I’m excited to share that, That Creative Guy has received a 2026 Silver Davey Award for the Therapeutic Gems website. Sometimes you get an email that makes you stop what you’re doing for a minute. This was one of those emails.The Davey Awards is an international creative awards program created specifically to recognize outstanding work from small agencies, independent creators and in-house creative teams.
What Are the Davey Awards?
Inspired by the story of David and Goliath, the awards celebrate the idea that great creative work isn’t dependent on having the largest agency, biggest team or biggest budget. It’s about strong ideas, thoughtful execution and work that makes an impact. Entries are reviewed by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, an organization made up of more than 1,000 industry professionals representing respected brands, agencies and institutions across the creative industry.
That mission makes this particular recognition especially meaningful to me.
Because That Creative Guy is exactly that kind of creative business.
A small, one-man creative shop based in the Mississippi Delta.
About the Therapeutic Gems Website Project
Therapeutic Gems is a counseling and therapy practice led by Dr. Erinisha “Dr. E” Johnson, serving individuals, couples, children and teens. When developing the website, the goal was never simply to make something that looked good.
Therapy is personal.
Someone visiting a counseling website may be searching for help during an overwhelming, uncertain or difficult moment in their life. The website needed to communicate professionalism and credibility while still feeling welcoming, approachable and human. It also needed to make important information about the practice, services and resources easy to find and understand. The goal was to create a website that felt like Therapeutic Gems.
Professional, but not cold.
Informative, but not overwhelming.
Polished, but still personal.
That balance influenced the overall visual direction, page layouts, photography, typography, content organization and the experience visitors have as they move through the website. Recognition is great. The work still comes first.
Receiving a Silver Davey Award for the project is exciting. But an award is not the only measure of whether creative work is successful. Some of the projects I’m most proud of may never receive a trophy or industry recognition. The real measure is whether the work solved the problem it was created to solve.
Did it communicate?
Did it represent the client well?
Did it make information easier to understand?
Did it help the organization connect with the people it serves?
Those questions still matter most.
But there is something special about having work you’ve created for a client recognized beyond your immediate market. And this recognition reinforces something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:
Good creative work can come from anywhere.
You don’t have to operate from a major creative market.
You don’t have to have a large agency.
You don’t have to have ten people sitting around a conference table working on every project.
Sometimes it’s one designer working closely with a client, asking the right questions, solving problems and creating something that genuinely supports what that client is trying to accomplish.
As a designer working from the Mississippi Delta, I’m especially proud of that.
A Good Reminder for the One-Man Shop
I’ve also been thinking more lately about the pressure freelancers, solopreneurs and small creative businesses can put on themselves. We look online and see incredible websites, national campaigns, huge client lists and sophisticated creative work. What we don’t always see are the teams, budgets and resources behind those projects. The designer. The developer. The photographer. The copywriter. The strategist. The motion designer. Sometimes an entire agency.
When you’re running a one-man shop, you may be wearing several of those hats yourself. This award was a good reminder for me, too.
Keep learning.
Keep pushing.
Keep looking at great work and allowing it to inspire you.
But don’t discount the work you’re already doing because your business or career doesn’t look like somebody else’s. There is value in serving the clients in front of you well. There is value in doing meaningful work for businesses and organizations in your community. There is value in continuing to build your skills and your reputation one project at a time.
And every now and then, somebody outside of your community may notice too.
I’m grateful to Therapeutic Gems and Dr. “E” Erinisha Johnson for trusting That Creative Guy with the project, and I’m thankful to the Davey Awards and the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts for the recognition. For this one-man creative shop in the Mississippi Delta, this one feels pretty good.
Now, back to the work.
View the award-winning Therapeutic Gems website:
https://tpgems.com/
View the winning entry on the Davey Awards website (alphabetized):
https://daveyawards.com/winners-area/gallery/?event=1105&award=2&type=61&pg=6
