Behance is owned by Adobe and serves as the main showcase for designers and studios to display their projects, with curated tags awarded by the platform's editors. For a bureau, it's more than just a page with pictures: the profile's counters show how the work has spread across audiences over many years and which pieces the editors deemed worthy of distinction.
The profile was created on August 23, 2013, under the name “Sponge Digital & Design.” In the description, the studio calls itself a full-cycle producer, and the wording on the page reads: “Full cycle productions | web & apps development, animation, graphic design.” The About section states: “more than 100 clients… more than 600 projects.” This aligns with what the bureau has claimed in its public materials, particularly in a 2018 job posting that mentioned over 60 awards in two years.
Where the Studio Came From
The bureau's history is typically traced back to the web studio Layner, which was renamed Sponge in 2007. External sources, including IGate, cite 2009 as the founding year, while CSS Winner gives the exact date: November 22, 2009. The studio's own history page lists 2000, but external sources do not corroborate this, so the article should rely on 2009.
A separate question concerns geography. The profile header lists Germany, while the profile data shows “Kyiv, Ukraine.” This overlap does not change the bureau's work itself, but for a page representing a Ukrainian studio, it is important to record the discrepancy exactly as it appears in the sources.
A notable event in the early years was the bureau's website with a new presentation, followed by a case on Behance published on May 8, 2015. Around the same time, the studio appeared on international website showcases: a series of mentions from CSS Winner, CSS Nectar, CSS Light, CSSDA, BestCSS, CSSReel, and Awwwards between May 24 and August 14, 2015. On August 14, 2015, the bureau received a CSSDA Special Kudos for the US version of its website.
Awards and Recognition
The first international recognition came earlier: on December 5, 2013, the bureau's website received an Awwwards Honorable Mention. Two months later, on February 9, 2014, Splashnology included Sponge in its “30 Dark Web Designs for Inspiration” list at 23rd place out of 30 works. In May 2014, the bureau submitted seven entries to the 15th Frontend Masters Competition (KMFB), received no awards, but earned points.
Within Ukraine, the studio also remained visible. In 2014, Ukrainian Design recognized the Estetico.me website and the logo for “Pershyi Miskyi.” In October 2014, AIN.UA published a piece titled “What Dynamic Design Can Do: The Example of Creative Bureau Sponge,” and in 2015 the studio was mentioned in connection with the Looks.fm project, created by its employees. Among the people associated with the bureau was Bohdan Hnatiuk, the studio's founder and one of the creators of Looks.fm. His role in the bureau's development was also noted in professional circles: in 2016 listings he appears as the founder of Sponge, and in the 2019 Runet Rating he is listed as CEO.
The rating history shows how the studio's position changed. In the 2017 Runet Rating of digital agency creativity, the bureau took fourth place; in 2018 it rose to tenth with 51 prizes; and in 2019 it dropped to 37th, retaining the same 51 prizes. In 2017, the studio also entered the TOP-100 digital production, ranking 97th according to Tagline.
What the Profile Shows Now
Curated tags on Behance mostly occurred in 2014–2018, with the last one, according to the profile, appearing on June 15, 2018. The works themselves continue to accumulate views: 387,933 views and 41,391 appreciations indicate that the portfolio has survived several shifts in editorial focus. The profile has 7,884 followers and follows 722 accounts.
The bureau's notable public activity occurred during the era when Behance was the primary place to discover studio work. Revisiting it through the counters is useful at least because they show which works editors highlighted over the years and which remained in the background.
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