Voyage is proud to create a workplace culture that heralds the sentiment ‘everyone is welcome’. While we’ll be the first to acknowledge this is a ongoing journey and we’re always looking for ways to improve, we’ve also learnt a lot along the way and champion our expert team that have picked up their own tips and tricks. Here we’ll explore how we build a company culture that bridges cities and continents, and why this approach is integral to our growth and future success.

At Voyage, we pride ourselves on being a global company that understands the importance of diversity - both in geography and perspective. Our team stretches beyond the borders of Christchurch, encompassing talent from all corners of the world. While our headquarters might be based in New Zealand, the value we place on diverse voices, skill sets, and experiences is what makes our team stand out from the crowd.

Creating a culture that’s welcoming to all doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intention, open communication, and a constant effort to ensure that every voice is heard, regardless of where an individual is physically located. We’re always open to having ‘real’ conversations and sharing a laugh. While ultimately we have a job to do, what makes our team stronger is the intention to break down the boundaries so easily built up in a professional context. From the beginning, we’ve adopted a mindset that differences and distance should never create barriers to collaboration, connection and growth.

The rise of remote work in the past few years has reshaped the way companies approach hiring and team building. Gone are the days when teams were confined to a single office, and collaboration was limited to in-person meetings. Now technology enables us to work alongside people from different cities, countries, and even continents. At Voyage, we jumped on this wave right from the start. It just made sense, and allowed us to tap into a much larger talent pool and form teams that reflect diverse perspectives and are heavyweights by way of technological skill.

And yet, we’re the first to acknowledge that working across multiple time zones and unique needs can present its own challenges. This is why team building requires not only flexibility but also intentional efforts to maintain connection and foster a sense of belonging. For us, this is where our ‘everyone is welcome’ mantra truly comes to life.

Building a culture of inclusion across borders

One of the first steps in creating an inclusive, welcoming culture that includes people in and out of the main HQ is ensuring that all team members have equal access to communication and collaboration tools. We use whatever works best - be that Slack channels, video calls, or Google Drive and shared documents.

But technology alone isn’t enough to bridge the gap between cities and continents. A welcoming culture thrives on human connection. This is why we prioritise regular check-ins, not just about work, but about each of us - celebrating milestones, acknowledging birthdays, and creating space for stories, wins and trying times. This allows us to understand each other as people. We’ve learned that a strong sense of belonging doesn’t just come from getting work done together, but from a sense that you are accepted exactly as you are.

Our team is a testimony to how genuine diversity also leads to better outcomes for our clients. In addition to remote working, our team is a diverse mix of backgrounds, interests and personalities. Beyond the likes of ethnicity or gender, our team is made up of those raised in bustling urban centres right through to remote towns, people who’ve traveled extensively or are a self-professed homebody, people who love theatre or gaming, love early mornings or the dead of night, are extroverted or prefer to remain quiet, and much more.

When our people feel at ease to be themselves and share from their own unique point of view, client projects are richer as an open mind is more likely to realise clever solutions.

As Matt says, “I like feeling useful and solving problems for people. I enjoy being efficient and removing barriers to efficiency, whether that's streamlining (or ideally entirely removing) meetings, sharing/reusing solutions, reducing the steps a client needs to take to configure something in a CMS, or not boiling more water in the jug than I need for my cup of tea.”

Looking ahead: A culture of continuous growth

At Voyage, we understand that building a culture of inclusion and belonging is a continuous journey, not a destination. While we’re proud of the strides we’ve made in fostering a remote work environment that bridges cities and continents, we know there is always room for growth. We’re committed to listening to our team, gathering feedback from our broader networks, and adapting our processes to ensure we’re always evolving to meet the needs of our diverse workforce.

As Phillip says, “Values and inspiration change as you get older, but I am finding myself more socially aware and wanting to make difference. I would like to make sure the world is in a better place when my children take over. I would like to make sure people who don’t have a voice are listened to. But most importantly, I want to make sure my children learn from me to be empathetic, listen to others and help when they can.”

As we continue to expand and welcome new team members from around the world, there’s no doubt we’ll still remain steadfast in our belief that ‘everyone is welcome’, no matter where they’re located or where they came from. We’ll keep building a company culture that celebrates diversity, embraces remote collaboration, and fosters meaningful connections. After all, when everyone feels welcomed, valued, and heard, the possibilities for success are endless.

‘Everyone is welcome’: Building a company culture that bridges cities and continents

Global teams are no new thing. The advent of the internet and subsequent rise in software has allowed for digital communications and collaboration between people in bustling cities in one country all the way to a small town thousands of miles away.

This has opened the gates for businesses to tap into the global talent pool and leverage the benefits of working across time zones. Take Voyage, for instance. We’re headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand and work with remote experts in London, the Philippines and throughout the country, all without breaking a sweat - well, mostly.

