This is our fourth annual impact report (wow!). It’s been rewarding to track our progress over the last four years to see where we’ve really built momentum and where we still have room to grow. 

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Or see the text-only version below.

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From our partners

This year gave our team plenty of chances to reflect on our role as partners, collaborators, and community members. We're proud of much of the work we did this year, both internally and with others; and yet antsy to augment and improve some of those very same relationships and workflows.

We believe 2026 will be a year of change. Not pivoting or redirecting, but instead building on what we've accomplished so far — starting each project, each deliverable, and each collaboration more resolute and vision-driven than the last.

Follow along in 2026 as we make that attempt. And please reach out for coffee or lunch: we could all use a break! 

— Shawn and Sarah, Partners

2025 highlights

B Corp recertification

In 2025, we went through the rigorous B Corp certification process again, which B Corps must undergo every three years. Here’s our (and improved) new score.

Increased medical benefit contribution

We increased the amount we spend each month on employee health insurance premiums (a higher flat contribution per employee).

Complimentary supplemental benefits

We began covering 100% of supplemental benefits for all team members, including vision, dental, short-term disability, and life insurance.

Better financial transparency

We created in-depth financial reports every quarter in 2025, sharing them with the team so they could gain a better understanding of how financial decisions are made and where our money is going.

Professional development engagement

We offer employees up to three days of PTO per year to complete ongoing education and professional development. We also provide a yearly cash allowance to direct towards a conference or professional development event. In 2025, 100% of our team utilized this benefit in some way.

Becoming an even-more-bike-friendly business

We were highly active in the biking community this past year. We donated and installed a bike repair station in Lexington; we saw high engagement with Bike to Work Month (May) and Cycle September, as well as our bike-friendly benefits (annual tune ups, parts allowance, etc.). And we created our very own Mediocre branded bike gear — see our team modeling it here.

Zines (a just-for-fun endeavor)

We flexed our collective creativity to produce an official Mediocre zine. Every member of the team contributed to the project and we hand-printed issues in Lexington, KY. We published two issues in 2025 and we’re excited to keep going in 2026. It’s an act of spreading joy and having fun just for the sake of it, with the added benefit of sharpening our skills. Check out our post for some visuals.

Our team

We’re a creative agency made of people who care. We’re working for longevity and contributing to our collective future. And we’re having fun doing it.

Governance

Our mission-driven, big-picture work: engaging with our social and environmental impact, ethics, and transparency.

B Corp recertification and new score

Mission & engagement

Three years after we were first certified, we’re still a B Corp. In fact, we’re a better B Corp — and a better business — than we were three years ago.

We re-certified with a higher score than we’ve ever had. It’s never been about the score, but it does serve as a useful framework to measure our progress. To us, that number represents better benefits, more transparency, and a smaller environmental footprint.

Our new score: 123 (see the breakdown here)

An 80 qualifies for B Corp certification; 50.9 is the median score for ordinary businesses.

Our previous score (2022) was 94.

Workers

Our impact on our team: financial security, health and safety, wellness, career development, employee satisfaction, and more.

Increased medical benefit contribution

Health, wellness & safety

Starting in June 2025, we increased the monthly amount that Mediocre contributes to each employee’s health insurance premium from $300 to $450 per employee per month.

Complimentary supplemental benefits

Health, wellness & safety

Starting in June 2025, we began covering 100% of supplemental benefits for all team members, including vision, dental, short-term disability, and life insurance.

Expanded parental leave

Health, wellness & safety

Spurred by feedback from the team, we updated our parental leave policy to 12 weeks of paid leave (in addition to vacation/sick time), and the option to continue on unpaid leave for up to one year.

Financial transparency

Financial security

Every quarter, we share an in-depth financial report with the team. They can examine the exact dollar amounts spent in each category, see what’s coming in from each client every month, and get a better understanding of how financial decisions are made and where our money is going.

