We are big longtime fans of Design Bridge, even though the team only started entering The Annual in 2020 (and they largely made up for it with great amounts of love!). This year, the team was able to impress our judges across a wide range of different categories, with their two award-winning projects for Giki and The Pale.
So we were not surprised when we saw that the community selected Design Bridge as the 2021 People's Choice Best Agency to Work For. The Design Bridge team has always worked to go the extra mile and make the agency a fantastic place for all the talented professionals involved, and we couldn't be happier to see their efforts celebrated in such a rewarding way.
By the way, the team is currently hiring. Just leaving it here for you.
In this Annual 2021 Spotlight, we are learning more about Design Bridge and how they were able to win big this year, with multiple People's Choice and Bronze awards across a range of different categories.
Tell us about your winning submissions! What do you think impressed the judges?
We are really proud to have two pieces of work win through at CreativePool.
To see our work for Giki continue to be recognised in the Graphics, Web, Digital and Social Good categories and to see The Pale win a bronze for typography was great. We were ecstatic to know that we won the people’s choice for Best Company to Work.
At Design Bridge we always go out of our way to make it a fantastic place to work!
We are dedicated to giving people opportunity to develop their careers.
What felt unique about taking part in The Annual?
The fact that it represents such a wide community of creative individuals and agencies, within an industry which is always striving for better.
If you could name one reason that made you choose to enter this year, what would it be?
To celebrate the great people that we work with and all of their hard work and to attract the very best talent.
How do you plan to display your award?
We will proudly include it within our email signature, on our website and (if we receive a physical award too) as part of our current installation in our London studio reception focused on ‘Back with a fresh perspective’.
Will you enter again in 2022? If so, what are your hopes?
Yes, definitely. This year’s win has set the bar high for the future, and next year we will continue to push to impress not just the creative community but the judges too.
Specifically for the Best Place to Work – with a Gold as well as a People’s Choice award.
What advice would you share with other agencies and individuals looking to grab an award?
Put your people first and create an environment which allows them to be nurtured, to grow, to be challenged, to be inspired, but ultimately one that makes people happy doing what they enjoy most.
How does winning awards such as The Annual impact your business?
It will show to the outside world and the industry what everybody who works here knows – that it really is a brilliant place to make a career, and somewhere you have the opportunity to do your very best work!
This year’s winners are a testament to the power of creativity in hardship. How did Covid restrictions influence your winning projects and how did you approach these new challenges?
To keep people motivated and well looked after when you can’t see them all on a daily basis has been really hard. We put communication at the top of our priority list in the past 18 months, making sure everybody was kept up to date with what was happening in the company, that each team connected regularly, that we asked and listened to everybody and supported them in what has been a very challenging time.
Our main aim has been to keep everyone here inspired, motivated and able to connect in a way that enabled our creativity to flourish, to still produce award winning work, whilst working so remotely.
What are your hopes for the industry in 2022 and beyond?
We know the world has been redefined and what was the norm will no longer cut it. The last couple of years have made us all reassess just how we want to live our lives. We are listening to those we work with to define what is the new ‘normal’, one where we will flourish and exceed even our own expectations, on our own terms. And in doing so, to help lead the way in the industry.
We are so fortunate to be in an industry where we can really make a change and we want to design for better outcomes, to make a positive impact on the world around us in all of the work that we do.
What is your most exciting project in the next year?
We have some really exciting work coming out that we can’t wait to be able to see come to fruition after so much hard work in collaboration with our clients. Brands at the heart of communities making a real difference to people’s lives.
We are also excited to see our new collaborative junior programme, The Start, take off and lead to a new generation of Design Bridge who learn how to work as a team (creative, client management, strategy) from the very start.
