SJ63 is one of the Chinese web design resources that publish curated site selections for inspiration. Such selections are read by designers and developers who follow new solutions in layout, animation and typography. Being featured there means the work is of interest not only to Western juries but also to the professional community beyond Europe and America.
The studio was founded by Bohdan Hnatiuk, and by 2015 it already had a notable publication history. In December 2013 the bureau's site received an Honorable Mention at Awwwards, one of the main platforms for web design. In 2014 the studio submitted seven entries to the 15th Kryvyi Rih International Advertising Festival, won no awards, but in the same year was included in the Ukrainian collection Ukrainian Design: it featured the Estetico.me site and the logo for Pershyi Miskyi (First City). In October 2014 AIN.UA published the piece 'What Dynamic Design Can Do: The Example of Creative Bureau Sponge'.
Looks.fm and the new site
In spring 2015 attention to the team was boosted by the Looks.fm project, one of whose creators, Bohdan Hnatiuk, was among the studio's founders. Korrespondent devoted blog posts to the service on 13 February and 5 March 2015. The project's head and product manager was Kyrylo Soliar, who later became a columnist for the Goethe-Institut magazine.
On 8 May 2015 a case study of the bureau's new site appeared on Behance. Behance is owned by Adobe and serves as a showcase for designers, so the publication was the first detailed presentation of the work to the professional community. Within two weeks a series of accolades began. From 24 May to 14 August 2015 the site received Site of the Day distinctions and similar awards on CSSDA, CSS Nectar, CSS Light, CSS Winner, BestCSS and CSSReel. On 8 August 2015 Awwwards featured it in its daily selection.
American version and motion design
For the American version of the site, distinctions came from other platforms: One Page Love, BestCSS and CSSDA, where on 14 August 2015 the site received Special Kudos with a score of 7.57. These awards concerned primarily individual interface solutions and presentation rather than the studio as a whole.
In parallel the team worked on motion projects. On 30 June 2015 the work Madonna appeared on Behance, and on 21 September 2015 the publication Sostav included it in its selection 'Best Summer Projects from Behance' as an example of motion design. In July 2015 the bureau gave an interview to Dark Site of Marketing magazine, where it discussed its approaches to working with clients.
What happened next
In 2016 the studio entered the Tagline design studio ranking, taking 67th place alongside Saatchi & Saatchi. On 4 February 2016 Korrespondent wrote about the Furgoneta project, and on the same day CSS Winner marked the Furgoneta site as Site of the Day. On 29 March 2016 the studio's work for Business Logic Group was included in the Best of Behance selection. On 20 October 2016 Sponge held a seminar 'How to Start Your Own Web Studio'.
In 2017 the studio continued to receive accolades. On 23 and 25 August the site of singer Artem Pyvovarov received Site of the Day from CSS Winner, as well as Site of the Day and the Developer Award from Awwwards. On 25 September 2017 the Helicopter View project was included in the Best of Behance selection. On 28 September 2017 the bureau took fourth place in the Runet Rating in the nomination 'Creativity of Digital Agencies 2017'. In the Tagline TOP-100 Digital Production ranking the studio was 97th.
On 6 October 2017 the listings published a piece about Pyvovarov's site prepared by the press service.
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