This is a practice we started in 2024 and continued to refine throughout 2025. You can read more about how this process works in this blog post.

Professional development

Career development

We offer employees up to three days (24 hours) of PTO per year to complete ongoing education and professional development (including things like conference attendance and travel time). We also offer a yearly cash allowance per employee to direct towards a conference or professional development event of their choice.

In 2025, we had 100% participation.

By the numbers:

• We spent $7,854.99 on tickets and travel for conferences; $395.01 went unused.
• We clocked 264 hours of professional development PTO; 93 hours went unused.

Here’s what our team has to say:

• "The act of travelling to new cities and hearing from different people about how they approach their professional life is so valuable to creative work. Listening to so many perspectives that are unique to my own broadened my ideas of what our work can accomplish and in what ways."
• "I got to see a bunch of great work, meet other creatives, and hear new perspectives on the industry."
• "As a remote team member, [the Brand New Conference] is one of the few times I get to see our team in-person, which is really valuable for building connections and relationships that are hard to recreate over Zoom."
• "The Brand New conference featured so many relevant and interesting talks and I walked away with new ideas, new ways to think about brand identities, and a new sense of excitement for what we do."
• "I’ve watched several virtual talks from the Print Design Academy, Smith & Diction, and Nicole McLaughlin, which have provided spurts of inspiration and ideas throughout the year."
• "I worked on my Google Project Management Certification this year, which gave me some insight into my own learning needs and some additional resources for continuing my learning."
• "It was interesting to see how rapidly AI-driven tools and workflows are being adopted in the web development space. The Webflow conference in particular offered an exciting preview of new features and automation tools coming down the pipeline, many of which could significantly streamline site-building and content management."
• "It was a valuable way to stay current with industry trends and understand where the ecosystem is heading."
• "The EpochConnect employee experience conference gave me a huge boost of confidence and renewed enthusiasm for my work. Not only was I able to connect with other individuals in positions similar to mine (I’m the only one on our team who does what I do), but the panel discussions, networking opportunities, ideas, and takeaways were fabulous."

Paid skill-building

Career development

We provide each full-time team member with one paid hour per week to focus on professional skill-building.

In 2025, we tracked 359 hours of skill-building on the clock.

Here’s what our team has to say:

• “For the Culture” helped widen my perspective on strategy, and re-reading “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This” helped refresh my creative process."
• "I spent a significant amount of time this year learning how to integrate emerging AI technologies into my daily workflow. In particular, I went deep on using Claude Code, an agentic CLI-based tool that can write and execute code directly from the terminal. Getting comfortable with it required some trial and error, but it’s already streamlined my debugging and overall workflow. Overall, incorporating these tools has made me faster and more effective in both development and operational tasks."
• "I'm reading “Herding Tigers: Be the Leader That Creative People Need” by Todd Henry, which explores how to lead creative teams through influence rather than control. The book emphasizes providing stability and challenge to foster environments where creative people can take bold risks and do their best work."
• "I took an Advanced Figma course on Skillshare. This drastically opened up what's possible for me in Figma."
• "I'm currently reading “Articulating Design Decisions” (2nd Edition) by Tom Greever, a book about documenting and communicating decision-making during the UI design process. It's a great resource for breaking down the "why" behind your web and app designs."
• "I’ve read books like “The Creative Act,” which gave me new perspectives on how to approach creativity and “Atomic Habits,” which helped me build structure around my work."
• "I’ve explored new tools such as Affinity and Figma Slides. I see this work as keeping up with changes in the industry and folding in worthwhile new tools and techniques to my existing skillsets."
• "I have joined the Project Management Institute recently and have yet to dig in, but there are some promising resources to check out when time allows."
• "I learned a lot about the advertising industry from reading “For the Culture” early this year, and it gave me even more to think about once I read “Cultish” later in the year (on my own time). The way language can manipulate people for better or worse is a fascinating topic."

