Our Story

Basics Group was founded in 2003 as a branding and graphic design firm based in Rhode Island. We built our team around an eclectic mix of clients and projects, and we started working with large retail companies right away through our expertise in brand identity management. We created playbooks and other guideline documents and helped retail teams manage specifications for signage and other store design and construction programs.

In addition to branding work, we were also doing a range of website and database projects. These were mostly for state agencies and non-profits, and included things like an education reporting portal and a corrections database for law enforcement. As early adopters of the Ruby on Rails development stack, we found a niche in building custom “lightweight” business applications.

Our retail brand management work evolved from making and updating documents to developing secure file sharing and team collaboration “extranet” websites for clients. In 2013, we rebuilt one of our early client “brand” portal sites to be the basis of our current, customizable Retail Standards solution.

Similarly, we started providing “helpdesk” support for a retail client in 2006, using a custom, voicemail-based ticket system we developed. In 2014, we were given less than 30 days to completely rebuild that system and go live as the IT helpdesk for over 25,000 K-12 teachers and administrators in Rhode Island. The new version we started then – and our team’s approach to customer service and support – became the basis of our current Retail Helpdesk.

After 14 years of working with clients in a variety of industries – and helping solve a new problem every time – we decided to narrow our focus and commit to our work supporting retail store design, construction, and maintenance. Our solutions are highly customizable, and our team has over 20 years of hands-on experience with real situations and business problems in this niche area.

To learn more about us and see if we might be a good fit to work together, contact us to Get Started.