As touched on in our previous blog, we’ve come to see that global, remote teams work when there is a healthy degree of trust, communication and emotional connection between people.

, work quality and experience, especially with remote teams, relies on the quality of relationships. Jonna York writes, “Leaders are increasingly looking for ‘emotional intelligence’, also known as ‘EQ’. This range of competencies encompasses our ability to understand and manage our own and others’ feelings, then use this knowledge to build positive, productive connections.”

It’s important to establish the ethics of trust and EQ from the offset of any new employee agreement. These ethics must come through from even the first conversations, and reinforce a broader company culture that’s part of every day life, not just a nice banner to put on a website.

At Voyage our value ‘all aboard’ is defined as, “We are a strong and united team. We’re all in this together and value our colleagues and our clients. People are at the forefront of everything we do.”

This defines our culture of camaraderie and trust, which is baked into all that we do, and describes our approach to remote working. We place emphasis on being a self-starter, using initiative and doing great work, and give our people autonomy to use their expertise and creativity. Putting our values front and centre is an important part of keeping our geographically separate team together and supported.

We’ve captured the thoughts and sentiments on remote working and global teams from our three team members: Kathleen May Gagasa, our Quality Assurance Tester in the Philippines, Jess Small, a Developer in London, and Keziah Rackley-Gale, a Developer also based in London.

Check out the previous blog for more on Jess and Keziah. As for Kathleen, she collaborates with Voyage’s developers and project managers throughout the development process to make sure what’s being delivered meets the requirements. Manual testing includes using the web platform, site or app as an end-user would and catching any areas of improvement or defects and bugs.

Kathleen says, “QA Testers work closely with developers and project managers to help ensure that the software is continuously improved and refined until it meets the desired level of quality.”

Juggling the pros and cons of working abroad

Working remotely comes with its share of advantages and challenges. For Keziah, the perks are clear: “New experiences, personal growth, and no commute,” she says. However, she also notes the downsides, saying, “Time zones can be tricky, and it’s the little things, like missing out on spontaneous office banter or navigating different public holidays.”

Jess agrees, saying, “The best part is being able to continue my work with Voyage while experiencing life abroad, and we can pick up work from other people and continue on it overnight. But I do miss not being able to see everyone in person and the fun activities like internal days. It can also take longer to get information from clients.”

For Kathleen, the positives include greater flexibility, savings from not having to commute, and quality time with family. However, she also acknowledging the need for quality tech and to establish boundaries between her personal and professional life.

She says, “Setting up distinct work-life boundaries can be difficult while working remotely, despite the flexibility being a benefit. It becomes essential to find the correct balance to stop work from interfering with family time and vice versa.”

From a business point of view, despite potential challenges, there can be benefits of working across time zones. Keziah says, “Whenever an urgent ticket comes in during the NZ afternoon, the London team can jump on it overnight and have it resolved by morning!”

Jess adds to this: “We had a last-minute requirement from a client that needed to be addressed ASAP, and thanks to our time zone difference, we managed to deliver it overnight.”

Staying connected across geographies with tech and touchpoints

The importance of open lines of communication can’t be understated when it comes to building a foundation of trust and EQ. This can be established quite simply through messaging tools and regular touchpoints, to address the projects at hand but also to inject brevity and humour into a work day.

Kathleen emphasises the need for tools to stay connected. She says, “I stay in touch with the team through Slack for messaging and Google Meet for video calls; applications like JIRA to help track tasks, deadlines and project progress; and Google Drive for shared documents and collaborative work.”

Keziah and Jess note the importance of regular catch-ups, with both having weekly meetings, stand-ups for projects and regular messages with the team.

Jess says, “An average day for me usually starts with a project stand up, and then just going about my day as I normally would if I was at home. At the end of each day we send in an end of day update and push up all the work we’ve done so that if need be someone else can pick it up overnight.”

Stay tuned for our next blog post where we’ll share more tips on how to maximise remote working, including insights from both our global and Kiwi team that work away from HQ.

When people feel more supported in their work and personal life, they’re more likely to produce high quality work and remain with the company, developing hugely valuable understandings of the ins and outs of client projects and processes.

When asked about what she enjoys most about her work, Kathleen expresses her passion for quality assurance: “It’s incredibly rewarding to ensure that our products meet high standards. Each day presents new challenges and opportunities for learning.”

She appreciates working at Voyage, where the company values work-life balance and supports flexible hours. “It’s great to be part of a team that respects personal and family time,” she says.

Jess and Keziah share similar sentiments, highlighting the satisfaction of contributing to meaningful projects and the joy of working within a supportive team culture.

At Voyage, our triple threat global team exemplifies how collaboration and communication can transcend borders, leading to innovative solutions and a thriving work environment. Whether tackling development challenges or ensuring quality, the Voyage team both in and out of HQ are making a significant impact - one project at a time.

