Nomiated for a Big Chip award- again!

We have been nominated for a BIG CHIP award for the second year in succession. Following last years win -‘Best in Cumbria’ for our e-commerce site for Richard Woodall. This year we have been nominated for the ‘Best Not for Profit Website’ for the social networking website built for ‘The Cumbria Network’.

This year is the 10th Big Chip awards, recognising the cream of the North West digital media industry. Within the category Hydrant sit alongside other well established agencies from Merseyside and Manchester.

‘The Cumbria Network’ site was short listed because of several attributes. It replaced a labour intensive website and email newsletter with a web portal that provides two way communication and participation for Cumbria’s creative community. The site had immediate results and saw a 200% increase in traffic within the first 6 months. But what has been of greatest benefit to members is the added value gained from artist profiles, forums, directories, sector specific and regional news.

Kate Brundrette headed the web project for The Cumbria Network. She was delighted to see their site gaining recognition and said “Our new website augments our organisation in providing a countywide infrastructure for visual arts practice. It acts as a central hub, creates opportunities for artists and provides a platform for critical debate. We are pleased that Hydrant have been recognised for their achievement because they understand our ethos and are creative in their thinking as well as their design. With them we find solutions quickly to the county’s communication issues and also develop fantastic and creative, fun ways to enhance the arts community in the future.”

Shaun Fensom, chair of Manchester Digital (trade association for the digital sector) and organisers of the Big Chip Awards said “This year is of particular importance because it represents a decade of IT excellence. The quality of entries is very high and shows the strength of the digital industry in the North West. We have all enjoyed investigating the work that our entrants have produced and look forward to rewarding their efforts.”