Our Story

It was 2002, and Arekibo was starting. We received a call from AOL. "We need some help to design a new product. Can you help us?". The project was to redesign the AOL.com product for a global audience. Our journey began, and as our relationship evolved, we worked on numerous products, including AOL Mail, AOL Messenger and AOL Money. We have never looked back. Since then, we have helped innovative companies and public organisations create brilliant digital products and launch groundbreaking services.

Our commitment to supporting our clients through a partnership model is the core of our success. This model is focused on helping our clients maximise the potential of digital by supporting their organisations and teams throughout their digital journey. Our commitment to partnership has helped us become Ireland’s largest independent digital agency and consultancy.

2003 - lots of activity - Apple launched the iTunes Store - which will revolutionise digital music sales. You can now listen to over 100 million songs on demand. Skype, the VoIP (voice over IP) service, launched and again looks like a massive disrupter, with the price of calls to friends and family immediately plummeting. Google purchased the blogging software company Pyra Labs, creator of Blogger, in February 2003 - the founder Evan Williams will return with an idea called Twitter. The MySpace social networking Web site was officially launched in March 2003. LinkedIn, the social/professional networking site, opens for business - Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King dominates the box office and wins 11 Oscars, and Beyoncé released her solo debut album, Dangerously in Love.

At Arekibo, we started our two-decade relationship with Ibec, Ireland's business lobby, by redesigning their website. 

We began launching websites with our own CMS system, Utah, which we developed. Utah is a first-to-market CMS that enables us to create large-content websites, all fully managed by our clients. Projects include the first dedicated website for Ireland Aid (now Irish Aid), Ireland's official Aid programme, and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce's new membership website. We also created the brand identity for Chica, a boutique in Dublin, while continuing to work with AOL on Instant Messenger and AOL Money.

We collaborated with the Chamber to run a series of e-business workshops called Under Construction. In conjunction with the Dublin Institute of Technology (now TU Dublin), we embarked on a research initiative exploring branding amongst Irish companies - The Power of the Brand. Conducting research would become a regular endeavour.

This thing called 'TheFacebook' was launched by Mark Zuckerberg. Myspace was the coolest social media site and the first to reach one million users. Google launched Gmail (beta), with many thinking it wasn't real because they announced it on April Fools' Day. While in Japan, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, and Sony released the PSP. Apple released the multi-coloured iPod Mini and the iPod Photo with a coloured screen. Friends aired its final episode, which 52.5 million viewers watched. Sex and the City also ended this year. Lost, entourage, and Desperate Housewives were ample replacements.

The top movies were Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and, let's not forget, Napoleon Dynamite, The Notebook, and Mean Girls. On the office stereo, we played Funeral by Arcade Fire, Antics by Interpol, the Killers, Hot Fuss, Airs Talkie Walkie, Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings Of Leon, U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and Green Day's American Idiot. Martha Stewart went to prison, and George Bush won his second term as US President while the Olympics were held in Athens, Greece.

We continued building the business while NASA landed the Opportunity and Spirit rovers on Mars. We created a new identity and name for Irish Aid called Development Cooperation Ireland. Folklore says we were called at short notice to ask, 'Can you create a new logo within a few days for our new name?' We did, and the results were presented two days later in Dublin at the official launch. 

We designed the official website and portals for the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC). The site was ready before the OTC implemented the Smoking ban in workplaces on 29 March 2004. The ban would be strictly enforced and apply to bars, restaurants, clubs, offices, public buildings, company cars, trucks, taxis, etc.

We continued our partnership with AOL and began to work with the VHI, Pfizer and Safefood. 

Nintendo Wii was launched with revolutionary motion-sensing controls, which caused many TVs to need screen repair. Twttr, or later to become Twitter, launches in July - we wonder how influential or disruptive this new platform will become. Elon Musk purchased it for $44 billion in October 2022 - Later renamed 'X' by Elon. The Shopify platform is also launched this year.

Germany hosts the FIFA World Cup, with Italy winning the tournament, but you will probably remember Zinedine Zidane's last act as a player to headbutt Marco Materazziin in that game. Daniel Craig debuts as James Bond in Casino Royale, his first of five Bond movies. Taylor Swift released her debut album - 10 further original studio albums, and four re-recorded albums follow - selling an estimated 114 million albums worldwide.

