lines filings and reporting processes. We used the Product Design Sprint methodology to plan and deliver the project, optimizing time, minimizing burnt hours, and increasing predictability. The technology stack used in the project included Node.js and React (Next.js).**

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Valley Insurance Associates specializes in filing surplus lines taxes, reports, and staying current on ever-changing tax rates, forms, deadlines, requirements, and laws for insurance agents across the United States. However, their excel-based workflow was causing confusion, errors, and a lot of wasted time, and so they approached The Digital Bunch to build a custom CRM system that could streamline their processes and increase efficiency.

To begin with, we conducted a series of remote workshops with the Valley Insurance Associates team to understand their current processes and identify elements that could be automated. We analyzed and converted their unscalable, spreadsheet-based workflow into an intuitive system that the whole team could work on in real-time and assign tasks to each other. We quickly identified that what VIA needs is a system based on two separate applications - one to track all the reports that need to be generated by the team on behalf of their clients and the other one is used to collect all the filing documents from clients, determine how much taxes and fees need to be paid and allow employees to upload processed files. 


Analyzing the Workflow

We built a custom system that redefines how all the paperwork is organized. Instead of using typical folders, employees are able to preview all the tasks for each month, each state and each client. Comparing this to the previous workflow, every employee had to track at least 3 different spreadsheets to remember the agreements with each client and even know what they needed to do. Moreover, these spreadsheets would change over time depending on a range of different factors. Finding what needs to be filed was an overwhelming task by itself that required a lot of experience and attention. The new system makes the whole process more transparent since everything is in one interactive view and needed information is quick to find. The software guides VIA employees to the tasks that require their attention, finding the outstanding files that are to be submitted. This module saves numerous hours and allows the team to focus on other business activities, minimizing errors, omissions, and allowing for tasks to be done more efficiently. The system also increases security since all the passwords to clients’ accounts are encrypted.

Clients can submit files to their account and preview the status of their filings. The interface is much easier than the traditional way of sending emails and snail mail. The system also automatically sends out emails to clients with processed filings, keeps track of all the files clients have sent, making it easier to track any mistakes in the documents and paperwork. The process is streamlined and more transparent both for clients and for the VIA team. The clients’ feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with many opinions 

Building a Custom CRM System

We used the Product Design Sprint methodology to properly plan and deliver the project. This approach helped us optimize time, minimize burnt hours, and increase predictability. Over a series of remote workshops, we analyzed the existing workflow and suggested ways it can be translated into software. We focused on an optimal delivery. Instead

The tech stack used in the project included Node.js and React. We chose this stack because of its flexibility, scalability, and ease of use. Node.js allowed us to build the backend of the system quickly and efficiently, while React made it easy to build a dynamic and responsive user interface.

The custom CRM system we built for Valley Insurance Associates has streamlined their surplus lines filings and reporting process, saving numerous hours, minimizing errors, and increasing security. The Product Design Sprint methodology helped us plan and deliver the project efficiently, while the Node.js and React tech stack allowed us to build a robust and user-friendly system.


Our tools and methodologies

The custom CRM system we built for Valley Insurance Associates has streamlined their surplus lines filings and reporting process, saving numerous hours, minimizing errors, and increasing security. The Product Design Sprint methodology helped us plan and deliver the project efficiently, while the Node.js and React tech stack allowed us to build a robust and user-friendly system.

Summary

Software

Website redesign and custom CRM system