Interview with denkwerk 2022

denkwerk is an owner-managed digital agency that was founded in 1998 and has offices in Cologne, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg. The agency’s work is based on three simple principles: To be passionate about solving problems and rethinking the status quo. Putting people at the centre to create relevant products and experiences. And to operate in agile, autonomous teams to move clients forward faster. Combining strategy, communication, technology and design – to continually create new, refreshing and effective solutions to customers’ needs.

Interview with denkwerk

Red Dot: To what extent do you think new technologies are changing design?
denkwerk: As a digital agency, in particular, we have to keep our finger on the technological pulse. Of course, this always results in new playgrounds, but the principles of good design do not change as a result. For us, it always has to serve a purpose – whether in app design or on a poster.

What makes your work unique?
We think holistically. We don’t just look at the individual pieces, but put together a complex puzzle of perfectly coordinated measures for our clients. It’s never about solving one small problem – but about fundamentally understanding customers and brands and strengthening them from the inside out.

What intention do you pursue with your award-winning work?
fraenk is a mobile phone provider that makes everything easier: users can conclude a contract in just a few minutes via an app. In other words, in any situation, quite incidentally. Exactly this “incidental” is taken up in our advertising material, played with in a funny way and reproduced in an eye-catching manner. So that it stays in people’s heads. In the case of Mojilink, our intention was to help people find a way out of the platform silos of the social web.

Which target group would you like to address with your award-winning work?
With Mojilink: All TikTok and Instagram users (for now) who want to add links to their content. fraenk is aimed at all those who don’t want complicated mobile communications. Everyone who wants to use mobile telephony in a simpler and more contemporary way.

Please describe the concept of creativity against the background of your award-winning work.
Creativity is rethinking what already exists. We don’t want to make advertising that you click away, that is annoying. That’s why the fraenk campaign looks the way it does. It’s supposed to be really fun! And in the case of Mojilink we have found an unusual – yet almost obvious – solution to a global problem and made it accessible to everyone; sneaky!