Anyway, back to Arekibo, another year of growth. 2006 begins with the commission to develop the Heritage Council's new initiative, Heritage Week. Failte Ireland, the national tourism agency, partners with us to design and build a new website to promote business tourism in Ireland. Both sites will be launched later this year. We also commence working with and launch websites for the Dublin Convention Centre, Realex Payments, the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Ombudsman for Children and EY.

We are shortlisted for four awards in the eGovernment Awards and for best agency at the Golden Spider Awards.

Apple released their first smartphone, called the iPhone - as of January 1, 2024, more than 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold. Amazon Kindle makes e-books mainstream. The Sopranos ends with its famous ambiguous final scene, Rihanna’s Umbrella dominates charts worldwide, and Don Draper enters as Mad Men premieres, showcasing 1960s advertising culture.

Our Ibec partnership continues with several new websites for their business associations. We also launch Funda.ie the Irish version of the revolutionary Dutch property search.

New websites are launched for the Commission for Energy Regulation, plus campaign sites for World AIDS Day, Our World Global Schools Awards, and Ombudsman for Children's Big Ballot.

We co-sponsor the eGovernment Awards and have been nominated for several Golden Spider Awards, the largest digital awards in Ireland.

We begin working with the Irish Management Institute (IMI) to redesign their online proposition.

2008…what a year. Most notably, the global credit crisis helped bring the country's property boom to an abrupt halt, and banks went into meltdown. The Irish voted 'no' to the Lisbon Treaty, and we bid farewell to the much-loved Dubliner Ronnie Drew, whom you would see in and around the city. An unknown person named Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper introducing Bitcoin.

The iPhone App Store was launched in July 2008, with predictions that it would be a $1.2 billion business for Apple the following year. The App Store's consumer spending reached $89.3 billion in 2023. In September, the Chrome browser was first publicly released, officially as a beta version,  introducing another browser that needed support. In 2023, 63% of internet users chose Chrome as their desktop browser.

But it was another busy year. Some highlights include:

We designed new websites for the National Museum of Ireland to cater to its four museums across Ireland. We also designed and developed a digital portal for the IMI (Irish Management Institute), continued as Microsoft Partners, and completed new projects for Chica (a groundbreaking boutique in Dublin and London), developing their e-commerce website and Heritage Week, the annual celebration of heritage in Ireland.

Other client projects include William Fry, A&L Goodbody, Ordnance Survey Ireland  (OSI) and Irish AId's Africa Day campaign, and we selected Comhlámh as our CSR project for 2008.

"Comhlámh is delighted to be working in partnership with Arekibo as their corporate social responsibility client for 2008. We look forward to creating a dynamic and exciting new website for our volunteering options programme and appreciate the opportunity of working with Arekibo on this important project for our organisation." Siobhan Sleeman, Training and Information Officer.

OSI's new website won two Golden Spiders awards and an Innovation Award as one of the year's most innovative public sector projects.

NASA sent a missile crashing into the moon's surface, demonstrating water (in the form of ice) was on the moon. Android mobile OS was launched after the terrible experience of Microsoft Vista; Microsoft launched Windows 7. Facebook launched FarmVille in June, and in under a year, it had over 83 million monthly users.

Obama became the 44th president of The United States of America. Hannah Montana: The Movie is released, Glee and Modern Family air their first episodes and we all rush to see Avatar at the end of the year.

Michael Jackson dies at the age of 50 and Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift during her VMA Video of the Year acceptance speech. 

While Sony sold 12 million floppy disks in 2009 and stopped selling them altogether the following year, we made the annual Deloitte Fast 50, ranking as the 37th fastest-growing company in Ireland.

We begin working with Magee Clothing to launch their e-commerce website and Mercury Engineering to design their global web presence. We redesigned the corporate website with a new information architecture and online proposition for Ibec . We created the new portal website for Qualifax that would only be redesigned in 2023 - now that's design value. We also collaborated with the HSE, Ireland Health Service Executive, to redesign and develop their official website, HSE.ie and collaborated with the End of Life Forum to build their online presence. The Forum would engage all sectors of society in the development of a vision of how modern Ireland can address the challenges of dying, death and bereavement.

On the award front, Today FM and OSi are nominated for Golden Spiders. Megazyme's innovative e-commerce website continued to deliver for the business and won the Small Firm Associations Innovation award. 

Apple releases the iPad - Instagram is launched - Both to become dominant in our day-to-day lives. Imagine taking pictures of everything you eat, wear and think about and posting them to Instagram; oh yes, that is now a norm - by 2022, there will be over 2 billion users.