How trust and EQ empowers our global team

The last few years have seen the popularity of remote working rise and fall, coinciding with external factors and personal preferences of influential leaders. While the trend may ebb and flow, in our eyes remote working will continue to evolve as a fundamental aspect of modern work.

At Voyage, we’ve seen how having a diverse team that isn’t locked into one location can open up an abundance of possibilities, allowing us to tap into a broader array of skills and unique perspectives that make our work stronger and more effective. We also see how utterly crucial it is for all remote work to be underpinned by a strong culture of trust, emotional intelligence and initiative.

Here we’ll explore why we think remote working isn’t going anywhere, and how you can maximise your day working from home.

Setting the scene: remote work is here to stay

Advancements in tech have led to a steady increase in the number of people opting to work from home. The 1960s saw offices dominated by paper which significantly cut down the possibility of working from home. But even in the 1980s personal computers began to change the game, and by the 2000s, the internet and video calls made remote work even more feasible. As time has gone on this trend has only accelerated, especially following the pandemic, which spurred significant research and innovation in remote collaboration tech.

More recently, remote and hybrid working arrangements have led to boosted productivity, with many business leaders noting improved performance against workforce targets. Even so, there are challenges to address. For instance, fewer than one-third of leaders feel confident in their ability to build trust among remote teams. On top of this, while technological changes require new skills, only a quarter of HR leaders believe they can identify the necessary competencies for the future. (

, two studies in early 2022 validated the views of remote/hybrid work advocates. They showed that remote and hybrid employees report higher job satisfaction - 22% more than their in-office counterparts. These remote workers enjoy better work-life balance, lower stress levels, and improved mental well-being, the researchers found. In fact, 56% of employees cited mental health improvements, better work-life balance and more physical activity.

It’s clear that in order for us to maximise on the benefits of remote working, we need to take care of the basics, primarily a culture of trust and established, streamlined workflows with easy to use tools.

Maximising remote work: insights from our team

At Voyage we have several team members that work away from our Christchurch headquarters, both in New Zealand and abroad. The skilled and unique bunch have generously shared what works for them, how they maintain a healthy work-life balance, and how they stay inspired even working away from the bigger team.

Phillip Gray, our Senior Developer working out of Dunedin, emphasises the importance of having a dedicated space to focus.

“Having a dedicated space to concentrate is important. Whether that’s a room you can hole up in at home, or a rented desk somewhere else. I have both options, so if it’s cold, or I’m expecting a delivery, or the kids are sick, I can work from home and not be too distracted. Or if I miss being around other humans, I can head into my shared space and get that office vibe,” he says.

As Keziah adds, “Make sure you have a good remote working setup - ergonomic chair, a sturdy desk, a good monitor, etc.”

Jess shares, “It can get a bit lonely sometimes (I’m fortunate that my housemates work from home three days a week with me) so changing up your work environment, such as going into a cafe or a coworking space, is good.”

Staying connected is vital. Phillip shares, “Stay social. Make sure you see friends or go to groups regularly to make up for that lost office interaction. Human interaction is so important, even if you’re an introvert like me. Regular video chats with your team! Slack is great, but being able to chat face to face is much better and helps to cement your place within the team.”

Matt Lang, our Senior Developer, highlights the importance of communication, saying, “Regular check-ins with the team, clear communication of your availability, and reminding people that are colocated that any decisions should be captured in writing in the appropriate places (be that Jira tickets, slack channels etc) goes a long way.”

Deanne Alabastro, one of our tech-savvy Developers, suggests, “Biggest tips for working remotely would be to share as many things as you can on the online chat - it helps with building relationships and making your presence known since you can’t be in the office all the time. Also offer to get on a call, you can simultaneously fix bugs together and have a yarn.”

Matt stresses the need for a structured routine. He says, “Strive for routine and set boundaries of where/when work happens, so you don't end up sitting in bed "just finishing" something at 11pm.”

Jess shares this sentiment saying, “Obviously the great benefit of working in a different timezone is being able to do your hours when you want more or less but I did often find myself working very late in the evening which made me sometimes feel like I was always working. It took me a couple months to get into a proper routine of doing 9-5.”

Deanne emphasises the need to have clear boundaries, saying, “I sometimes work a little overtime because it’s harder to disengage from work mode when your office is your home.”

As Keziah says, this can be helped with a clear list of priorites, “Keeping a routine and creating a to-do list at the start of every day is crucial for me.”

Matt advises leaving your desk or workspace regularly to refresh: “Get out regularly, whether that's the trip to & from where you work, or ensuring you schedule at least one walk/bike/whatever at some point in your regular day routine.”

Keziah reinforces this, saying regular breaks are essential for maintaining productivity and well-being.

No longer do we have to live and work in the same location, but this new world of work requires a clear focus, even stronger company culture, and to leverage the collaborative tech and insights not from theory but life.

