2018 at Upperquad
A year in review
This last year was a leap forward for Upperquad. Not a step or jump. But a full-on leap.
It took a lot of work and more than a few late nights to round out 2018, but we built on the solid foundation that was 2017: a new website & brand, new studio space and greater recognition. We collectively pushed our studio forward and couldn’t be prouder of the work we did along the way. Here’s a quick breakdown of what made 2018 particularly amazing.
Our people
The best thing about Upperquad is still — and always — the people that work here. It’s true of 2018, it’s true since we started.
We have an amazing team of exceptionally talented people and that team got a little more talented and exceptional last year. We added nine people including: Emily X., Rodney, Robin, Antonio, Emily H., John, Yanlin, Simone and Evan.
But, it’s not just about adding people. We also strive to be a place where people can grow both professionally and personally. Jessica moved up to the Creative Director role. Kailie moved up to an Art Director role. Both are killing it. Danielle, after holding down the role of Producer and Strategist (and excelling at both), moved to become a full time Strategist. Lily and Zhihao moved up to Senior Developers and started taking the lead on more projects.
The interns that join us every year are truly next-level. Last year was no different. David, Arnaud and Adrien joined our team for almost half the year and it still felt way too short. If you ever have the chance to work with any of them, consider yourself lucky. We certainly do.
When you hire immensely talented, amazingly good people, you also have to know that they can get a job just about anywhere they want. We want to be the place they want to work forever, but understand when they decide to take one of the incredible opportunities offered to them. We had a couple people leave in 2018 and miss them a lot; we couldn’t be prouder that they were here and they are now working at some really amazing places.
Our work
It is what makes this place go. It’s the measure to what we do. The work that goes out is what defines who we are.
Some of the particularly interesting work that went out in 2018 includes Google AI, Blue Heart of Europe, Instagram Brand, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Robinhood Student Campaign, 826 Valencia and Google Santa Tracker and Insights for the de Young and Legion of Honor.
Also, worth noting: █████ ██, Sights of Sound, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative 2018 Annual Letter, ██ ██ ███, ██ █████ ███████, Google News Initiative, Moniker, Change the Game, White Walkers, d.school updates, Robinhood ████ , a whole lot of Chromebooks, Lyft █████, YouTube Yoodles and above all █████ ██ ████.
It was a busy year.
It’s always nice to get some recognition for the work you do. At the very least, it lets your parents know that you are doing something worthwhile. We are super proud to win a Webby in 2018 (our 4th!) for our collaboration with Patagonia on This is Bears Ears. The Standford d.school site was also a finalist, which isn’t the same as winning, but still pretty nice.
Blue Heart of Europe, another collaboration with Patagonia, took the Awwwards SOTD, FWA SOTD and was up for Developer Site of the year. Our Dev team continues to push our work further and get recognized for it.
We also won an award for our most demanding and worst paying client ever. Ourselves. Upperquad was recognized in the Commarts Interactive Annual, which hits newsstands (are newstands still actually a thing?) in March / April 2019.
Our culture
As the team grows, we always want to make sure we celebrate and maintain the things that make us who we are.
One thing that sets the tone is the space we work in everyday (surrounded by books, white space and an obscene number of plants 🌱🌱🌱). We moved into our new office in the prior year, but it took a little while to get everything exactly the way we wanted. It defintitely was worth the wait.
We also got out of the office and did some fun stuff together, like going wine tasting, playing arcade games and dining out.
We designed and launched upperquad.studio, the official internal guide to working at Upperquad for new hires. It includes, maybe most importantly, a detailed list of the best places to eat within walking distance.
We upped our photography game, making use of our in-studio photo nook and Evan’s incredible talent. It meant we could start doing professional photography quickly for ourselves and our projects.
Our site for 826 Valencia launched, after quite a bit of work. It was a pro bono project and we are excited about the opportunity to give back to such a great organization. We try our best to be good people and this was one chance to be able prove it, to ourselves at the very least.
We also had the chance to attend some conferences — like Awwwards and Epicurrence — and even host a happy hour at UQHQ as part of SF Design Week.
Other things that made this place great in the one-eight? 1:1s, the Zine (coming soon), Upperquad en français, boba trips, World Cup soccer, the Royal Order of Social, office vibes, team effort, comp time, office blankets, Learning Labs, and of course #dogsofupperquad.
Die Zukunft
So, what’s up for 2019? We’re pushing our studio further. We’re continuing to build an independent creative digital studio with a global presence.
We’re actively growing (which is also to say we’re hiring), focused on taking our time to find the right people and maintaining an exceptionally high level of work.
After some serious research and reviewing more than a few options, we decided it was time to expand with our first international office in Berlin 🇩🇪. This kind of expansion has been a long-time dream for us and we’re incredibly excited to break new ground. We’re planning on opening das neue Büro in the Spring. More to come soon!
We’re deepening our practice with an expanded focus on strategy, brand, content and motion.
We’ve already got some amazing new clients and projects lined up, not to mention launching new work that is on our screens now (soon to be on yours).
And, we’ll be celebrating 10 years of Upperquad. It’s a milestone that let’s us know we’re doing something right. We’re grateful to everyone along the way who made this possible.
More than anything, we’re going to continue to focus on the basics: amazing work, being a great place to work, being great to work with, working with amazing clients, and advocating always for next level design.
Here’s to an amazing 2018
And an even better 2019.
Upperquad is a growing team of designers, developers and producers brought together by good fortune, great clients and a shared drive to make amazing things.
Phil Ruppanner is the founder and managing director of Upperquad, works hard and is generally a pretty nice guy I hear.
Looking for a creative place to grow in 2019? Visit upperquad.com/careers to join the fun.