The Arab Spring protests began across the Middle East and Inception by Christopher Nolan was released, what an amazing soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Spain won the soccer World Cup in South Africa. The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupted air travel across Europe, while Flash Mobs disrupted the globe. In music, Eminem’s album Recovery, was one of the best-selling albums of the year. Kesha’s, Tik Tok was the billboard song of the year. No, not that TikTok, that's coming in 2016

In 2010, we acquired Clearscape, the award-winning digital agency. The Department of Taoiseach commissioned us to design and develop the Irish government's official news service. The website would be known as MerrionStreet.ie.

MerrionStreet.ie serves citizens, journalists, and an international audience. It provides daily updates on government activities in a single online location.

We partnered with the Department of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) to deliver a dynamic and progressive digital service built upon WordPress. This publishing platform would enable all agencies and departments to release news and announcements on demand.

“The idea is to have a single place where people can access all related Government news and share it with the world,” a spokesman told Siliconrepublic last week. “This is a Government site. We believe it will stand the test of time very well and will be a key asset for any Government.”

The site was used until 2025 - not a bad investment for 14 years.

Siri made her grand debut on Apple’s iPhone 4S, introducing the world to virtual assistants. This signalled a future where speaking to your devices would feel as natural as talking to a friend. Meanwhile, Google+ launched and (briefly) attempted to shake up social networking. Could it outpace Facebook? Nope, it closed in 2019. 

Microsoft launched Office 365, and Adobe released Creative Cloud, cloud-based software for web development, graphic design, animation, video, and photo editing. Thankfully, we won't need to look for installation CD-ROMs anymore. Snapchat, Trello, and Zoom launched, and Netflix introduced its online video streaming service.

Responsive design began to dominateas Ethan Marcotte’s principles gained traction. With mobile internet usage soaring, creating sites that seamlessly adapt screen sizes became essential.

Adele’s 21 soared to the top of the charts, with Rolling in the Deep becoming a global anthem. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 brought the wizarding saga to an emotional conclusion. At the same time, Lionel Messi continued his streak of brilliance, scoring 73 goals across the football season for Barcelona.

At Arekibo, we designed and developed Dublin Airport's first mobile app, which was released for Android and iPhones. We also launched iConnect, the daa's intranet. we support MSD - Merck Sharp & Dohme Biologics with the development of several innovative online campaigns.

Arekibo won the IIA Net Visionary Awards 2011 for best Web Design, and our client, the Arts Council, won the Best eGovernment Award. ‘It’s brilliant to win the award and get great recognition from our team. I would also like to congratulate the Arts Council, which we have been working with since 2007, for winning the Best eGovernment award,’ said Martin Casey, MD at Arekibo.

We launched the digital campaign for Trócaire’s Lent Campaign and released the Soarview website for RTE, plus a new corporate site for Fyffes PLC. We developed the Employment Law mobile app for Ibec and supported the launch of Electric Ireland - with whom we will continue to partner, releasing their new website in 2024. We also launched the RTE Radio App and Heritage Week app.

We continue our Teen series with our white paper by Jack Connery, a 16-year-old intern, insights into his peers’ use of modern digital technologies.

The smartphone war heated up as the iPhone 5 debuted, introducing the sleek Lightning connector. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 pushed Android into the limelight, proving it could compete with Apple in style and performance. Google Chrome surged ahead on the browser front, overtaking Internet Explorer as the most popular web browser worldwide.

Flat design replaced skeuomorphism as one of the two major visual trends championed by platforms like Microsoft’s Windows 8. Simple, clean, and lightweight visuals set the stage for minimalist UX. At the same time, parallax scrolling emerged as the second trend, delivering, in many cases, overengineered visual explosions that pushed the boundaries of user engagement and patience.

But 2012 was the year of Gangnam Style, with Psy’s viral hit becoming the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. The Avengers assembled on the big screen, establishing Marvel as a cinematic and revenue powerhouse. At the same time, Usain Bolt proved his dominance as a real-world superhero, winning in style at the London Olympics.

Our CSR work continues with the launch of the website for 3Ts (Turning the Tide of Suicide). Arekibo Ventures is founded to invest in and support Irish start-ups.

