Ukrainian Design annually honors the best Ukrainian work in design, and the Website Design category here is one of the most competitive. Sponge submitted not a client project but its own showcase. For a design bureau this is a rare case: a site about the company itself becomes an example of what it can do. It was updated in early 2015 and combined the functions of a presentation and a portfolio.
The Best of mark was not an isolated success. In 2013, in category B-1, it was awarded to the work for the Chkalov school, and in 2014 the Best of in the same category went to the Estetico.me website. The bureau's site continued this line, but now on an international level.
Summer of international accolades
In spring and summer 2015 the site received awards on several foreign platforms specializing in web design. Website of the Day at CSS Design Awards came on May 24 with a score of 7.80. Five days later, on May 29, the site was named Site of the Day at CSS Nectar, and on June 3 it became Featured of the Day at CSS Light. On June 13 CSS Winner awarded it Site of the Day with a score of 7.5, on July 20 it became Site of the Day at BestCSS, on July 27 it received Winner status at CSSReel, and on August 8 it became Site of the Day at Awwwards with a score of 7.03.
The format of these platforms is the same: each day one site is chosen and recognized as the best by visual and technical criteria. Awwwards is considered one of the most famous web design catalogs, so a mark from there carries more weight in the professional community than a local award. For the studio it also matters that the site received marks on different platforms in succession, not just one.
The platforms described the project itself in different ways. For instance, in May 2015 CSS Design Awards characterized it as
an interactive presentation of the Sponge D&D company and 369 works in the portfolio
Later the figure on other platforms grew: 372 works on CSS Light, 377 on CSS Winner, and 389 on CSSReel. The portfolio was being replenished, so the numbers differ depending on the date on which the platform recorded the site.
Autumn summary and further results
On October 22, 2015, the Golden Site 2015 award was presented in Moscow. In the Digital Agency Website nomination, first place went to the Sponge site. Second in financial media was Foundator, and the developers in the overall award ranking, where the bureau scored 9 points, took places 17–19.
The bureau's work in Ukraine was also gaining momentum. In the interim ranking of the VRK in October 2014, the studio was 12th with 4 points, but the final result of the 2014/2015 season was 21st place with the same 4 points. The next season brought a noticeably better result: in the VRK 2015/2016 Sponge became 8th among digital agencies, scoring 29 points.
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