Tiny Wins Week (TWW)

Internal Event Branding Initiative for GitBook (2022)

Project Overview

Tiny Wins Week (TWW) was an internal branding initiative launched at GitBook in 2022. It aimed to foster a sense of ownership over the product and improve employee morale by addressing small but impactful bugs that often went unnoticed.

Background

The initiative was designed to boost engagement among remote teams when maintaining motivation and a sense of connection had become increasingly challenging due to the pandemic. While offsite events were a common way to keep team connections pre-pandemic, remote teams struggled with feelings of isolation and disconnection during this period. TWW was introduced as a digital event that allowed cross-functional teams to tackle "tiny bugs"—minor but bothersome issues that were not urgent enough to be prioritized but frustrating enough to keep employees awake at night.

These bugs could range from development glitches to administrative hiccups, like missing attachments in HR documents. While they weren't critical to daily operations, their persistent presence could corrupt motivation and productivity over time. Everyone had their share of these nagging issues that aren't big enough to prioritize but still gnaw at the back of your mind. TWW allowed employees to focus on these bugs for a week, aiming to reduce frustration while boosting satisfaction, motivation, and a sense of ownership.

Originally, the event had a playful working title—"Tiny Sh*ts," reflecting the initiative's humorous, lighthearted tone. However, after a brilliant manager suggested it could become a recurring event, the name was changed to "Tiny Wins" to highlight the sense of achievement from resolving even the most minor issues.

Operations

The event was structured as a week-long initiative. We first announced TWW via Slack, encouraging voluntary participation across all teams. Employees had a week to choose which areas they wanted to focus on, followed by a dedicated week to tackle and fix their chosen bugs.

Role & Responsibilities

Role

As the Brand Designer, I led the creative direction for Tiny Wins Week (TWW), shaping its branding and visual identity. I collaborated closely with the Head of Product and Head of Developer to scope the event and encourage participation across teams. My goal was to create an experience that was both fun and engaging while ensuring it resonated with GitBook’s internal culture and main identity.

In addition to developing the event's identity, I contributed to naming the initiative, produced engaging videos with sound effects, and crafted the key visual. Ultimately, I helped transform the event into an engaging internal celebration that boosted morale and team spirit.

Responsibilities (Deliverables)

• - Developing the key visual identity for TWW, including branding, visuals, motion, and sound production.

• - Producing an intro video, outro, and video dividers to structure and enhance the narrative flow of the event content.

• - Contribution to post-event video compilation, showcasing bug fixes with a humorous twist, using meme GIFs, and concluding with a surprise reveal featuring Owen Wilson’s iconic "Wow."

• - Measuring the initiative's success by focusing on team engagement and assessing the psychological impact of resolving long-standing, nagging issues.

Development of Key Visual

After identifying the core problem, we brainstormed the visual identity and operation of TWW through Slack. The team's initial reaction was a mix of excitement and relief, with comments like “Omg please,” which inspired the overall theme. I envisioned small visual glitches within the big picture—minor disruptions that caused discomfort and interfered with an otherwise smooth experience. These glitches became the foundation of TWW’s identity, symbolizing the annoying bugs we aimed to address.

The intro video used glitch effects and sound to highlight the event’s purpose: polishing those persistent, minor bugs. This visual approach set the tone for the entire initiative and resonated well with the teams. The colors chosen for the event had a playful yet meaningful tone: green to represent the "fix" stage, a vibrant orangey-pink for "sh*ts" (the bugs), and blue as the core GitBook identity color, subtly expanded for the event. The blue acted as the unifying element, appearing in both the intro and outro videos. I also maintained GitBook’s core identity elements, such as the foundational fonts, to ensure consistency.

To keep the energy light, participants were asked to record their bug fixes before and after resolving the issues. We added meme GIFs between each clip in the final compilation, inspired by global meme culture, to make employees smile and foster a greater sense of connection despite the physical distance. The video ended with Owen Wilson’s famous "Wow," providing a humorous and uplifting conclusion to the event.

Video Assets

Please be aware of sound settings; they might be loud.

Intro :loud_sound:

Section divider :loud_sound:

Separators Between Fixes

Outro :loud_sound:

Results & Impact

Results

The surprise came when we showcased the final video, pulling all the individual contributions together into one cohesive narrative. Though employees didn’t realize the event was a serious effort initially, the reveal helped highlight the tangible impact of their contributions in a fun, engaging way.

• - TWW significantly boosted employee engagement and ownership over the product. Teams that participated experienced an increase in morale, with employees reporting feeling more connected and valued.

• - Participation rates across teams rose with over 60% of the team actively contributing to bug fixes.

• - The playful yet professional tone helped employees see their contributions as important, even if the bugs were small, leading to an overall sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Quote

One of the most significant outcomes was the collective sigh of relief as employees joked about finally being able to sleep peacefully, having addressed those pesky bugs that had been keeping them awake.

Key Takeaways

• Humor, a playful tone, and references to global culture can be highly effective in engaging teams, particularly in remote environments where maintaining connection is challenging. Addressing small but persistent issues can have a significant psychological impact, boosting both morale and a sense of ownership over the product. In remote teams, building a strong internal brand becomes essential for keeping teams motivated and fostering a sense of unity.