We began our +12-year collaboration with CRH by launching the global Plc's and then Ireland’s largest company's corporate and investor relations website. We collaborated with An Post (Ireland's National postal service) to develop a multi-channel strategy to support their sponsorship of An Post Rás (Cycling Tour of Ireland) and redesigned their corporate website.

We released a new design for the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. To promote commerce, we launched 'The Loop', a new online store for Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports. We also launched the European Union's dedicated website to support Single Market Week, marking 20 Years of the European Single Market.

Bitcoin bursts into public consciousness, with its value skyrocketing from a low of $50, passing $1000 by the end of the year. Bitcoin will hit $ 100,000 by the end of 2024. Apple continues its yearly launches by unveiling the iPhone 5s and introducing Touch ID. Sony and Microsoft continue to lock horns and split the teen camps with the releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (the first in 8 years). It was also the year of the Internet of Things, the continued fall of BlackBerry, the promotion of the potential of 3D printing, the possibilities of wearable technology and the release of Google Glass. 

Content-first design emerged as a leading principle, with developers prioritising functionality and accessibility over flashy visuals - see what parallax did to everyone last year. Meanwhile, single-page applications (SPAs) like AngularJS deliver smoother, app-like experiences in the browser.

Elsa and her band of Frozen friends warmed hearts worldwide and drove parents mad with the earwig Let It Go. Daft Punk's Get Lucky provides some rest bite, blending retro funk with modern dance, and Iron Man 3 dominates the big screen. In football, we wave goodbye to Sir Alex Ferguson, who retires from Manchester United after 26 years as the boss—Can the success continue for United…

Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information.

At Arekibo, we launched the augmented reality travel app 'Discover Ireland' in partnership with Failte Ireland (watch the launch video). We continue our collaboration with KPMG to support their Budget campaign.

We announce that X Communications, Ireland’s first digital agency, which started in 1994, has been acquired and joined Arekibo. We launched a new design and website for NoNonsense, the discount car insurer. Dublin Airport wins an award for its social media presence, and we launch a dedicated app for Shannon Airport on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

We end the year with four nominations at the Spider Awards for No Nonsense, Discover Ireland App, Shannon Airport App and Best Agency and four nominations at the Appy's (app awards) for Book of Kells iPad App, Discover Ireland and or inhouse developed photo sharing app called PhotoQ.

Pharrell’s “Happy” dominates the charts, and Frozen’s 'Let It Go' mania persists. Guardians of the Galaxy became an unexpected hit, with its great soundtrack and introduction of Groot, Rocket Racoon, Star-Lord and Drax. 4 movies were to follow, grossing $2.48 billion.

We lost comedic genius Robin Williams and Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Facebook Ice Bucket Challenge takes over the web and raises awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Flat design took over web design, with Google’s Material Design adding subtle depth and motion to otherwise minimalist interfaces. HTML5 became an official standard, empowering the creation of richer, more interactive web experiences. Apple Watch marked Apple’s foray into wearable technology, blending utility with high-end fashion.

Philae, the robotic lander, makes history by touching down on the comet - 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Germany is triumphant at the soccer Brazil World Cup, and not to forget Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's wedding.

While the wedding planners were preparing for their wedding in Italy, we were busy at Arekibo. Danone’s Nutricia won gold in The Appys 2014 for Best Medical App, being recognised as the most comprehensive dietetic calculator for specialists currently on the market. The Medical Council, Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, MKC, and UCD Careers are nominated for Web Awards. We are also shortlisted for ‘Web Development Company of the Year’ at the Tech Excellence Awards.

The Paris Climate Agreement sees 195 nations pledge to combat climate change. Bill Gates joined Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in expressing their fear of AI. Tesla rolled out its semi-autonomous driving car, Hyperloop is a thing, and Google announced all core business would become a subsidiary of Alphabet. 

Adele's album 25 and single Hello dominated the charts and broke streaming records, but let's not forget 'Uptown Funk' by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, which topped the charts of 19 countries and reached the top 10 of 15 others. Star Wars: The Force Awakens revived the franchise and welcomed Han Solo and Chewbacca back. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for The Revenant. After seven seasons, 'Mad Men” ends, and we wave goodbye to Don.

Instagram exploded with 400 million active users, becoming more popular than Twitter. Mobile live-streaming became all the rage—Meerkat took off, quickly followed by Twitter's Periscope app. Microinteractions have become essential for making websites feel more intuitive, and Google’s Mobilegeddon algorithm forces businesses to embrace mobile-first design—hallelujah!

