Once again, The FWA will be getting ready to announce the winners of the PCA (People’s Choice Awards), one of the most elite awards in the design industry focusing on web-design. The idea of the PCA is that each of the SOTM (site of the month ) winners is put forward for the site of the year award. The award showcases some of the most cutting edge websites, merged together with some of the most original and inspirational ideas of the year.
This year 12 candidates step up to the crown, and unlike 2007, the competition is much closer. 2007’s winner Get the Glass, was by far the most innovational site and changed the level of interaction between websites and users, reflected in many of the entrants we have for 2008.
This year, having taken one last browse of the nominee’s for 2008, 2 sites stand out to me as potential winners.
- Spectra Visual Newsreader.
- Nike Lab.
This site is essentially a graphic based news reader, but instead of just showing you the text and images, it introduces colour and interaction to generate news content from a pre-selected list of interests. The level of interaction on the site is expansive including sound, colour and motion sensors through the use of tools such as web-cams and microphones. The tools used here are by no means new, numerous sites have used webcams and audio equipment to improve interaction but the application here is whats cutting edge. Its application to the field of news can change the way we look at delivering text heavy content to the masses in the future. Tag Cloud is another one to watch out for.
Nike Lab has one of the cleanest designs of the 12 nominees. It uses flash only where necessary and throughout the site, flash is mostly used to make the user experience easier or faster. The layout is straight forward and the video content and user experience have been fine tuned. The simple clean design on this site merged with the use of smooth transitions and effects is what wins me over on this site. Clean design has been done before, the Apple website is good example but the use of flash here enhances the experience and takes it that little bit further.
Other nominees to look out for in the awards are the two nominees representing Coke. Both sites have a solid design concept and theme behind them. In terms of 3D, The Eco Zoo can’t be forgotten neither. January the 15th is results day so if you haven’t voted, there’s still time to test run all the nominees and make your decision. Don’t forget to post your thoughts here before you do.
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