The Red Dot Design Award is one of the world’s most prestigious awards that creatives can win for outstanding quality and exceptional achievements in design. Among the world-renowned companies that have received this award are Apple, Google, Sony, and Xiaomi. In 2022, Ukrainian agencies were among the winners list in various categories, including Lazarev.Agency, which received five awards in the Brands and Communication Design category.
This year’s award winners were honored in Berlin at the Red Dot Gala, which took pace on October 28, 2022. Lazarev.Agency attended the event. Other Ukrainian agencies that were among the winners included companies such as Awesomic, Bickerstaff.734, dops.digital; Excited, a digital-product design agency; fedoriv, Grape, IAMIDEA agency, MOZGI GROUP, Plai Büro, Qubstudio Digital Product Design and Branding Agency, Superheroes, Techiia Holding Limited, The First The Last, and Taktika Agency. Let’s take a look at some of the projects that won awards in 2022.
Inertia Wheels MAX represents a major breakthrough in modern cinematography. It is the first wireless camera–control system that uses inertia wheels. NODO’s dynamic promotional Web site, which is shown in Figures 1 and 2, leverages 3D models of the product to show every detail of the inertia wheels and enables people to experience their innovativeness even through the screen.
Figure 1—Inertia Wheels MAX Web site Figure 2—NODO showcase
“While working on the project, we put all of our efforts into highlighting the product’s innovativeness by providing out-of-the-box design solutions without going overboard with accents. Thanks to the team’s expertise and excellent coordination, we managed to implement the site, which caused a sensation during the product presentation. We’re so proud!”—Valeriia Mashyro, project manager
11Sight is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company in the US that provides a video marketing and sales platform. This service helps users to start video calls between company representatives and potential clients with just one click. Figures 3 and 4 show the Web site for 11Sight, which uses a combination of storytelling, technical content, and animation to showcase the product's innovative nature.
Figure 3—11Sight Web-site redesign Figure 4—More of the 11Sight Web-site redesign
Figure 5 is a video showcase of the 11 Sight Web site.
“The main challenge was to rethink the platform’s capabilities and create a new vision of its functionality to convey the product’s value for businesses.”—Volodymyr Khliupin, UX researcher
“Our team worked on this project even on December 31 and January 1. It is not because we didn’t want to take weekends, but because we wanted to deliver a fabulous result. The project’s release occurred right on the specified time and date. Our clients were delighted because they received even more value than they had expected. We managed to deliver a wow effect!”—Kostiantyn Potapov, project manager
Vessel Finance User-Interface Design
The Vessel Finance user-interface design from the Danish company Boel IT received an award in the Finance Apps subcategory. Figure 6 shows the Vessel Finance home page. The company develops highly specialized software for modeling ship investments, which Figure 7 shows. The Lazarev.Agency team visualized complex financial data through a clear user interface and simplified the processes of filling in parameters and calculating capital costs.
Figure 6—Vessel Finance Web site Figure 7—Vessel Finance application for modeling ship investments
“The main challenge was that the previous version was based on table calculations, had a huge amount of unstructured information, and lacked any visualization capability. Our design turned out to be light, modern, and minimalistic, combining a great deal of data and interactivity. Every step of the way, a ship’s model accompanies the user. The model changes depending on the data and empowers users to immerse themselves even more deeply in the process.”—Oleksandr Koshytskyi, design lead
Ukrainian Power
UkrainianPower showcases independent Ukrainian creative agencies and won an award in the Collaborative Platforms, Websites subcategory. Figures 8 and 9 show the Lazarev.Agency Web site, which provides a venue where companies around the world can connect with Ukrainian design agencies. Figure 8—Lazarev.Agency Web site Figure 9—Ukrainian Power showcase
“We based our content strategy and design on emotional storytelling so the Web site connects with the international community on an emotional level and motivates companies to partner with Ukrainian design agencies.”—Oleksandr Koshytskyi, design lead
Lazarev.Agency Web Site
The Lazarev.Agency Web site, which is shown in Figures 10 and 11, won an award in the Corporate & Business Web Sites subcategory.
Figure 10—Lazarev.Agency Web site
“Our task was to create cool storytelling that would encourage users to read to the end, but also not distract their attention from the agency’s case studies. Leveraging interactive motion design, we united all Web pages with a common theme. A grid with a fixed button draws attention, and the universal typography will stay relevant for a long time to come.”—Anna Demianenko, design lead
“I am proud that the projects of Ukrainian design agencies not only can compete by presenting international cases but can also win numerous awards. This year has shown that we have become stronger and more confident in our own abilities. I believe that next year we’ll see even more Ukrainian cases with red dots.”—Kyrylo Lazariev, CEO and founder of Lazarev.Agency
Kyrylo started his business seven years ago and went from working on his notebook computer to a design agency of more than 60 people. His team at Lazarev.Agency has created digital products that are in use at Fortune 500 companies and completed half a dozen projects for the Ukrainian government, creating properties that thousands of Ukrainians use. Kyrylo has managed not only to save the business during the war in Ukraine but has hired more than 20 new employees and earned more than 50 international design awards in one year. Kyrylo has transitioned from being sales rep, art director, and project manager to the CEO of an established design agency. Kyrylo writes articles and case studies, gives lectures, and mentors others. His goal is to help more worldwide businesses grow. Read More