While we were converting customers to the need for mobile-first design, we continued at pace.

We acquired the Irish digital agency KCO. We won the Best Universal Design Award at the IIA Awards for our work with Electric Ireland and their new Sitefinity-powered website - In 2024, we redesigned this site, which is still on Sitefinity. 

We released a first-to-market Budget App for KPMG on Apple and Android and a dedicated Tax app for their clients, developed on WordPress and still in use in 2025.

We were shortlisted as the best web development agency at the Net Visionary Awards. We launch the Loop e-commerce website for Auckland Airport in New Zealand. Our relationship continues with FBD Insurance (since 2008) with the design and development of a new mobile site for the insurer. We also began working with AON's Centre for Innovation and Analytics and Invesco, a pensions and investment firm.

The UK voted to leave the EU with the Brexit referendum, and Donald Trump won the US presidential election. 'Fake news' infects Facebook, but CEO Zuckerberg insists it wasn't a problem. Time will tell.

Justin Bieber and Drake are at the top of the music charts. Pokémon GO has millions of people outdoors, hunting for digital monsters. Hamilton brings American history to Broadway, and Stranger Things premiered on Netflix. According to Audi, Tesla, Uber, and Lyft, self-driving cars will become the norm.  The FBI sues Apple to gain access to an iPhone owned by a terrorist - Apple resisted. Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos come tumbling down.

The Chicago Cubs broke their 108-year drought to win the World Series, and Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo, won the UEFA European Championship. 

But this was to be the year of VR—Facebook's Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and Sony's PlayStation VR made their official debuts. Snapchat is a force to be reckoned with, and its Spectacles were released. AI starts to 'gain traction' in digital design, with tools like Adobe Sensei, a 'set of intelligent services for dramatically improving the design and delivery of digital experience'. Blockchain become a thing, with banks and big tech announcing numerous projects.

At Arekibo, we start the year by launching the Irish American Chamber of Commerce website. We are nominated for DMA awards for our work with Dublin Airport, their analytics and data strategy, and Electric Ireland's mobile-first website. We are also shortlisted for the Digital Strategy Partner of the Year award at the Tech Excellence Awards.

We launched a new corporate website for ESB Group, which we will redesign in 2023 and continue to manage on Sitefinity. We also launched an updated mobile design for the Medical Council, which will remain live in 2025. We released an updated design for Dublin Airport and new accessible websites for ESB Networks, which we will redesign and launch with ESB in 2024. We continued our partnership with Danone launching a new portal for low protein supports for the UK and Irish markets.

We end the year being shortlisted for the Eir Spiders - Large Agency of the Year.

#MeToo movement shakes Hollywood, revealing systemic abuse and empowering survivors. Emmanuel Macron becomes France's youngest president. HBO's Game of Thrones reaches its climax, sparking discussions, while Harry and Meghan announce their royal engagement —more of their own Game of Thrones to follow.

Apple releases facial recognition with the iPhone X's Face ID, and smart home voice assistants gain popularity. Ed Sheeran's Shape of You becomes Spotify's first song to reach 3 billion streams by December 2021. Warren Beatty famously hands the Oscars' Best Picture award to the wrong film, and Get Out becomes a major hit.

Progressive web apps (PWAs) emerged, and Facebook's AI chatbot developed a new language and devised a way to deceive humans. Ok...

Snapchat IPO and Disney acquires 20th Century Fox. Fortnite, YouTube TV, Google Home, Lens, and Meet were launched. Google's EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) search changes began affecting many websites.   Twitter expanded its character limit to 280, Microsoft introduced Teams, and Nintendo launched Switch.

Trying to keep up with Google's momentum, our CEO, Martin Casey, and Head of Operations, Luke Tritschler, cycled from Paris to Nice across France to raise money for the Laura Lynn Children Hospice.  ESB.ie wins the Progress Sitefinity Website of the Year Award. ESB Networks was nominated for a Government Award, and we released our research report on social media marketing trends in Irish business, in which we surveyed 100 firms.

We completed redesigning the Central Bank of Ireland website, including a significant content architecture, UX design, and implementation of a mobile-first and accessible website developed using Sitefinity. The site is still being used in 2025, a testament to a comprehensive and best-in-class redesign process. 

We conducted a comprehensive strategic review of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) digital presence and developed a set of strategic recommendations for its future digital and technology investments.