At Voyage we’ve been lucky to sync up with people who are both highly skilled and trustworthy. We’ve seen how the more we can support people to remain connected on a human level and keep up with practical tasks helps to improve our daily experience and what we deliver for clients.

We’re excited to be at the forefront of this ever changing web (pun intended) of interactions and technological evolution as we build and ship powerful websites, web platforms, apps and digital transformation projects.

Work from home tips and tricks from our remote team

Flashback to 2020, when the pandemic saw tens of millions of people around the globe move to their home office to complete their daily tasks. This period was revolutionary in breaking down the mindset and technological barriers to remote working. Driven by necessity, on a national and global scale we suddenly saw what was possible, especially with vastly improved communications and collaboration technology at our disposal.

In New Zealand, more than 40% of employed people did at least some of their work from home during the lockdown in April and early May 2020. By Alert Level 1, 83% were working outside the home and 29% at home. Come 2024 and businesses have largely settled into a flexible, hybrid approach, with remote working still a common option. In March of 2024, 

 completed a survey that found flexible working hours are offered by 81% of businesses, and 43% of employees have the option to work from home.

At Voyage, from the very first stages of the company, remote work has always been an option. It just made sense as we prioritised skills and cultural fit, more so than wanting people to be able to physically be in the office (although that’s nice too). Over time we’ve discovered the realities of having a global team, what works best, and how the remote working experience can differ person to person. Trust and a welcoming atmosphere is the central pillar of what makes this arrangement work, and putting this into the heart of everything we do has paid off time and again.

Around the world from London to New Zealand

I recently chatted with some of our core remote workers - from London to the Philippines and back to New Zealand - to explore the reality of both working from home and across borders.

First off the block we’re headed to London, to introduce the dynamic duo of Voyage Developers - Jess Small and Keziah Rackley-Gale - who call this central hub of the United Kingdom home. Many of Voyage’s team have interesting stories of how they came into their profession, and the London duo are no different.

From coding her first HTML on Tumblr to pursuing a Software Engineering degree, Jess's journey into development was sparked early. What would become a pivotal moment for her career was a university project, where she built a real client website from scratch. In completing the entire process from requirements and estimates to the final build, Jess found a new career path before her.

For Keziah, she says “I sort of fell into development.” After completing an English degree at University, she saw an ad online for a UX design and web development course. From a seed of interest to a newfound love, Keziah completed the course, moved into an internship and was away.

Choosing cultural fit over technical skill alone

Skill and cultural fit are both central to Voyage’s hiring process, which champions human-to-human connection and genuine communication. This helps both the Voyage team and potential new team member to ascertain whether it will be the right fit. A robust remote working culture starts from here.

What drew Jess to Voyage was evident from the very beginning - that is, the emphasis on people and culture over solely technical prowess. Compared to other interviews that focused more on the technical side, which of course is important, Voyage stood out for its holistic approach to team integration.

She says, “I chose Voyage as from the first interview I could tell how much they valued people and how their staff are treated. A lot of other interviews I did only asked me technical questions and didn’t seem to care much about me or how I’d fit into the team.”

Following glowing reviews from former colleagues about Voyage's culture and leadership, Keziah's decision to join was serendipitous. Timing aligned perfectly with her desire to explore new opportunities.

She says, “A couple of people from my previous job left to work at Voyage, they had great things to say about Ryan and the team, and then Shan contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in an interview. He contacted me at a time when I felt ready to leave my previous position, so it worked out nicely.”

From Christchurch to the world, making the leap to live overseas

Motivated by a desire for adventure and easy travel access, Jess chose London as her new base. Armed with friends already in the city, she embarked on a new chapter that played right into her love of big cities. Longing for urban life after growing up in rural North Canterbury, Keziah's move to London was a natural progression. With UK citizenship and family ties, London offered the ideal blend of familiarity and opportunity.

Originally planning to seek local employment upon arriving in London, Jess's move was eased by Voyage's offer to work remotely. Talking with Ryan, Voyage’s Director, and Shan, our General Manager, the decision was made to keep Jess on the team from London. A similar story played out with Keziah. After expressing her intent to relocate, she was presented with the option to continue her journey with Voyage remotely. Amidst a big life change, working for Voyage remained consistent.

In both the case of Jess and Keziah, it was a no-brainer to offer remote working as an option. Despite the potential challenges of time zone differences, both developers had established a hearty degree of trust during their time working in-person at the Christchurch headquarters.

Creating a remote working culture based on trust

When it comes to any working relationship, but especially remote work, trust is everything. As reported by 

, at hybrid companies 68% of executives say they trust employees equally, whether they work in-person or remotely. Just 20% of bosses say they trust in-person employees more - and yet, 31% of employees think they do. The same survey found 93% of business execs agree building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line, and 86% of executives say they highly trust their employees, but only 60% of employees feel highly trusted.

