Looking back, we were so innocent at the start of 2021. Giddy with optimism at the end of a dreadful 2020, the ball dropped while we dreamt of vaccines and freedom.

As we were considering how we felt about returning to crowds and social life, 2021 had other plans for us–plans that, at times, felt downright 2020-ish.

Despite the chaos of another unprecedented year, there were some major rays of sunshine here at Slide UX.

As the year ends, here are some of the things Sliders are celebrating:

• We got to work with 42 amazing client teams. As always, the majority of our revenue was from returning clients. Some clients have worked with us across 6 of our 9 years in business!

• We celebrated 7 promotions, and added 7 new teammates to the team (Welcome, Abby, Alex, Ashley, Chrissy, Ian, Ken, and Ryan!)

• We earned a record-shattering 17 client reviews on sites like Google, Clutch, Agency Spotter, UpCity, DesignRush, and GoodFirms.

• We published at an unprecedented rate, sharing 53 new blog articles. and 48 YouTube videos.

• We doubled our community across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. (Are you following? Cause we’re putting in serious work to share good UX content!)

• Industry recognition rolled in.

  • We were named one of the Top 100 companies on the Clutch Global 1000 for the fourth year in a row.

  • We're among the Top 5 UX Agencies in the AgencySpotter Top User Experience Design Agencies Report.

  • We’re also ranked #2 out of nearly 16,000 firms offering UX on Clutch.co, and we proudly top the list of Women-Owned User Experience Agencies.

• Our leadership team grew and excelled.

  • Tom Drugan (Austin) took on the role of VP of Operations.

  • Tia Krupa (Philly) took on our large design organization as VP of Experience.

  • UX Managing Directors Cat Battson (San Diego) and Travis Slate (Austin) each took the helm of 2 3-Slider pods.

  • Megan Baker stepped into a new role as Director of Client Programs.

• And just as the year ended, the Slide UX "fam" grew by one more. Congratulations, Megan, on your newest addition!

We also re-launched The Brief this year, sharing actionable UX insights with product leaders on a weekly basis. We have delivered 53 issues this year, and we've already got a lot to share in 2022. Thank you for subscribing and spreading the word!

Here's to a bright new year!