We supported Fintan O'Byrne, our then Head of UX, in holding a magical art exhibition of his work, all in aid of Jigsaw—the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. We also released another Teen report, with Jim Xi Johnson, a sixteen-year-old intern who surveyed 50 of his peers.

Apple became the first trillion-dollar company to lose its top spot to Microsoft shortly after its record-breaking announcement. Elon Musk sent a Tesla Roadster aboard the huge Falcon Heavy rocket into space. The Spectre/Meltdown processor vulnerabilities affected nearly every computer in use, and NASA’s InSight Lander made it to Mars.

Deepfakes became a thing, and by the end of the year, Google allowed victims to have material removed from the firm's search results. Oh no, the risk of AI is really on the way.

5G trials commence globally, and the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal emerges. Google also has its issues, including the sexual assault, harassment, and inequality policies brought on by the #Dontbeevil campaign.

Fortnite became a cultural phenomenon, with dance moves spilling into everyday life. Marvel continues its superhero onslaught and earns its first Academy Award nomination with Black Panther. Harry Weds Meghan, Spotify goes public, and Childish Gambino’s 'This Is America' and Ariana Grande’s 'Thank U' are huge hits. Unfortunately, we lost Anthony Bourdain and Aretha Franklin. Electric scooters arrive on our streets, beginning the phenomenon of Scootergeddon, Scooterpocalypse and Scooter Wars.

It was another busy year at Arekibo. The redesign and development of Ibec's online presence was a significant project that commenced in 2017 and was completed this year. The redesign and migration to Sitecore from Lotus Notes was a considerable project, and the fruits of the investment have lasted the test of time—the website and design are still in use in 2025.

Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) was another significant project. We redesigned the international paper and packaging company's online presence, delivering a global multilingual redesign developed on Sitecore. We continued with the redesign and platform migration for RCSI, which was followed by the launch of the new online presence for RCSI Bahrain. We launch the global website for World Meeting of the Families, the Roman Catholic Church congress that was held in Dublin in August.

There was a flood of award nominations at the Spiders—SKG's new website was shortlisted for best UX design, and we got one for best large agency. We also sponsored the best B2B category. Our cyclists raised €23,000 for Laura Lynn, again riding from Paris to Nice across France.

We continued our teen research with the launch of our 2018 report, which provided another fascinating insight into teens' behaviours and preferences. and further developed our partnerships and certifications with Sitecore, Kentico, and Progress Sitefinity and became Microsoft Azure partners.

Disney+ and Apple TV+ join the streaming wars, challenging Netflix and reshaping entertainment consumption - just in time for something in 2020? The Cybertruck and its memes are launched. The Notre Dame Cathedral fire shocked the world, spurring pledges to restore the historic landmark in record time. The US wins the women's football World Cup, and we are introduced to the climate activist and teen Greta Thunberg.

Marvel is back with Avengers: Endgame, wrapping up over a decade of Marvel storytelling. Snapchat released its baby face filter, Jennifer Aniston joined Instagram and became the fastest to reach 1 million followers in just five hours and 16 minutes, Frozen II was released, and The Joker made $1 billion at the global box office.

The rise of dark mode in web and app design is becoming a thing, catering to users with preferences for reduced eye strain or just a 'valid' reason for designers to create darker products. In meetings, intelligent chatbots, GDPR, push notifications, and increasing cyber awareness across organisations are frequent topics. The latter is helped by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre finding that 123456 was the most widely used password on breached accounts.

Our team continues to roll out RSCI's digital transformation, and the results bag them a Spider Award. We miss out on Large Digital Agency, and Dublin Airport is nominated for best universal design. At the UX awards, RCSI gains another nomination for best interface design and ESB Networks for UX achievement in Productivity and Utilities. At the DMA Awards, Smurfit Kappa, ESB Networks, and World Meetings of Families are nominated.

We launched the mobile-first redesign of Dublin Airport, which runs on Sitefinity. Sinead Quish, daa project lead, summed up the project perfectly: "We now have an integrated digital ecosystem because of our mobile-first Dublinairport.com, key marketing database and app integrations, and Sitefinity. It's revolutionised how we communicate with customers."

Our team signed up for the Tag Rugby League and avoided injuries while having a great time. We began working with Mater Private, the private hospital group in Ireland, on their digital strategy, a partnership that continues into 2025. Things are looking up for a great 2020; there is nothing but plain sailing ahead…