A YORK graphic design agency is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its launch with news that it has won an international industry award.

United by Design, based in The Mount, has been honoured by the A' Design Awards, the largest of their kind in the world, as the agency's work for York beer maker Treboom was presented with a Bronze award in the Packaging Design category.

Held each year in Italy, the A' Awards give recognition to designers on an international stage. The agency also received a runner-up award for its packaging work for tea company Lu Lin.

United by Design's owner and creative director Owen Turner, said: "It's a great honour for us to receive this international award, and I am absolutely delighted that our work has been recognised by such a prestigious organisation.

"Our concept behind the Treboom bottle labels was to tell a story in a simplified and entertaining way, with a central focal point for each design. The personality of each ale is brought to life, but the whole range still has a similar distinct look and feel".

United by Design also recently received the accolade of being included in The Drum Independent Agencies Census for 2015. The industry report is compiled by design publication The Drum, in partnership with the Recommended Agency Register. Agencies are ranked across three categories: financial performance, client satisfaction and peer recognition, and United by Design was placed in the top 25 overall.

Mr Turner said: "It's absolutely amazing to be able to celebrate our fifth anniversary off the back of these two fantastic pieces of news.

"After fifteen years in the design business it's very satisfying to be recognised for all the hard work, although, of course, it's thanks to the efforts of the whole team at United by Design that we are able to produce work for our clients that is so highly regarded."

United by Design also focuses on its charitable work as a member of the global initiative "1% for the Planet", which sees businesses donate one per cent of their sales to environmental causes all over the world.

Having previously supported its own client, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, United by Design is this year donating £1,718 to fresh2o, a UK-based charity that funds clean drinking water projects all over the world.

Mr Turner added: "Athough a small business, we have a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, and the concept of 'giving back' is very important to us."