Four-day workweek

Engagement & satisfaction

This will be our fifth year operating on a four-day, 32-hour workweek. Since implementing this structure in 2022, we’ve seen more enthusiasm and less burnout from the team across the board. We’re proud of how sustainable this has been — five years is nothing to sneeze at — and we’re excited to continue the momentum.

Average employee satisfaction score of 4.65 out of 5

Engagement & satisfaction

Every month in 2025, we sent the team an anonymous survey on one of the following rotating topics. The average score is a combination of all scored responses.

• Teamwork
• Management
• Autonomy and ownership
• Recognition and performance
• Learning and growth
• Morale and retention
• Benefits

In 2025, our score was 4.65 — a little lower than 2024’s 4.78. So, we approached with curiosity and took action. Based on the anonymous feedback received each month, we implemented the following bullets. Looking back, we saw an upward trend in overall satisfaction towards the end of the year.

• Expanded parental leave benefit (we now offer 12 weeks paid leave and up to one year unpaid)
• Tried out the DiSC personality assessment tool to enhance our collective communication skills
• Had regular 1:1 meetings with employees to address individual concerns and necessary adjustments
• Encouraged PTO use throughout the year
• Took a long, collective holiday break, giving the entire team two weeks off in December and early January

Well-being stipend

Health, wellness & safety

To help support the team’s work-life balance, we offer a monthly well-being stipend. It’s intended for things an employee might choose not to purchase on their own, but that add a lot of value to their overall health and wellness. Think gym memberships, fitness classes, or gear and equipment.

In 2025, we spent $4,308 of $5,350 on well-being stipends (81% of the overall budget). That’s a 25% increase from 2024, when we spent $1,944 of $3,000, or 56% of the overall budget.

Every team member used some form of this benefit in 2025.

Bike to Work Month and Cycle September

Health & wellness

To get our team excited about biking, we sponsored special events and incentives for Bike to Work Month (May) and Cycle September. We shared some of our favorite Bike to Work Month moments here.

For Cycle September, we played a company-wide game of bingo (with prizes!).

These events are coordinated by Love to Ride, a platform that enables users to track bicycle mileage and calculate the approximate amount of CO₂ kept out of the atmosphere. Here are our 2025 stats:

• 481 rides logged (up from 323 last year)
• 1,451 miles cycled (up from 1,384 last year)
• 557 pounds of CO₂ saved (up from 470 last year)

Finally, our team shared their thoughts on why biking is so important to us culturally. You can give it a read here.

Our community

Our impact on our communities: civic engagement, supply chain management, economic impact, charitable giving, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We’ve said it before: we value community over profit and connection above all. Part of becoming a certified B Corp is following an impact business model — a formal commitment to creating positive outcomes in a specific area. Our impact model is local economic development. That means we’ve designed our company to strengthen our local economy by committing a significant portion of our procurement and/or sales to remain local.

Paid volunteering time for team members

Civic engagement & giving

We provide each full-time team member with one paid hour per week to volunteer.

In 2025, we tracked 460 volunteering hours on the clock. At our standard billable rate, that’s $92,000 in donated time.

Here’s what our team has to say:

• "I started volunteering monthly at Broke Spoke, a nonprofit community bike shop. I spend most of my time at the front desk, helping people get set up with repairs, used parts, or a refurbished bike."
• "I’ve been working with the local Climbers Coalition to help clean up and reboot aging sport climbs. A lot of the hardware at our crags has been in place for decades, so replacing it is essential for long-term safety and sustainability. I coordinated with an experienced mentor to learn proper techniques, and the process ended up being more stressful than I expected. When you’re installing protection people will trust with their lives, there’s no room for mistakes. The work has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve been climbing outside for a long time, and it feels good to give back to the community rather than just benefit from the hard work of others."
• "I enrolled in the Colorado State Extension Master Gardener program, a volunteer educator initiative that combines CSU horticulture expertise with community service. The program trains volunteers to support local gardening education, school gardens, food security initiatives, and pollinator conservation across Colorado's diverse growing conditions."
• "I joined the Kentucky Tenant Union. They advocate for tenant rights via influencing legislation at the city and state level. We worked together to update their core values and brand visuals, then applied those to social media and print pieces. We've also done the prep work to revamp their website, which I'll start this month and finish in Q1."
• "This year, through volunteering, I was introduced to the International Book Project operating out of Lexington. I had no idea that they existed before and were doing so much great work."
• "I’ve continued to volunteer at the Berea Makerspace, where I walk members through how to safely use the wood shop tools. I’ve met so many different people, from skilled wood workers who no longer have access to tools for whatever reason to young people new and eager in the craft, and home DIY-ers to people who make their living off of crafted items. The best thing about the makerspace to me is giving people access to tools and supporting the learning of crafts in the community and I’m glad I can play a part in keeping that going."
• "I volunteered with my team members at GreenHouse17, a domestic violence shelter, which allowed us to work in the gardens."
• "I didn't collaborate with any particular organization this year but I continued to pick up small trash at the park down the street from my apartment in Nashville, Shelby Park. This is a wildlife reserve park and it is huge. They have a ton of trails and attractions, like the Cornelia Airpark. There is always plenty of trash to pick up."
• "Our group volunteering early in the year introduced me to the International Book Project and I've been continuing to sort books with them throughout the year. Helping them with their mission to make books accessible to everyone brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction."
• "After doing a group volunteering outing with FoodChain, I went back a few times to help with their weekly food box preparation. It’s such a well-run volunteer operation and a friendly group of folks, and it feels good to help get food into the hands of families that need it. There is a real sense of community that makes me want to keep going back."

Group volunteering

Civic engagement & giving

About once a quarter, we volunteer as a group with local organizations in Lexington. In 2025, we connected with the following incredible organizations. Afterwards, many of our team members continued on with these organizations individually.

• International Book Project
• FoodChain
• GreenHouse17 Farm

We’re scheduled to work with AVOL Kentucky in early 2026. If you know of any great organizations we could partner up with, please let us know — we’re always looking to get involved.

Charitable donations

Civic engagement & giving

In 2025, we gave $4,653.50 (3% of our net income) in charitable contributions.

Services for local, independent clients

Local economic development

In 2025, 93% of our billed clients (39 out of 43) were local businesses, affirming our commitment to serve at least 75% local, independent clients.

Purchases from local or independent suppliers

Local economic development

We purchased 64% of our core products from suppliers owned locally or by a member of a minority population. Thankfully, we already cultivate partnerships with clients that lend themselves to trust. And most of the time, our clients defer to us for printing, production, and sourcing vendors.

This number is slightly higher than 2024’s percentage (63% of core products). We continued our commitment to stick to local suppliers when possible, minority-owned suppliers when there isn’t a local option, and suppliers that fit none of these standards only when necessary. When clients handle production, we’re always looking to talk shop about standards for partnership.

Community bike repair station

Civic engagement & giving

We partnered with @fayettecountyconservation to purchase and install a new bike repair station in Lexington. With 70% of the cost covered by a grant, we paid for the rest, installed the stand, and made some helpful signage to help riders get back on the road (or trail). Go check it out on the Legacy Trail at the Isaac Memorial Art Garden. See pictures of it here.

Our planet

Our impact on the earth: environmental management practices and their impact on air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity.

Bike-friendly initiatives

Air & climate

Our team cut down on carbon emissions by bike commuting for a total of 1,454 miles, saving 557 pounds of CO₂ (up from 470 pounds saved last year).

To assist in this effort, nine team members (75% of the team) opted to receive company-paid bike tuneups. Collectively, we spent $362.49 on bicycle gear, parts, labor, and incentives in 2025.

Waste reduction: in-office

Land & life

These figures are for our Lexington office (714 N Limestone), a space we shared with Seedleaf in 2025. In addition to our tracked waste, we separate out e-waste and deliver it to designated collection points.

