The Year We Forgot Where the Edges Were

It’s strange how you don’t notice a shift until you’re standing in a different place, looking back.

That’s how 2024 felt for us. One moment, we were a team figuring things out. The next, we were a team everywhere - on flights, in new cities, speaking on panels, building things we never imagined we’d build.

Somewhere between the English breakfasts that felt vaguely like a prank and questioning if Chisom (CEO) was secretly trying to rewire our brains through music (we’ll get to that), we realized - last year had changed us.

We didn’t set out to be global. We just stopped seeing where the borders were.

We Stopped Colouring Inside the Lines

If you walk into any of our offices, you’ll notice two things:

1. A suspicious amount of black, beige, and tan outfits (we swear, it’s not a uniform)
2. People working in, well, unusual positions - someone standing in a corner like they’re plotting world domination, another stretched out on the couch like a Roman emperor.

That’s just how we have always been. We don’t do (or even appear) “normal.” We don’t do neat lines and boxes. Then why was our brand still playing it safe?

So we tore it down. The grayscale, the neutral tones, the almost there but not quite identity. We threw colour at the wall and didn’t hold back. Bright, loud, unapologetic. The way we actually are.

Our rebrand last year wasn't about looking different. It was about owning who we are - creative people who rethink everything and refuse to colour inside the lines. 

You can see the transformation on our Instagram. Go ahead, we’ll wait.

The flights we almost missed, the people we almost didn't meet

You know that feeling when you step into a new city and realize - you could have gone your whole life without ever seeing this place, without ever meeting these people, without ever learning this thing?

We felt that a lot last year. 

Chisom spent an evening at COLLINS House - good food, better music, and the kind of conversations that stay with you. One of them was with Lauren Ranke, Head of People at Collins. We found ourselves in Zanzibar, talking about design by the ocean while wondering if we should just move there permanently. London, where Charles (COO) met Brian Collins at D&AD Festival and completely abandoned any attempt at playing it cool. Nairobi, where we had a fireside chat with Sebastian Dettmers about Africa’s creative workforce and whether we should all start drinking more coffee.

Somewhere between those flights, we stopped being just a design company. We became part of a much bigger story.

The team we became along the way

It’s hard to explain what makes a team feel like a team. It’s not just the projects or the meetings. It’s the in-between moments. The ridiculous Slack conversations. The way someone always knows where to find the best lunch. The fact that nobody ever listens to the same kind of music (more on that in a second).

Last year, we played talent Pokémon and collected some serious heavyweights. We welcomed a content lead from BBDO. We brought in talents from across the world who brought fresh perspectives to our global projects. We built a team that doesn’t just “work globally” - they think and create at that level.

We also said goodbye to some incredible people. But the thing about working at Check is - nobody ever really leaves. They just go off to do amazing things in new places, and we keep cheering them on like overly invested stage parents.

And then Chisom hacked our playlists

It happened at our mid-year retreat.

One day, we were listening to our usual office playlist. The next, Chisom decided to challenge everything we thought we knew about rhythm and sound, took control of the speakers and played something. Nobody was quite sure what it was. It sounded like the soundtrack to a movie that had been shot in an alternate universe.

At first, we were confused. Then curious. Then - somehow - it became part of us.

By the end of the retreat, our entire music taste had evolved into something unrecognizable. Our Slack music channel turned into a chaotic mix of Japanese jazz fusion, French disco from the 70s, Nordic electro-folk that made you feel like you were running through a snowy forest.

We don’t know what happened. We just know we’ll never be the same. Our Spotify Wrapped was ruined. But our musical horizons? Expanded!

The wins that made it all worth it

Last year, we partnered with standout brands like Adidas, Formula 1, Visa, and Quidax. From finance to fashion to energy, we tailored our creativity to industries across a wide spectrum.

Our website won a CSS Design Award. Open it in a new tab. Take it in. Let it change your life. If you don’t like it, we accept your right to be objectively incorrect. We also got featured on Creative Boom, where Chisom shared insights on why partnerships across continents create the most groundbreaking work. 

But more than any of that, last year, our wins proved that great design doesn’t have one home. It happens wherever people are willing to rethink everything.

The best things that had nothing to do with work

Was last year all about deadlines, presentations, and global deals? Absolutely not.

Wedding bells rang last year (Some said “I do,” others said “I told you so.”) We threw a rebrand mixer that got the community talking. People showed up. Conversations happened. Perspectives shifted.

Our monthly parties became the stuff of legend. We introduced a Rate the Vibes system. It was deeply flawed (but aggressively defended).

The year we forgot where the edges were

If last year taught us anything, it’s these: there are no boxes; no neat little categories; no limits to what’s possible; the best ideas come from unexpected places; the best creative teams don’t have borders; and the best work happens when we stop asking for permission.

In 2025, we’re going further. Dreaming wilder. Daring to see just how far this thing can go.

Here’s to another year of no boundaries!