One of the best ways to build a sense of trust is through pressure-free communication. Staying connected to the team, regular check-ins, and clear task lists can develop a sense of camaraderie and support. In addition, both Jess and Keziah attest to the fact there are certain tricks that help to stay focused and connected while remote working, and that having a strong company culture empowers people to be autonomous, flexible and understanding.

As Jess says, “It’s great to work for Voyage internationally. Everyone is super accommodating. For example, they’re able to get on meetings in the evenings in New Zealand time and vice versa.”

Both Jess and Kez have weekly catch-ups with Shan and Ryan, run stand-ups for projects, and where possible will join the Monday morning meeting to catch up with the broader team. As for the Kathleen in the Phillipines and the Kiwi remote workers, the likes of Slack, Google Drive, and video chats allows for everyone to remain on the same page when it comes to work, and share all-important puppy pics and memes.

Adventures and adjustments while working remotely

The beauty of a company culture that subsists on trust and camaraderie is it allows for diversity of thought and location. To support people in their lives in and outside of work leads to a stronger team and better work outcomes overall.

Both Jess and Keziah's stories are a bold tale of taking a leap, and how our digital age facilitates living and working miles from your employer’s headquarters. What wasn’t an option only a few years ago is now a common part of any dynamic and successful team.

The rest of this blog series explores more on remote work and new ways of bringing people together, introducing our New Zealand remote team and delving into tips and tricks to get the most out of your remote working setup.

Embracing remote work: Voyage from Christchurch to London

In previous Voyage posts we’ve talked about the importance of our team's wellness, and the methods we put in place to encourage those we work with to take care of themselves both physically and mentally. Our monthly Wellness Days are a part of this, where our team is given one day a month to focus on themselves.

It's always great to hear what everyone got up to on their Wellness Day when we reconvene back in the office. But the key point of this employee benefit is that this time is theirs to use exactly as they like, with the only guideline from us that they consider their own mental wellbeing on this day.

How Wellness Days led me to being part of the Voyage team

This benefit was in place before I started at Voyage and it continues to this day, some five years and ample changes later. It was a big part of why I joined the team - not because it was a free day off each month, but because it demonstrated a commitment to wellbeing and mental health.

My own mental health challenges (and they are a challenge) go back to my childhood. You see, I have something called Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which was formally diagnosed when I was 18 years old. My own “challenge” resulted in a childhood filled with a fair bit of fear and worry, that was most definitely in the realms of irrational.

I also say ‘formally diagnosed’, because the evidence was there long before I was 18, but it was easier to brush over the signs when they didn’t fit a label or definition. And let’s be honest - how many kids in the 80’s and 90’s were getting diagnosed with anxiety? Once I had the diagnosis and began treatment, life opened up for me. It felt like the beginning of a whole new world, where I was able to understand myself so much better and had the ability to far more rationally step through the situations life threw at me. Being able to do this ultimately led me to study and begin a 20+ year career in digital, eventually making my way to Voyage.

Back to the topic at hand, what is a Wellness Day? Well, it's different for everyone. Voyage has a diverse bunch of people that we are lucky to call teammates, and what they do with this day every month is just as diverse. While my Wellness Days often consist of heading to the gym, picking my kids up from school, going to watch football, sneaking in some video games and hitting the Lego bricks, others head to the hills, or go and see family.

A more important question to ask is, why do we have Wellness Days? The Ministry of Health recently published the Health and Independence Report for 2023, and there are some worrying (excuse the pun) trends they are seeing. In the two weeks before participating in the survey, 26.6% of adults experienced mild or greater symptoms of anxiety and 29.0% of adults experienced mild or greater symptoms of depression. This is up from 18.5% of adults experienced anxiety and 19.9% experienced depression in 2017.

This leads me to wonder - is this a case of more stressed and anxious people in our community? Or is it that there is increased awareness of mental health issues and people are more comfortable talking about them? I suspect it may be a combination of both, but regardless, we need to talk about the often unseen challenges we face so much more.

So yes, I’m passionate about mental health, but why am I putting this out there now? I’ve come to see one of the best things about having lived with mental health challenges for so long is that I’m comfortable talking about them. I’ve also seen the more open I am with my own journey, the less stigma someone else may feel about what they are working with. Even if I encourage one person to do something to improve their mental wellbeing then it’s worth it to share.

For myself, I’ve always seen my own challenges as no different to a physical injury you need to recover from. There will be good days and bad, there will be progress and setbacks. All you can do is take it one day at a time, leaning on those around you for support. As someone who has lived outside of the norm for some years now I can promise you finding the balance will happen, you just have to work for it.

As for my professional life, Voyage puts mental health front and centre and we’ve seen the real benefits of this approach. Sure, there is a cost to business with our Wellness Days, but the outcomes of more engaged, productive and healthier staff far outweigh any expense. I would encourage anyone who reads this to genuinely consider and review how their company is approaching and supporting mental health, and how they can make a significant difference in the lives of their staff and their families and friends.

