UeHtml is one of those Chinese resources where designers look for ready-made solutions: collections of interfaces, landing pages and websites, organized by theme and style. To be featured there means entering an environment that views web design not through the eyes of the Ukrainian market, but through the eyes of a vast Asian audience. The Sponge website from 2015 became a model for this selection, and it is a logical continuation of the path the studio has taken over the past few years.
First international selections
Attention from foreign platforms came to Sponge long before 2015. On December 5, 2013, the studio's website received an Honorable Mention at Awwwards, one of the most famous international web design competitions, where works are judged by professional juries and visitors. Two months later, on February 9, 2014, the Splashnology blog published a selection titled “30 Dark Web Designs for Inspiration,” and Sponge was included as the twenty-third of thirty works.
In spring 2014, the studio submitted works to the 15th KMRF (Kyiv International Advertising Festival) for the first time, entering seven applications. The festival brought no awards that year, but the very fact of participation showed that the bureau was striving to go beyond a portfolio for local clients. In the same year, 2014, Ukrainian Design recognized the Estetico.me website and the logo for “Pershyi Miskyi” (First City), and on October 17, 2014, AIN.UA published a piece with a headline that precisely captures the studio's logic:
What dynamic design can do: the example of creative bureau Sponge
At the same time, the animation line became more noticeable. The Alien video, published on Behance in late summer 2014, received a feature in the Motion Graphics section, which Adobe itself curates. For designers, Behance serves as a showcase and a way to find clients, so features by the service's editors work as a recommendation for people choosing contractors.
Looks.fm and a series of accolades in 2015
In 2015, the name Sponge began to be associated with the Looks.fm project. Korrespondent published blogs about it on February 13 and March 5, 2015. As the magazine wrote, the service was developed by people from the bureau: Bohdan Hnatiuk, one of the creators of Looks.fm, Kyrylo Soliar, who led the project and was responsible for the product, and designer Serhii Semernov. Thus the studio gained product development experience beyond websites for clients.
Spring and summer 2015 became the peak of international accolades. Between May 24 and August 14, the bureau's websites consistently received statuses on CSSDA, CSS Nectar, CSS Light, CSS Winner, BestCSS, CSSReel and Awwwards, where a work of the day was recognized on August 8. The version for the American market received accolades from One Page Love, BestCSS and CSSDA Special Kudos, the latter on August 14. Each platform operates by its own rules, but with such a set of accolades the studio quickly became recognizable in circles that follow fresh websites.
Behance that same year also recognized other works by the studio. In June 2015, a project featuring Madonna appeared on the platform, and on September 21, 2015, Sostav included it in its selection “Best Projects of the Summer from Behance” as the best example of motion design of the season.
2016: selections, rankings and education
In early 2016, press coverage of the studio continued. On February 4, Korrespondent published a blog about the Furgoneta website and CSS Light, and on the same day CSS Winner chose Furgoneta as work of the day. On January 1, 2016, Kyrylo Soliar appeared in IGate selections as executive director of Sponge D&D, and in March of the same year Behance featured the Business Logic Group work in its selection of best works.
Accolades on CSS Winner continued in 2016. The Carts Guru website received work of the day status on March 6, and Trendon store on July 10. In the Tagline design studio ranking, the bureau took 67th place, sharing it with Saatchi & Saatchi. Within the team in 2016, Tymofii Kurshpetov worked as team lead and programmer, and Serhii Semernov as designer, as seen from DOU profiles.
The studio also shared its experience with an external audience. On October 20, 2016, the DOU calendar announced a Sponge seminar titled “How to Open Your Own Web Studio,” and this event well illustrates how the bureau's role has changed: from a contractor noticed by foreign competitions to a company that explains to others how to follow the same path.
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