Working on the user experience and fundamental design of both the web and internal systems, Edge Case is a design consultancy that recently moved to Cayman to grow internationally. We caught up with Director & Principal Consultant Marty Dunlop, on his experience moving to Cayman with Cayman Enterprise City, as well as what encouraged him to get started in the first place.
CEC: Tell us a bit about how Edge Case was started and what you do?
MD: I started Edge Case as a design consultancy back in 2016 in Scotland and we focus on user experience services. After spending three years in a consultancy with all the internal politics and bad things that came with the corporate side, I decided I wanted to break away from that.
Instead, I set out to deliver better quality for clients and be better than the competition. We’re staying true to what modern design is, especially in the digital age, and making sure we’re catering for all potential users of a system or service, particularly the outliers (or edge cases) of what we’re building. We want to make sure it’s an all-inclusive world, and everyone needs to be able to connect and access. That’s why usability and accessibility are vital factors within modern design, and one of the key cornerstones we want to push through.
CEC: Can you share what kind of clients you’ve worked with?
MD: We’ve worked with both the private and public sectors extensively. On the private side, we’ve worked with brands such as Lloyds Banking Group, which is one of the biggest banking groups in the UK. We’ve also been working with Wood Mackenzie who are based out of the US in the oil and gas, data analyses sector. Their portal harnesses statistical data coming out of the wells across the North American region and worldwide, which we supported by designing a visual map based front end service called LENS.
There’s also a lot of need for our services in the UK government sector so we’ve worked with several departments and agencies there. Right now, we’re working with VF Corp which is a brand house that owns brands such as VANS and Timberland.
CEC: When did you decide to make the move to the Cayman Islands?
MD: I first got in touch with Christopher Morgan about a year ago after seeing an advert online and doing my own research on growing my company internationally. I found that generally when moving abroad, you have to be sponsored, which means working for someone again which I’m not that keen on. Or, you have to have $500,000 and above to invest in the local economy wherever you set up which we didn’t have at that point.
Cayman and CEC was the best option, and it is only a couple of hours from most of the key states I’ve worked with or have clients in. It means I can go within a day to have meetings, or just come and go to build up rapport and networks of contacts in the market. And because the Cayman Islands are a British territory, it was easy for me as a UK national to come over.
CEC: What has been the biggest benefit of using CEC?
MD: It’s definitely a lot easier because there are structures in place and they’ve been running everything for so long, it’s all seamless. There’s been barely anything I’ve had to think too hard about. Also having contacts who know all the intricate needs of opening up a global business here, as well as in the North American market is very useful.
The businesses in the CEC are all like-minded and are either going digital or are digital already, which are the types of clients that I can help, too. So, it’s a win-win.
CEC: Since moving here, what’s been your favourite part of Cayman so far?
MD: I’ve not been here too long, a little over a month, but coming from Scotland it’s really good to have more warmth. Even the rain here is warmer. I grew up close to the water so it’s nice to be able to be around the sea air, and it’s refreshing to be along the coast. I mean, even in my local store they've got Irn Bru and Whisky which are both Scottish national drinks.
On the business side though, I’m excited to see the new CEC campus being set up which is just down at South Sound.
If you’re interested in setting up a physical presence and growing your international business in Cayman, learn more by visiting our business set-up page.