• Landfill trash: 58 bags (45% of our total waste)
• Recycling: 43 bins (33% of our total waste)
• Compost: 29 bins (23% of our total waste)

Waste reduction: out-of-office

Land & life

While we have some pretty robust policies for tracking and reducing in-office waste, we also made a goal to bring it into our personal lives. We started sharing ideas, resources, and progress updates internally every quarter. This spawned a few ideas and challenges, such as Plastic-Free July and brainstorming ways to reduce waste (upcycling, buying in bulk, and more).

Reducing carbon emissions: walking to work

Air & climate

Several of our team members walk to the office or a coworking space near their home. We set a goal in 2025 to track this walking data alongside our biking data, creating a clearer picture of when our team opts out of motor vehicle use in favor of zero-carbon transport (and more time outside).

We did not find a good way to track these efforts in 2025. We’re going to revisit this in 2026 and try to craft some fun incentives for choosing alternatives to driving.

Our clients

Our impact on our clients: customer stewardship, product quality, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels.

Average client satisfaction score

Customer stewardship

We are still working on getting client feedback for 2025. We realized that our internal system of reminders to request client feedback needed a bit of a tune-up. We plan to ask clients for feedback throughout February. When the results are in, we’ll share them in this report.

Mission-driven organizations

Customer stewardship

Our services can help expand the social impact of the organizations we work with. These non-profit, pro bono, and/or community-focused clients carry an impact beyond the deliverables we handed them in 2025.

• 250Lex
• Lexington Recycling Campaign
• Safe Streets Campaign
• Historic South Hill Neighborhood Association
• Lexington Art League
• Lexington Philharmonic
• Horses Work
• People for Parks
• High Country Conservation Center
• Paducah Symphony Orchestra
• Shreveport Symphony Orchestra

Collectively, we worked 604 hours for these clients in 2025. That’s roughly 8% of total client hours tracked.

In the works

The work doesn’t stop here. These are initiatives we’ve started (and we’re excited about), but are still working towards measurable progress.

Social impact awareness

Mission & engagement

We offer three additional days of PTO each year to complete ongoing education and direct engagement with anti-racism or equity work — things like trainings, workshops, or conferences specifically aimed at improving social welfare. Team members are encouraged to seek, find, and participate in pursuits of their own choosing.

Our goal in 2025 was to create more direct prompts and accountability measures for this work, including personalized goals and quarterly check-ins with management. We started this process; one of our team members took a 2-day intensive training with The Groundwater Institute to lay some foundation and chart a course for creating a more robust internal infrastructure. We didn’t get as far along with these efforts as we’d hoped, so this is a top goal for early 2026.

Feasibility study grant

Environmental management

We completed the feasibility study for the LFUCG Stormwater Quality Projects Incentive Grant Program, Class B Feasibility Study. We worked with Ridgewater, and Jason Zavala Design to create conceptual drawings that identify and implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) capable of reducing the impact of pollutant loading and flooding at 712 & 714 North Limestone Streets. The study will be available on our blog shortly.

Design and construction grant

Environmental management

We began the design phase for the LFUCG Stormwater Quality Projects Incentive Grant Program, Class B Design and Construction. We worked with Ridgewater, Jason Zavala Design, and Stantec on a site survey in 2025. We’ll use our findings in the feasibility study to begin design and construction of parking lot retrofits, rainwater harvesting systems, and infiltration BMPs (permeable pavers, bioretention basin, and native landscape areas). These updates will decrease impermeable surface, reduce building flooding, improve stormwater quality, and remove invasive species of plants.

By implementing proper management and use of stormwater from both properties, we’ll supply harvested rainwater for non-potable uses in the buildings. We’ll also help increase pedestrian safety and improve the outdoor experience for Mediocre employees and the neighboring communities. Estimated completion for this grant is in 2027.