What is a Wellness Day?

What is a Wellness Day? Our GM shares his story of mental health

My early thoughts on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on design came from seeing the AI features roll out in Figma. It suddenly felt like everyone was either panicking about the future or claiming it was the answer to everything. Neither felt right to me. The way I see it, it's just another tool to help us work better. But like any tool, it needs someone who knows what they're doing to make it work properly.

AI is a tool, not a shortcut to good design. The real value isn't in the tool itself, but in knowing when and how to use it. That comes from experience - from seeing patterns, making mistakes, and learning what actually works.

Think about it: every design challenge you've faced, every client curveball you've handled, every project that's gone sideways, these aren't just war stories, they're what help you spot patterns and understand what solutions actually work. AI can generate options, but it can't tell you which one solves the real problem. That comes from putting in the hours, making the mistakes, and learning how to find creative solutions to real-world problems.

When you've dealt with enough projects, you develop an instinct for what works. You know why certain approaches fail and others succeed. This is what makes AI actually valuable - not as a replacement for thinking, but as a way to get to solutions faster once you know what you're looking for.

During a recent project, while rebuilding components we'd made countless times before, I realised something had to give. Clients want faster results and more time spent solving their actual problems, and quite simply too much of my time was being sucked into repetitive tasks.

Now my day looks different, and AI is a big part of that. In workshops, I'm properly present. No more splitting attention between listening and taking notes - AI transcription handles that. When we need to prototype quickly, tools like v0.dev (an AI-powered tool that generates React components from natural language descriptions) help us get working components in front of clients faster.

Here's what concerns me. When you can generate decent-looking components in seconds, it's tempting to skip learning the fundamentals. But AI is essentially recycling what already exists - it's not teaching you why certain design decisions work.

Without understanding these core principles, you risk creating solutions that look good superficially but miss your client's deeper needs. This often leads to multiple redesigns and extended timelines. While AI is a powerful tool, it can't replace the insights that come from understanding design fundamentals and real-world problem solving.

Experience gives you an edge with AI. You're not using it to figure out what to do, you're using it to speed up processes you've already mastered. When you have experience you know:

How to adapt AI outputs for real user needs

When to use AI and when to do things manually

The best bit? I can spend more time on the parts of design that matter - solving complex problems and crafting user experiences that just make sense.

The fundamentals of good design will continue to remain constant. That is:

The future of design isn't about AI replacing designers. It's about designers who understand AI working alongside those who don't. Your experience and understanding of core design principles will always be your greatest asset - AI just helps you apply that knowledge more efficiently.

If you have the experience, don't dismiss AI as something just for new designers. Your knowledge makes you better equipped to use it properly. And if you're new? Learn the fundamentals first. Get the experience.

Understanding user needs through real research, making data-driven decisions, solving client problems, and developing strong communication skills will always be essential - these are what make a great designer.

The tools will always change, but good design principles endure. AI is just another tool. A powerful one, but still just a tool.

AI in design: Experience is the real advantage

From Wordpress to headless CMS, the world of content management systems (CMSs) has quite literally transformed in recent years. While there remains a place for the tried and true solutions, we’re all for seeing what the latest technology can bring, especially as new features and solutions offer the opportunity to empower our developers like never before.

That leads us to Sanity CMS. Do you want composability? You’ve got it. Customisation? No problem. AI innovation? Coming right up. Driven by the need to deliver excellent and multi-platform customer experiences, this headless CMS has quickly become a favourite of the Voyage team, featuring in some of our most impressive projects (if we don’t say so ourselves).

We’ve covered all of the ins and outs of headless CMSs in our previous blog post, but to summarise, a headless CMS differs from traditional systems by decoupling the backend (where we manage our content) from the frontend (where we present said, hopefully beautiful, content).

This separation allows developers to deliver content across multiple platforms and devices, providing much greater flexibility and scalability, which comes into play for a whole range of use cases.

We like headless CMS solutions because they allow us to more easily distribute content across an array of platforms, enhance performance and function of the final product - be that an app or website - through content optimisation, and it gives our developers much more freedom where templates and constraints can be happily tossed aside.

Known for its real-time capabilities, flexible content structure and the ability to build custom content workflows, Sanity isn’t just a favourite with Voyage, it’s become a known name among modern development teams. And for good reason.

Sanity stands out with a range of impressive features. One is real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to edit content simultaneously and see updates instantly - an invaluable feature for teams working in sync, or in our case when we’ve collaborated with other agencies and experts.

Another feature is its use of GROQ, the query language specifically for Sanity, that when coupled with a hardy API makes for efficient management and retrieval of structured content. This goes a long way in making sure data remains organised and accessible. Speaking to the flexibility of the solution, custom workflows allow our developers to tailor content processes to fit whatever our client needs, and can be adapted as required.

