Site of the Month Category Winners
Thursday December 15th, 2005
One of the keys of great design is the use of the right idea at the right time. Kutztown University's design department seem to have hit this mark precisely with their scrapbook-inspired website.
All of our judges were impressed at how the tangible textures and well-worn artwork evoke so well the craft and tradition of design which often seems to be missing in our digitally-defined world, and yet still balances this intrigue with a usable interface. An excellent blend of form and function.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (10)
Tuesday August 23rd, 2005
Just getting back into the swing of monthly awards, so we had a few candidates dating back to August for this round ... and it seems that experience wins out over youthful exuberance once again.
I don't think there's one of us that hasn't felt the effect of A List Apart in our work. Whether it lead us down the path of Standards, crystalised a web design principle in our minds, or simply showed us how to make a print stylesheet, its influence is far reaching and more than helpful. So it's fitting that an institution like this should have a design worthy of its stature.
The Jason Santa-Maria/Eric Meyer/Jeffrey Zeldman super team have produced a much talked about site that does what a good design should do -- make the content even better. Condolences to the team behind the Elan website (runners-up), but there's no stopping this juggernaut!
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Reviewed by John Oxton :: Comments (21)
Thursday June 23rd, 2005
Shaun's site certainly stirred up a lot of discussion during a quiet period on the Standards scene. Whether you love it or hate it, the menu system which is the crux of his new design definitely broke the mold.
It's this combination of innovative interface design, graphical expertise and technical nous that impressed our judges enough to give it an across the board thumbs up.
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Reviewed by John Oxton :: Comments (33)
Tuesday May 17th, 2005
Well, it looks like the superhero edition of web.burza has managed to slice, claw and bat-a-rang its way through the competition to take out May's site of the month.
The time taken to convert this site's unique design from Flash into Standards-compliant HTML has reaped its rewards, providing a slick and well-executed interface on top of rock solid code -- exactly what the Web Standards Awards are about.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (8)
Thursday January 13th, 2005
Rammstein's performances are nothing if not dramatic, and in suitable fashion their web site made a lasting impression upon our judges.
Its finely wrought grunge and unusual interface won them over, though it only just managed to outpace the technical perfection of Subtraction and Etnies' inviting streetwear shopping. That the site was built for the music industry -- a sector notoriously overladen with Flash glory houses -- was also a point well noted.
Congratulations to bit_design on the first gold star of 2005!
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (9)
Thursday December 23rd, 2004
It seems that people other than dedicated web designers have something to bring to the Internet as well. Last month's gold star winner was designed by the Heads of State illustrators, and this month's winner was beautifully sketched out by Mr. Bearskinrug himself.
Artists such as Kevin Cornell bring a freshness to the Standards-compliant arena in which many of us have become weary. While it mightn't suit every site out there, Bearskinrug is a perfect match for its own purpose -- pure enjoyment of drawing and an insight into Kevin's world askew. Is there anything else it need do?
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (7)
Tuesday November 2nd, 2004
Pretty much a clean sweep for the Heads of State this month. It truly is a marriage of design and technical skills -- Jason and Dustin's retro illustrative style taking advantage of JSM and Shaun's web development savvy.
It's this kind of synergy which should be the way forward for Web Standards. Take the best of both worlds, stir, and serve.
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (12)
Thursday October 21st, 2004
Good design crosses the boundaries of language, and with the prevalence of english speaking "experts" and weblogs in the Standards world, it's good to see that the benefits are also being found outside our own small world.
The work done on Wasserwerke Zwickau was good enough to just pip Lousco's excellent site as this month's winner. The two took different approaches, but in the end the clean lines of WW Zwickau edged out Lousco's more intimate feel. With it's adherence to correct mime-type serving it could even be the first true Web Standards site awarded here!
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (6)
Monday September 27th, 2004
As the Standards gospel spreads, we see more and more people pushing the boundaries of both CSS design and visual design in general. But it's still difficult to find sites that we can laud here at the Web Standards Awards. Why? Because although people are increasingly using CSS, a lot of them still ignore the spirit of Standards with poor code, poor structure and poor accessibility.
That's what makes Monc's site all the more special -- tight and clean code that is perfectly decorated in their own understated and beautiful style. An assured win for the Swedish team this September.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (5)
Sunday August 29th, 2004
Coinciding with bad metaphor month, Follow the Rhinos stampeded to the head of the pack with an almost unanimous vote of confidence. I think those sad looking creatures might have won sympathy votes, but there's no doubt that the site is finely crafted. Its beige tones match those of its charges, while the photos and graphics counterpoint the palette -- enlivening what could otherwise have been a dreary site.
This month we'd also like to welcome Andy Clarke from Stuff and Nonsense as a new judge. I'm sure he'll find plenty of Standardised goodies to award.
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (14)
Friday July 16th, 2004
Thankfully, the monthly judging panel is totally independent, so hopefully no calls of bias can be levelled at Rapha's win in July. :o]
The Message team just edged out Pseudoroom's portfolio because of its rich content, commercial focus, and distinctive use of the colour pink. Their win shows that fantastic art direction isn't negated by Standards-compliance.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (10)
Friday June 11th, 2004
As Standards gradually make their way out of the "weblog only" phase of their development, people are beginning to take notice of the sites that push the boundaries of layout. Infosion's unusual but usable layout caught the eye of a few of our judges, but it's hard to beat a personal site that doesn't have commercial restrictions.
Justwatchthesky took out this month's Golden Star because it's simply too smooth to believe. The unusual palette has a way of capturing your imagination, yet it is blended so finely and flawlessly that it complements the content perfectly. Congratulations Ryan.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (13)
Wednesday May 5th, 2004
The vibrant colours of Yellowlane weren't enough to beat out the hand-crafted feel of Readymade in May's battle of the Standards.
The complexity of information presented on Readymade's site as well as its "real-world" application of Standards gave it the slightest edge over its compatriots. Congratulations Readymade and congratulations Fluffco.
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Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (11)
Friday April 23rd, 2004
It took a while to tabulate the votes, but they're in for the WSA April site of the month. In a closely fought contest, the weblog stylings of Alazanto just pipped Es Footwear's slick commercial feel. Maybe it's just our judges' bias against those skater punks who play their music too loud, but no doubt Kevin deserves the win.
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Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (34)
Monday March 1st, 2004
The second month of the Web Standards Awards, and controversy abounds. The monthly judges were evenly split into two camps, requiring us to invoke our emergency tie breaking procedures. So, after the dust of two rounds of thumb wrestling had settled, only one site stood victorious: jasonsantamaria.com. Condolences go to Adaptive Path for a close second; you guys should already know how good you are.
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (27)
Sunday February 1st, 2004
We were prepared for long debates and plenty of in-fighting over who would take the first WSA Golden Star (site of the month award), but the PGA Championship's beautiful design and high quality production made it an easy and unanimous choice.
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Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (11)