MakeReign: The most awarded specialist UX/UI agency at the Bookmarks

On 28 July, the industry gathered in person for the first time for over two years to celebrate the IAB Bookmarks event.

The MakeReign team was honoured to pick up 14 awards across the platforms (websites, mobile apps, mobile sites, and customer experience), emerging digital technology (AI), and craft (UX and UI) categories – making MakeReign the most awarded agency across platforms, UX and UI.

This brings their tally of Bookmarks wins to 31 in three years! Solidifying their position as a leading specialist in the user experience and interface design field.

MakeReign’s partnerships director, Luke Engel noted on the accomplishments: “From the very beginning, we’ve been focused. We’re not a full service agency. We don’t offer it all. We’re intentionally specialists and focus on design solutions for interfaces. The many growing connection points between a brand and consumer. Digital screens.”

He continued: “We do this because we firmly believe that focus delivers true value and best in industry results for our clients. Clients looking to deliver world class experiences and digital products to their customers. And we believe that focus has paid dividends, not only tonight with some amazing wins for our clients, but over the many years we’ve been able to deliver real results and measurable value across the whole customer journey. We’re very proud of these results and achievements.”

The following work was awarded:

Bettr

Platforms category – brand website, UI craft

Bettr is a new world-class digital banking platform engineered for Africa’s creator economy; the first and only digital banking app in Africa to focus on enabling creators to monetise their passions, and bank their worth.

Doing it for the culture. We not only partnered with them on their product, but on delivering a website experience focused at the youth and enabling them fair access to affordable, transparent financial services that they can actually afford.

The result – over 25,000 sign-ups to their alpha launch!

“We both share a common vision for the creator economy and how making money from your passion will become the future of work. For Bettr, this is a bold mission and we wanted to create a brand that embodies this belief. MakeReign steered our brand design strategy with as much discipline as we wanted to show rebellion. This amazing balance in our collaboration kept us authentic and true to our disruptive vision, winning us two bookmark awards. We can't be more proud of our co-creation,” said Tobie van Zyl, CEO and co-founder of Bettr.

Pineapple –

Customer experience design category – UX craft, mobile apps, artificial intelligence

Having collaborated with this pioneering startup since their inception, taking their product from idea to launch, we have since worked closely with the Pineapple team on updates to the product. Launching new features, and delivering enhancements and improvements to existing features – adding more utility and value to their customers and making insurance even more easy!

These include the launch of their motor insurance product and rewards feature as well as an improved wallet feature.

Over 50,000 new members since launch!
A 5-star rating on the Google Play Store.
And R80m in Series A funding after growing 200%.

1ForYou

UX craft, UI craft, platform (micro site)

1ForYou is the most accessible payments solution in South Africa – offering online payment access for all. People can get cash online, make payments and top-up wallets.

There were a number of key business goals we needed to reach and deliver on in launching this site for 1ForYou. It needed to enhance product awareness and educate customers in order to drive adoption and conversion. This for both individual customers (transactions) and businesses (leads).

It’s bankless and effortless. This was a key principle that drove our design decisions. The experience needed to be as effortless as the banking solution.

The results have been phenomenal, processing over a million transactions in the year since launch.

Flash Mobile

UX craft

Flash Mobile sought to create an easy to understand and use website experience that provided value and assistance to existing Flash traders and showcase their product offering to acquire new potential traders. Flash is a SA-based fintech company that enables informal retailers to sell virtual products, like airtime, data and electricity through the largest informal retail network in Africa.

Used by over 200,000 traders to earn money and commissions on sales. And processing millions in transitions daily.

“Our collaboration with the amazing team at MakeReign really helped us elevate our platforms to a level of execution we’re proud of. Their ability to manage projects effectively also helped us deliver on time. We look forward to working with them again in future!” says Stuart Murie, UX design manager at Flash Group.

“Our partnership with Flash Group is one we are immensely proud of. As a leader in the Fintech space in South Africa, it’s been an honour to work across a number of brands, delivering success and results not only across 1ForYou, but for others including Flash Mobile and Go121,” said Luke Engel.

Rho Business Banking

Platform category – customer experience design

Delivering the future of frictionless finance. Rho, a tech-enabled cash and spend management solutions company for high-performing business teams, recently rebranded to better showcase their slick product offering. As a result, this New York based, funded startup was in need of a website that better reflects, and elevates, their new branding.

Rho’s offering allows their customers to access commercial banking, corporate card services, accounts payable, global payments, accounting integrations, and budgeting in one easy-to-use platform. Their new website needed to communicate clearly and succinctly who they are, what they do, and how their fintech solution is beneficial to their clients.

Smashbrand

Craft UI, craft UX

Smashbrand, an industry-leading branding and packaging design agency, needed a new website to show off their work and generate new quality leads. The website had to deliver on key metrics, most importantly generating new business leads and showcasing their award-winning work.

Extensive affinity testing was conducted with real customers, zeroing in on Smashbrand’s target market and informing all content and design decisions. A sky-rocketing $1m in revenue additional revenue was generated through organic reach from the new website. This was achieved through laser-focused SEO optimisation across copy, content, design, and code.

Tyrannosaurus Tech

Craft UI

Tyrannosaurus Tech is a software development agency from Atlanta, Georgia. We delivered a fun-filled responsive website that showcases their amazing work and quirky agency culture. We provided a website layout that allowed for playful content to sit in amongst the hard-selling agency jargon – playing very much on the ethos that this team takes their work, and not themselves, seriously. Nailing the creative brief.

About MakeReign

MakeReign designs digital interfaces that transform companies. They empower organisations to deliver experiences that move them forward – building for what is now and next.

Through research, user-centered design and testing with real customers, the interfaces they design enhance users' lives and drive value across the whole customer journey.

With expertise across key verticals of retail, financial services, insurance, telecoms and others, they are delivering for today’s iconic brands and tomorrow’s category leader. Working across a wide range of customer segments, from mass market, to youth markets, to premium customers. Clients include: Woolworths, Santam, Clicks, Weylandts and Finchoice.