What’s more, Sanity’s flexibility and real-time editing capabilities are massive for our team, helping to simplify content creation and collaboration across the board. The solution’s strong API and developer-friendly tools integrate well with our existing workflows and tech stack, meaning we can build and extend value without constraints.

And finally, Sanity’s scalable architecture ensures high-performance content delivery, capable of meeting the evolving demands of our clients and projects alike. These combined features make Sanity CMS not just a tool, but a strategic asset in delivering exceptional digital experiences every time.

Continual innovation to move with the times

The Sanity team is also known to move at pace to bring new tech to their users. Two excellent examples of this are the more recently released Visual Editing tool and AI Assist.

While we’ve all heard the term ‘game-changer’ bandied about to describe any new product release, I truly believe the features and enhancements Sanity is releasing are, quite literally, game-changers.

As described by Sanity, “Visual Editing is an umbrella term that Sanity uses for the different features that make it possible for content creators to work with content in the context of a visual presentation.”

This includes global preview, with immediate visual feedback when changes are made, overlays, with clickable visual indicators to get you where you need to go fast, and the Presentation tool that brings content previews and click-to-edit into the editing environment to simplify working between modes. At a high-level, these features make working on development and content more seamless than ever.

Sanity AI Assist is designed to help our teams in automating content creation, and opens up whole new areas for how we can use content to connect with users and stakeholders. Common tasks can be easily automated with simple, repeatable prompts that are simple enough even non-developers can get high quality results. Examples of what AI Assist can do include language translations, SEO and search visibility optimisation, A/B testing and personalisation enhancements, imagery generation, and more.

 (MGH), have both been built on Sanity and are powerful examples of what makes the solution so good.

The Kete Education Hub is an online platform tailored to educators throughout New Zealand. Powered by Sanity, this initiative delivers a comprehensive array of resources, tools, and interactive elements to educators regardless of their location.

Built from the ground up with Sanity as the CMS backbone, the platform features a streamlined one-click login for visitors, allowing them to access and save resources conveniently through personalised profiles. Navigation is seamless, offering intuitive search functionalities by topic and age group.

Backend management is also streamlined to make sure the Netsafe team can easily upload and modify content, while the final design reflects the organisation’s re-brand with a sleek and inviting interface.

As the largest privately owned home-building company, Mike Greer Homes approached Voyage with a vision to improve their web presence, aligning it with their well-known brand. The resulting Sanity-powered website rebuild delivered a fully customised and feature-rich platform that allows the MGH team to focus on their first area of expertise: homes.

The backend is robust yet user-friendly, facilitating simple content management and updates. The design maintains MGH’s brand identity while infusing a modern and welcoming aesthetic, enhancing user engagement and navigation. Search functionalities are tailored to location preferences to optimise user experience and help visitors find relevant information.

Leveraging Sanity’s API-based architecture enables extensive customisation and efficient content modelling. With scalability in mind, the backend remains agile, allowing ongoing adjustments and expansions as MGH continues to grow and evolve in the housing market.

Looking ahead, the future of headless CMS appears promising. As Sanity continually improves its capabilities, introducing new features to cater to the ever-changing needs of the digital world, there are a few changes we see on the horizon. For one, I anticipate the team will continue to explore integrations with emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning, for richer content delivery and detail-oriented, hyper-personalised user experiences.

As Magnus Hillestad, co-founder and CEO of Sanity, himself attests to, Sanity is all about building a solution that genuinely speaks to both the pain points and incredible opportunities available when building content-driven web experiences.

At Sanity, we believe that the rigid and tangled web of CMSes today will yield to more elegant, developer-friendly ways to ship innovative experiences fast. Our ability to act quickly, tune in to our audiences, and create repeatable systems that serve users requires a new era of unity across departments. Starting down the path of practicing Structured Content, treating content as data, and building highly interoperable, composable systems requires strategic focus. But getting started is half the battle. It's time to put strategy into action, and go faster.
- Magnus Hillestad, co-founder and CEO of Sanity

No matter your preference of CMS, Voyage is here to step in as your partner in any digital transformation project. 

Sanity CMS in action

Sanity CMS in action: Real projects, real results

Headless CMS is marking a new era for every industry that deals with digital content. In fact, it's reportedly faster and easier to adopt than leaders even expected, and is now said to represent the future of content management.

Already it’s proving to help businesses across a variety of industries to deliver superior omnichannel experiences, make websites more automated and scalable, and make backend management far simpler.

The inception of CMS for online experiences

A good CMS is paramount for brand and budget management. Generally speaking, more than 33% of a marketing budget is utilised for technology, and of this 28% goes towards infrastructures such as CMS and WCMS. (Gartner) This investment has also shown to improve success in terms of customer retention and revenue.

Wordpress has long dominated the CMS market, which is expected to be valued at US$116.2 billion by 2025, generating around $123.5 billion by 2026. (WPBeginner) However, as the market flourishes, the long held leader of the pack isn't always able to deliver on mounting growth and greater, simpler functionality.

