The author of the post, Alexander Lobanov, published it in the section 'Reader Blogs', so the text should be read as the opinion of a portal user, not as material from the Korrespondent.net editorial team. The occasion for the note was simple: CSS Light included in its collection the website of Furgoneta, a street food delivery service operating in Kyiv. The blogger did not limit himself to listing awards and analyzed why this project stands out among the uniform websites of restaurant delivery.
Promo instead of catalog
According to the blog's description, the task facing the studio was not an easy one. A delivery website is usually built around a menu, shopping cart and order form, but here the emphasis had to be on promotion while continuing the client's existing corporate identity. In other words, the site was to work as an advertising showcase for the brand, not as a directory of dishes. That is why the developers focused on presentation rather than functionality.
The authors described the solution in one phrase, which the blog quotes in full:
“Fiery illustrations, unconventional animation and a non-standard structure for delivery websites.”
The page structure indeed departs from the usual scheme. Illustrations and motion set the rhythm of scrolling, and order information is presented as part of the overall visual narrative. For the food delivery market, where competitors often look the same, this approach proves to be a noticeable difference.
Awards in one week
The project's international accolades came in a short period. Awwwards, one of the well-known website competitions, awarded Furgoneta an honorable mention from the jury on 30 January 2016. CSS Winner, a platform that selects the best works and publishes them in its profile of the day, named the site Site of the Day on 4 February of the same year. The day the blog was published coincided with that award, which is why the note came out right now.
The third platform, Behance, belongs to a different category. It is a portfolio network used by designers and studios around the world. The work on the Furgoneta site appeared there on 12 January 2016 and by the beginning of February had gathered 1,123 likes and 8,334 views. The project did not make it into the Featured section, but for a student or commercial work such a response is indicative. The blog builds its main argument about recognition precisely on these figures.
A studio that has been in the spotlight for years
Furgoneta was not Sponge D&D's first appearance in international roundups. In February 2014, the resource Splashnology included the studio's work in a list of 30 dark web designs for inspiration, and in 2015 the bureau's websites received Site of the Day and other accolades on several platforms, including CSS Winner and CSS Light. The blog author concluded that over the past year the studio had received many awards, including from Behance, and this conclusion rests on a series of similar results rather than on one successful project.
In 2015 and 2016, the studio employed people who were already known beyond Kyiv. Bohdan Hnatiuk, the founder of the bureau, was one of the creators of the Looks.fm service, which Korrespondent wrote about in February and March 2015. In 2016, Kirill Solyar, head and product manager of Looks.fm, was listed as executive director of Sponge D&D in IGate roundups. Designer Sergey Semernyov, who worked at the studio in 2016, later became its Art Director.
Recognition continued in rankings as well. In September 2017, the Rating of the Runet placed Sponge fourth among digital agencies for creativity, and in 2018 the studio took tenth place in the same ranking, receiving 51 awards. The Furgoneta website became one of the first works that brought the bureau to this level of recognition.
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