YML

YML as a studio

YML describes itself as a 300-plus person digital design and development studio bringing Silicon Valley to clients worldwide, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Redwood City with offices in New York, Bengaluru and Atlanta. Mobile app development is 40 percent of its mix, UX/UI design 30 percent, digital strategy 20 percent. Fintech at 30 percent leads the industry list, and enterprise clients are 60 percent of the book. Fourteen Clutch reviews at 4.8 describe native iOS and Android builds, experience design and prototyping, and long-running card-member app programmes. Minimums start at $250,000+.

Who it fits

Hire YML when a large consumer-facing company needs a native mobile product designed and engineered by a big, distributed team, and can fund a $250,000+ engagement at $200 to $300 per hour. Founders and brand leads shopping for a studio with a signature visual voice will not find one here; there is no branding, graphic or motion line in the mix.

Strengths

• Mobile-first craft: reviewers describe experience design, wireframing and prototyping feeding straight into native builds
• Scale and continuity for multi-year enterprise programmes, with enterprise at 60 percent of clients
• Consumer-heavy sector mix (fintech, consumer products, retail, healthcare) where app polish matters

Watch-outs

• A $250,000+ floor and 250 to 999 headcount put it firmly out of boutique territory
• No identity or graphic practice: it designs products, not brands

Evidence

• Services: mobile app development 40 percent, UX/UI design 30 percent, digital strategy 20 percent, custom software development 10 percent
• Minimum project $250,000+ at $200 - $300 / hr; 4.8 from 14 Clutch reviews
• A Clutch reviewer: "focusing particularly on the experience design, wireframing, prototyping and development"