DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
MBAMBU : Our team was inspired to create an app designed to enhance authentic human connections in business. We envisioned recreating the experience of chatting around a table, enjoying drinks and snacks while discussing business. Our focus is on fostering personal connections.
For instance, if you work in HR and need to hire people, you could use the app at a job fair to connect with potential employees. You would share personal updates and internal information about activities like a football game the team organised or fun events you hosted for your team.
On the other hand, imagine your potential employee receiving these updates. When they are ready to change jobs, they would have your personal contact and enough knowledge about you to feel confident in reaching out.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
MBAMBU : Some people say they do business best around a glass of wine. A genuine connection is far more meaningful than a thousand unsolicited emails, and we wanted to experiment with fostering this connection.
We aimed to create a light, enjoyable atmosphere for communicating with people you know, where exchanging ideas in an informal environment is a pleasure. Bright colours help keep the conversation relaxed and enjoyable, adding a personal touch to each interaction.
We explicitly chose not to use AI, as we believe in the value of authentic human connection. Our design is simple yet colourful, light, and stimulating to the senses.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
MBAMBU : I am very happy to announce that our mobile application has been approved to participate in the startup program at Web Summit this November. We are eager to test our idea and gather feedback from the community and investors.
While we are uncertain about the outcomes, we are thrilled about the real-life connections we will create at the event. We hope to soon nurture these connections within our mobile application, further enhancing its value.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
MBAMBU : This is a passion project for us. We spent several months working on it with our entire team. Everyone contributed to the branding, identity creation, the mobile app itself, and the website.
We loved working on it and cannot wait to take it to the next stage.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
MBAMBU : This project began with the challenge of not being able to showcase most of our work. We wanted something tangible to present to our potential clients. However, it quickly grew into a passion project that excites all of us. We are eager to see and use it in real life.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
MBAMBU : We plan to create the final product in-house, but we are also excited to meet like-minded people and companies who appreciate the value of genuine human contact. We hope to improve business communication and make it enjoyable.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
MBAMBU : We were seeing more and more business applications adopting AI, making communication between people increasingly artificial. Although it's sometimes useful to utilize AI, we want to return to the days of having picnics with our colleagues, chatting from time to time, sharing personal stories, and truly understanding the people around us.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
MBAMBU : Our target audience is professionals in various fields. The app will not only help them get to know each other but also allow them to organize their contacts. Additionally, it will provide statistics on which events or places are best for meeting people they enjoy communicating with and, ultimately, where to find contacts that can enhance their business.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
MBAMBU : Our goal is to help people grow their contacts as authentically as possible. Most other concepts rely heavily on automation and the use of AI.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
MBAMBU : While brainstorming for a project name with my team, we came up with the idea of "Chat over Food," which is exactly what "Bits'n'Bites" means. If we consider the tech aspect of the application, it also refers to the small pieces of information we transfer electronically between each other, like bits and bytes.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
MBAMBU : We used various tools to create this project—Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, and MidJourney, to name a few. However, I believe the tools themselves are not as important for this specific project.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
MBAMBU : I am not sure if there is anything truly unique anymore, but we aimed to create a design that reflects the concept of building your own community in a very laid-back way. In this case, I believe the focus should be more on how it embodies the idea and makes the design useful, rather than on uniqueness. I am happy with the results we produced for this specific project.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
MBAMBU : We worked on this project as a team, with all of our designers contributing. The first logo concept was created by Vasil Tonev. Mariya Yordanova and I then joined forces and continued working on it. Val Petrova, Bozhidar Hadzhiev, Beloslava Ivanova, and Boris Savev worked diligently on the app design, while Elisaveta Vakavchieva wrote the copy for the website and the examples for the application. In the next stage, our development team will begin their work.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
MBAMBU : I have been following the A'Design Awards for years, and not having anything ready to show was always a struggle. So once we started working on this project, the next step was clear to me. I checked the requirements and began preparing the design for this competition.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
MBAMBU : I believe everyone participating in this project grew to love personal connections with other professionals even more. We learned so much about each other through sharing ideas, playing, experimenting, and collaborating. Personally, I discovered that while I might be an introvert, I truly value meaningful connections.
