Who Will Replace Adaptive Path?


Adaptive Path, a leading UX agency, is off the market.

Is a great ux agency in your wallet?Capital One, the financial services company of “What’s in your wallet?” fame, purchased Adaptive Path earlier this month. For prior clients such as Airbnb, Flickr, Twitter, and Harvard Business Review, the hunt for a new user experience agency partner is on.

At Agency Spotter, we feel for them. Replacing an agency that can handle complexity and conduct true end-to-end user experience research and design is complicated. But this as an opportunity to reevaluate what your brand needs.

Whether new to UX or not, start your agency search with some internal soul-searching. Have your team seriously consider the three questions below. The answers will lead to a better UX agency match.

3 Questions to Ask When Your UX Agency Leaves You

1. How complex is your problem? How many different systems need to hook together to make this a success?

A more complex problem doesn’t necessarily require a larger agency. If you’re a brand who can work with a small shop, consider a boutique user experience design agency run by experts who came from companies like Adaptive Path. Their focus on UX may be all you need. But if you want an agency that can also handle e-commerce platforms and retail design, a more robust agency may be a better fit.

2. Does the agency have enough manpower to staff up and solve my problem? Or do I only need a few really talented people to deliver success?

Again, the size and complexity of your UX needs matter. Designing the user experience of a simple website can be handled by a smaller, more focused agency. Bigger, complex projects involving multiple customer touchpoints may require more manpower. Don’t pick a shovel when you need a bulldozer (and visa versa).

3. How much experience and focus should my next UX agency have in my industry? Do they need to have an in-house development team?

Adaptive Path worked with Wells Fargo before partnering with Capital One. That financial services experience, while not the agency’s only selling point, was an asset. Consider your parameters for experience and focus. Weigh them against the other attributes each agency offers (such as in-house development, cultural fit, client portfolio, and design expertise). Determine what is most important to your project and proceed from there.

3 Paths to UX Success

Use these three categories of UX agencies to help guide your search.

The Boutique UX Agency

The Robust UX Agency

Innovation Agencies with Great UX

After Adaptive Path

adaptive-path-uxThere’s no need to despair that Adaptive Path is off the UX agency market. Fortunately this champion of user experience helped create a community of UX experts now leading other awesome agencies. Put the information here to good use and search for your next UX agency with confidence on Agency Spotter. Your customers, and your bottom line, will thank you.

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Claire Wallace