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2006 Interactive Design Awards »
2006 Interactive Design Award Winners: Consumer Websites
2006 Interactive Design Award Winners: Consumer Websites
Best of Show / Business-to-Business Websites / CDROMs / Consumer WebsitesGames / Kiosks / Miscellaneous / Motion Design / Self-Promo Websites / Web Banners OUTSTANDING: Monticello Explorer Design Firm: Second Story Interactive Studios, Portland, OR
Monticello Explorer makes Thomas Jefferson's famous home accessible to people who can't make the trip to Virginia. The site is chock-full of history, artifacts and accomplishments, but the most impressive feature is a 3D tour of the house that's stripped down to resemble an architectural model. "We wanted to show Thomas Jefferson's architectural vision, independent of furnishings and how it appears today," says Brad Johnson, creative director at Second Story Interactive Studios. Unlike a real-life tour, visitors can navigate the house at their own pace--skipping rooms or exploring places (like the home's second and third floors) that tourists aren't allowed to enter. "This piece is crafted with loving care," says judge Kevin Airgid. "You can tell by the attention to detail at every corner." Even though the project was built in Flash, he notes, the back and forward buttons still work, making the site easy to navigate. 1. The 3D tour was created from data gathered during a laser scan of Jefferson's stately home, Monticello. 2. By clicking on the camera icon, users can access a picture of the room as it's furnished and decorated today. OUTSTANDING: NesteaIce.com Design Firm: Juxt Interactive, Newport Beach, CA
There's a cooling agent in Nestea Ice that makes it an "absurdly cold" beverage. And it's the absurd part, perhaps, that's driven traffic to NesteaIce.com. To promote this new beverage to college-aged consumers, Juxt Interactive created a site that takes full advantage of the web's viral-marketing capabilities. The project serves up some quirky, unexpected and novel offerings--everything from humorous videos to a custom T-shirt designer--that users simply can't help forwarding to friends. Another goal, says creative director Todd Purgason, was creating a site that looked refreshing. A light blue background, for example, mimics the sky and ocean. Judge Jemma Hostetler definitely appreciated the effort: "This site provides such an engaging and fun experience that I felt as if I was swimming in Nestea." But she's not the only one who had fun; pay close attention to the video under Ice Splash. Purgason makes a brief appearance as "disgruntled truck guy." 1. NesteaIce.com is aimed at the college set. "When they're not drinking beer, they should be drinking Nestea Ice," says creative director Todd Purgason. 2. Instead of boring copy, clicking on Product Info leads to a cartoon about a medicine man named Fred. OUTSTANDING: Oneill.com Design Firm: 2Advanced Studios, Aliso Viejo, CA
At Oneill.com, the grunge aesthetic of the surfing world plays sidekick to the action-packed lifestyle photography. It's one of the strategies designers at 2Advanced Studios used to emphasize the gear company's position as an industry leader. They wanted to create an elegant site with enough extreme sports verve to keep users interested--but not so much that the pages are overwhelming. Highlights include a soft, muted color palette that appeals to both sexes, eye-catching animations that are smooth rather than jittery and a thoughtful, inventive navigation system. Juror Jason Kottke liked that the site allows deep-linking to specific product pages--something that sets it apart from more Flash-intensive efforts. "Being able to e-mail your mom a link with those ski pants you want rather than telling her to go to the front page, click on 'snow,' then 'snow gear,' then 'explore,' is key with e-commerce," he says. "You're gonna lose sales with each one of those clicks." 1. Rolling over this navigation wheel makes menu options pop out like tools in a pocket knife. Users can quickly access content by sport or other categories. 2. This text menu bypasses many of the brand-driven lifestyle pages, taking frequent users right to the information they need. 3. A seashell allows users to easily turn off the soothing ocean sounds. The site also downloads a cookie that records the preference for future visits. OUTSTANDING: Tazo.com Design Firm: ZAAZ, Seattle & Sandstrom Design, Portland, OR
At its essence, Tazo.com is the next best thing to a steaming cup of Earl Grey--something the site's designers know a little bit about. Tazo's resident tea master hosted a tasting for the project team, and all those flavors left a lasting impression. "It was an amazing sense experience," says Tim Klauda, art director at ZAAZ. "We wanted to bring that online." Toward that goal, the site tries to create a real environment at every turn, featuring everything from gorgeous teacups to intriguing tea ingredients. Judges Jemma Hostetler and Kevin Airgid thought the project did an excellent job of staying true to the Tazo brand. Casual visitors can use the Wheel-o-Tazo tea selector to quickly see the range of products the company offers, while enthusiasts can dig deeper, reading up on flavors, aromas and ingredients. There's even a humorous page where users can get a fortune based on a virtual tea-leaf reading. 1. Steam rises from cups of tea, making the site feel more like a 3D environment. 2. The Wheel-o-Tazo lets users go straight to the product they're most interested in. 3. Like the rest of the Tazo brand, the site pays careful attention to details. The tea leaf guru's eyes, for example, follow a user's mouse as it moves around the screen. MERIT: African Life Through Art URL: www.ima-art.org/cycles/index.html Design Firm: Terra Incognita Productions, Austin, TX
MERIT: Pontiac Design Firm: Digitas, Boston
MERIT: Saturn Sky Microsite URL: www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/futurevehicles/sky_hi/index.jsp Design Firm: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
MERIT: National Museum of American History
Design Firm: Mediatrope, San Francisco
MERIT: KitchenAid.com URL: www.KitchenAid.com Design Firm: Digitas, Boston
MERIT: The Grudge Design Firm: Big Spaceship, Brooklyn, NY
MERIT: AIGA Design Archives Design Firm: Second Story Interactive Studios, Portland, OR
MERIT: NKE6.0 URL: www.nke6.com Design Firm: NemoDesign, Portland, OR
MERIT: Burger King: The Apprentice URL: bkdev2.vml.com/a3/ Design Firm: VML, Kansas City, MO
MERIT: MoMA Contemporary Voices URL: www.moma.org/contemporaryvoices Design Firm: Big Spaceship, Brooklyn, NY
MERIT: Harvard University Dining Services Design Firm: mediumbold, Boston
MERIT: NIKELab.com URL: www.NIKELab.com Design Firm: R/GA, New York City
MERIT: Convertible-izer-ometer URL: www.neverinneutral.com/mini_convertible Design Firm: TAXI, Toronto
MERIT: Crash URL: www.crashfilm.com Design Firm: Big Spaceship, Brooklyn, NY
MERIT: NIKEiD.com URL: www.NIKEiD.com Design Firm: R/GA, New York City
MERIT: The New Rush Microsite URL: www.thenewrush.com Design Firm: Wunderman, Irvine, CA
MERIT: Boost Mobile Pro of Surf 2004 URL: www.boostmobilepro2004.com Design Firm: Juxt Interactive, Newport Beach, CA
MERIT: War of the Worlds Design Firm: Big Spaceship, Brooklyn, NY
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