Often businesses or organisations come to us to help close the gap on technology, bringing what they need together with the systems and solutions that will deliver in kind. Through several iterations of different projects and use cases, we’ve found headless CMS is a standout resource we can draw on to simplify the backend of a website or platform while also delivering exceptional user experiences.

Enter headless CMS, the future of web and mobile

Simply put, headless CMS is a content management system that separates out the frontend and the backend, meaning where the content is presented and where it’s managed. In this way, users can manage content in one place and deploy it anywhere they choose, adapted for any device.

From a content manager’s perspective, this makes it much easier to get the most out of content, and from a developer’s perspective it makes it easier to build, automate changes and manage digitisation of a web experience or platform.

With a regular CMS, the content, images, HTML and CSS are interlinked with the code, making it impossible to separate and, as a result, use independently. If a regular CMS is a fully recorded track, a headless CMS is a live performance, with the content manager the conductor of each instrument, orchestrating content across various platforms with finesse and precision.

Some real-world use cases of headless CMS

A few of our most used headless CMSs are Sanity, Contentful, Strapi and Dato. It’s important to note that not all options are the same, with each one offering its own unique collection of features and functionality. It can be helpful to understand this in a real world setting.

, for instance. Collaborating with other agencies (notably Maker.Tech - the Contentful partner), we utilised this CMS's easy implementation and emphasis on a content-first, multi-brand and omnichannel approach. Contentful proved powerful when working with a large ecosystem across multiple sites.

, when we were tasked with working with a large quantity of client and customer provided video. Stapi allowed us to build frameworks to manage content and distribute it from any device and platform.

Dato is an excellent example of a headless CMS that can be used across mobile as web experiences. With our work for 

, Dato enabled us to create online content at scale and deliver reliable app experiences that are also easy for the client to continue to manage.

Sanity is another top choice for us when it comes to headless CMSs. Our Sanity use cases range from improving educational resources with (

) to bringing the real estate industry into the digital age (

The benefits of a flexible and scalable system

Whether it's a website, mobile app, IoT device, or digital billboard, headless CMS enables content to be delivered consistently and efficiently across any platform. This not only enhances the user experience but also future proofs a content strategy, making sure it remains relevant even as our digital platforms evolve.

Another key advantage, as shown in our case studies, is flexibility and customisation capabilities. With traditional CMS platforms, developers are often constrained by pre-built templates and themes. With headless CMSs, developers have complete control over the frontend presentation, allowing for highly customised and unique experiences.

This flexibility also extends to the development process, allowing teams to work in parallel and iterate quickly without being tied to a specific technology stack. In fact, headless CMS can reduce development tickets by 40% to free up developers, and make content updates up to 30 times faster. (Contentstack) This is huge when collaborating with another agencies on the same project.

Overall, any project that requires dynamic, personalised, and multi-channel content delivery can benefit from a headless CMS.

A paradigm shift for exceptional digitisation

Headless CMS isn’t just a new tool, it’s a shift towards more powerful, flexible content management that lets developers and content creators deliver richer, more engaging digital experiences.

It’s about setting up for future success, ensuring that your content adapts seamlessly to new channels and innovations. If you’re looking to elevate your next digital project, consider diving into the world of headless CMS.

In the meantime, discover more about the world of Sanity in our next blog.

And to get your headless CMS project underway, 

why-we-use-headless-cms

A new era of content management: Why we use headless CMS

Are you curious about what transforms a good website into a great one? The answer often lies in the unsung hero of the Content Management System (CMS).

In our previous blog, we explored the different types of CMSs and their unique strengths. Now, we’re honing in on one CMS in particular: Silverstripe. Here we’ll uncover what sets Silverstripe apart, explore its key features and benefits, and share a few of our success stories.

A go-to choice born out of NZ’s capital city

Silverstripe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, when the three founders dreamed up the original concept in a tech incubator in 2000. Fast forward two decades, the three founders remain in the company as Directors and Silverstripe has become a known choice for companies public, private and not-for-profit.

In fact, the CMS became popular through widespread use in New Zealand’s public sector, as more Government websites adopted Silverstripe as a standard. At Voyage we quickly established ourselves as Silverstripe experts, offering insight and development partnership for many Govt projects.

Simply put, the solution is an open-source web CMS that combines an intuitive interface for content editors with a robust and flexible framework for developers. Silverstripe offers excellent versatility for a wide range of web projects. Whether you're building a simple website or a complex, dynamic web application, Silverstripe equips users with the tools to create engaging and high-performing digital experiences.

Supporting both content creators and developers

Silverstripe stands out for its flexibility that allows developers to customise and extend the platform to meet specific project requirements, supporting bespoke solutions tailored to unique business needs.

Latest updates, thinking and insights from the team at Voyage