It was a special moment when we were announced as Agency of the Year at the Scottish Tech Startup Awards in Edinburgh and I was lucky enough to be there on the night to accept the award on behalf of Design and Code.

The category recognised creative and technical excellence in areas such as impactful design, user experience and effective communication campaigns. We were up against some top agencies from Edinburgh and Glasgow, so it was a tough result to call.

The award ceremony is dubbed “the party of the year for Scottish startups” and it’s an opportunity to bring the tech community together in a relaxed setting to celebrate the remarkable businesses and people making Scotland one of Europe’s most exciting ecosystems.

To be shortlisted was a fantastic achievement and well-deserved recognition for the team and their hard work over the year. The work considered by the judging panel included both our commercial client work and personal projects such as ‘Glisk’, an interactive digital experience created for the Look Again Festival. This acknowledgment of the time we put into projects in the local community made the win even more rewarding.

The panel itself was made up of an impressive roster from the digital tech community including Brian Corcoran of Turing Fest, Deliveroo’s Andy Robinson and Gillian Docherty OBE from The Data Lab. It was amazing to have our work in front of such prominent names and we are thankful to the judges for picking us.

The party was held at The Jam House and had a laid-back vibe with most attendees being dressed in casual clothes, except for one guy who was dressed in a full tuxedo (maybe clever promotion, he definitely stood out — a tux in a room full of tees). This win was not only recognition for us but also the North East on a national level.

With lots more tech and community work in the pipeline for Design and Code, sign up to our mailing list to be first to hear the latest news.