At this year’s Best Awards, we were ecstatic to pick up a few pins for our work on MyACC, NZ On Air, and the New Zealand Government Design System. And our very own Rachel Bolt got bronze for her honours project, Ora. 

Here’s what that recognition means to some of the people who put in the mahi behind the projects.

MyACC is a self-service platform that’s all about empowering ACC’s customers. Recovering from an injury is never an easy time, but MyACC makes it a little bit easier for people by putting them back in control of their own recovery journey. It also means ACC staff can spend more time helping people meaningfully. 

Read more about our work with ACC

MyACC was awarded:

• Gold in the User Experience — Interactive category
• Silver in the User Experience — Empowering category
• Silver in the Interactive — Large Scale Websites category

“When MyACC was announced as the winner of two silver and one gold award at the Best Awards, I was absolutely stoked. 

“We’ve lived and breathed MyACC for the last 2 years with the sole focus on making the experience for injured New Zealanders as simple as it possibly could be. 

“We don’t work to win awards, but having our work recognised so highly by the design community reaffirms the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this project by everyone in the team. It only encourages us even more to continue to do what we do.

“MyACC is a project I’m proud to work on at Springload. It’s extremely rewarding to see that all the work we’ve done to date has vastly improved the quality of our users’ recovery journey.”

Ben Wright — Senior Designer, Springload

“Working on MyACC has been an absolute dream — it has the opportunity to make a huge impact in the lives of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of New Zealanders every year. We’ve kept our clients at the heart of everything we do, and every decision, no matter how big or small, stems from what they need from us.

“There are so many talented designers across the country, and while we don’t do it for the glory or recognition, it was an amazing feeling to be there to celebrate the best of the best in New Zealand design. And winning two silvers and a gold pin was really the icing on the cake! 

“I particularly loved seeing awards that are so far removed from my own day-to-day work-life such as the spatial and (physical) product categories. My whole career has been in the digital space, and it’s sometimes easy to forget that there are people working in so many different disciplines. But we all recognise the value of exceptional design when we come across it in our lives!”

Josie Brough — MyACC Product Owner, ACC

“Throughout the discovery, design and delivery, the MyACC team have always taken a truly customer-centred approach. Everything they do has considered the context and needs of the customer — and it’s paid off. Both in the recognition from the Best Awards’ judges, and the great feedback we’ve had from our customers.

“This was my first time at the Best Awards. For me, seeing the work of the other finalists we were up against confirmed how awesome MyACC is. I particularly liked the work by other winners, such as Kupu and Pepeha, that’s making te ao Māori more accessible to more New Zealanders.”

Julia McConnell — Digital Product Manager, ACC

We worked with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to create the New Zealand Government Design System (NZGDS). Currently in alpha phase, the NZGDS aims to make it easier for New Zealanders to use government services online.

Read more about our work on the NZGDS

NZGDS was awarded:

Bronze in the Interactive — Applications category

“It’s always extremely inspiring to see the breadth and quality of work that our industry produces each year. I feel honoured to have the NZGDS sit among that canon. 

“It’s a project I found extremely gratifying to work on. It has huge potential to help digital teams within government agencies build accessible websites and services for their end users — all of New Zealand.”

Joe Garlick — Senior Designer, Springload

“I’m very proud of the team, and the progress this project has made to make it easier for Kiwis to access New Zealand Government services online, and to reduce government costs.

“Government websites have the legal obligation of letting everyone access them — and that really does mean everyone. Not only people who use websites every day, but those who are new to technology. They might have 20:20 eyesight, or they might have a vision impairment. They might connect over broadband, or only have 3G access. 

“Personally, I find this responsibility very motivating. We get to make websites that are beautiful and functional, and contribute towards greater equality in New Zealand.

“The NZGDS alpha has the potential to reduce costs and allow greater reuse of website technology across New Zealand — and our software has been noticed by other governments too. My favourite part of the software has to be MetaTemplate, which allows integrations with a greater number of frameworks than any other design system worldwide.”

Matthew Holloway — Front-end Director, Springload

We worked with independent government funding agency NZ On Air to help Kiwi content creators access funding and showcase their work to the world.

NZ On Air was awarded:

Bronze in the Interactive — Large Scale Websites category

“NZ On Air was a special piece of work to be part of. I grew up watching TV shows funded by NZ On Air like What Now? and You and Me. I still get nostalgic thinking about the goldfish swimming across the old NZ On Air logo.

“From the start of the project, NZ On Air knew exactly what they wanted — make it easy for their users to find what they’re looking for, and showcase all the great New Zealand content they’d funded. 

“For me, the trusting relationship we formed with the NZ On Air team made the project a true success. We relied on their deep knowledge of broadcast funding and their customers, and they trusted us to take the lead on what we’re good at — creating digital experiences based around the user. 

“It was icing on the cake to see NZ On Air come away with a Bronze at the Best Awards this year.”

Zak Brown — Designer, Springload


Ora is a proactive approach to improving young New Zealanders mental health. It’s a digital, evidence-based tool that helps young people create habits that promote wellbeing and build resilience.

Ora was awarded:

Bronze in the Student Public Good Award

“I worked with Katie McKenzie to create Ora in response to the current mental health crisis. It’s focus is on overall wellbeing — mental health does not sit in isolation. 

“It was so inspiring to see the other mahi in the public good category. It shows the huge role design plays in improving social issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. From creating systems that empower and support children of prisoners, to devices that support people with hearing difficulties to enjoy music. Ka mau te wehi!

“We designed Ora for our honours project at Massey University. I was so proud to see all the projects that came out of Massey represented at the Best Awards, and was grateful that our project got to sit alongside them.”

Rachel Bolt — Experience Designer, Springload

It was great to see how much the awards mean to our clients. They invest as much passion and time into a project as we do, and it’s often on the harder stuff, like clearing a path for us to focus on what we love to do. 

We count ourselves lucky to work with people whose values align so closely with ours, and who are committed to making change for good.