Project Overview
El Ojo de Iberoamérica is one of the most prestigious creative festivals in Latin America, celebrating excellence in advertising and creativity. The event brings together professionals from across the region, offering awards for both established creatives and new talents.
As the festival grew, so did the complexity of managing its operations: everything from award submissions to event access required an updated digital solution.
El Ojo is one of the oldest clients in the Manas portfolio, a fruitful relationship that began back in 2005, which most recently gave origin to a streamlined suite of applications.
System’s Main Goals
The core objectives of the project were clear: simplify and enhance the festival’s main activities with a suite of custom-built applications. These applications needed to handle various critical processes, including:
- Award Submissions: Managing the registration of creative pieces for awarding professionals.
- Talent Contests: Enabling new talent to submit their work for group competitions.
- Voting: Facilitating the judging rounds for both professional awards and talent contests.
- Event Management: Selling tickets, providing access to past award-winning content, hosting online conferences, and offering a virtual platform for event streaming.
Our task was to create an intuitive, mobile-friendly experience that would allow participants, judges, and organizers to interact with the festival seamlessly.
Challenges and Solutions
The project came with its fair share of challenges, not least of which was budget constraints. With limited resources, I took on the roles of designer, developer, and project manager, relying on the initial support of Nico and Jules for some aspects of the backend.
One of the biggest hurdles was that the previous system, consisting of two applications that were over 15 years old, was no longer maintainable. Rather than trying to patch the old system, we made the decision to start from scratch. This led to several key decisions:
Airtable for Backend: We chose Airtable as the backend to keep costs low while providing the client with direct access to their data. While this was a cost-efficient move, it introduced significant risks, such as potential data integrity issues.
Next.js for Frontend: We selected Next.js to power the front end, a framework that offered the flexibility and performance needed to handle the dynamic elements of the festival’s operations.
Despite the resource limitations, thanks to great communication with the client, we successfully rebuilt the two core applications in under six months and even introduced a new application to access content. Over the following two years, we added numerous functionalities, including a brand-new app dedicated to new talent competitions.
The transition was smooth, and the platform now offers a more intuitive, mobile-friendly experience for users across all devices.
Payment Integration and Reusable Components
Another major part of the system’s functionality was managing payments. For both professional and new talent submissions, as well as content access and ticket sales, the platform supports payments via Mercado Pago, PayPal, or offline transfers. Integrating these payment methods into a single platform made it easier for users to complete their transactions, simplifying the overall process for both participants and organizers.
Additionally, we built a repository of reusable components shared across all four applications. This approach greatly improved maintainability, as components could be reused and updated consistently across the platform, reducing development time and increasing uniformity across the system.
Key Lessons and Recommendations
For anyone starting a project of this scale, especially under tight budget constraints, I’d recommend the following:
Start Small and Iterate: Begin with a basic feature and work closely with the client to iterate week by week. For us, the first milestone was the user registration form, and from there, we built out the rest of the platform in weekly sprints.
Leverage Agile Methodologies: Regular, incremental updates allowed us to stay aligned with the client’s evolving needs and quickly adapt to any changes. This approach not only kept the project moving but also made it easier for the client to be engaged and confident in the direction of the work.
Keys to Success
What made the project successful was a combination of choosing the right stack, and the close collaboration with the client. We maintained open lines of communication throughout the entire development process and stayed flexible to accommodate feedback and changing requirements. By working hand-in-hand with the client and being available whenever they needed, we were able to deliver a solution that exceeded their expectations.
Ultimately, the combination of Agile project management, careful tech stack choices, and constant communication were the driving forces behind the timely and effective delivery of the project.
We’re proud to have helped El Ojo de Iberoamérica revamp their platform, creating a more efficient and user-friendly experience for all participants. If you’re looking to overhaul your digital systems or build something from scratch, we’d love to help you become another of our success stories.