As 2012 winds down, it's the perfect time to reflect. And what about exactly? Well, how about all that you and your design and marketing teams have accomplished this year! And what better way to celebrate the "wins" you've experienced than by earning some genuine recognition for all that fine work.
There is no shortage of opportunities for agencies and interactive media producers to showcase their work, but there is indeed a deficiency of award programs which truly recognize the best websites, digital ad creative, print media and mobile apps that are developed each year. One which does it well - and has been doing so for many years now - is the Horizon Interactive Awards.
So, what makes the Horizon Interactive Awards unique among digital media competitions and why should designers and others consider submitting their work? Mike Sauce, Founder of Horizon Interactive Awards had this to say about what differentiates his awards program from the rest:
"The HIA is unique for one reason alone... how we judge entries. While we do have a volunteer judging panel from diverse industry backgrounds (from all over the world) we also use an end-user panel (people who are not designers or developers) to augment our results. We feel that not only should a winning entry be nice to look at or well coded, it also must resonate with the end-user. To that end, we allow an end user panel to augment the judging process and help narrow our entry field to the best of the best."
And the process seems to work - last year's entries (as well as winners from the previous years) are a true testament to that - seem all the 2011 winners here.. Entries are judged on solution creativity and originality, overall graphic design/appearance/user experience, communication of message, technical merit, and the effectiveness.
If you think your design and creative assets can measure up, consider submitting your work to the Horizon Interactive Awards. Over 1,000 entries were submitted last year from every state in the US, and from over 20 other countries, so the competition will be tough. With all that you've learned over the years from the Website Magazine community however, we're betting you stand a pretty good chance. Good luck!
