Awwwards evaluates websites on design, usability and technical implementation, and making its list is no easy feat. An Honorable Mention means an honorable mention: the jury recognized the work, but it did not become the day's main winner. For a studio that in 2016 released several sites receiving this award, Simbrella became yet another confirmation of its level.
Simbrella develops products for mobile operators worldwide and has been operating in this market since 2005. According to the project description on Awwwards, its services are used daily by 1.2 million people, and total users exceed 150 million. For a B2B product that works behind the scenes of telecom services, such figures signify a scale the general public usually does not suspect.
The task for the Sponge studio was not to create a flashy showcase for advertising, but to build a visual language for a company that sells complex technologies to operators. The project description on Awwwards notes that along with a new logo and corporate identity, called 'Sponge Crew,' a corporate page was created. The bureau's description states: 'Every day 1.2 million people use Simbrella products.' This phrase became the main argument of the entire presentation: the site must speak of scale, not just demonstrate graphics.
The 2016 Award Series
Simbrella was not the only project from the studio recognized at Awwwards in 2016. In January, the Furgoneta site received an Honorable Mention, in June the same distinction went to Trendon, in early August Defence Group received it, and in late August White Tetris became a nominee. In parallel, the studio's works regularly appeared on CSS Winner: the Furgoneta site received Site of the Day status on February 4, Murka became a Star on May 11, Trendon received Site of the Day on July 10, Defence Group was noted as a Star on August 11, and White Tetris received Site of the Day on September 4.
CSS Winner, like Awwwards, is among the platforms where web studios' works from around the world are evaluated. Here each site has a final score, and the Star is awarded to works that earn a high score but do not receive a separate status of the day. The Simbrella site received a star on December 11, 2016, with a score of 7.5. The same score was received by the Sponge studio's own site back in June 2015, when it was featured on CSS Winner as Site of the Day.
Within Russia, the studio's successes were also recorded. According to the 2016 results in the 'Golden Site' rating, a Russian award for websites, Furgoneta and Trendon took first places in their nominations. In the 2016 Runet creativity rating, Sponge was in 11th place. A year earlier, the studio had become first in the 'Digital Agency Website' nomination at the 'Golden Site 2015', and its site outperformed the works of other agencies, which was then considered notable recognition in the professional community.
What Lies Behind the Ratings
Awards of this level are rarely an end in themselves for a client, but they play an important role in selecting contractors. Companies working with major corporate clients often check portfolios specifically through such platforms. For Simbrella, whose main audience consists of telecom industry professionals, the visual order of the site is no less important than the products themselves.
The studio, founded by Bohdan Hnatiuk, in 2016 focused on corporate projects where design must work to convey an understanding of complex business. The work on Simbrella fits well into this line: the logo, corporate identity and website are built as a unified system, not a set of separate tasks. This approach was noted by the Awwwards jury when they awarded the Honorable Mention.
In the Tagline rating for 2017, Simbrella is named among Sponge's clients, and the studio itself continued its award series that year: in January, the BizzGrid site received an Honorable Mention at Awwwards, and in February a new CSS Winner distinction appeared for a restaurant project from Odesa.
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