Judge Duncan Riley’s take on the Australian Web Awards
Continuing with the interviews. This time Gary Barber, the Judging Coordinator chats with the Australian Web Awards Judge - Duncan Riley, about his previous experiences judging and what he believes makes an award winning site.
Web Awards: The Australian Web Awards attracts web sites from all over the country, sites designed and developed by large design agencies, government departments to single person shops.
You have judged a number of these web awards, what do you think is the magical winning factor?
Duncan: Primarily the ability to stand out and be different.
Imitation is easy, but innovation isn't. That can be innovation in design, content, or product idea. A winning web site or service stands out from the crowd.
Web Awards: This year brings a good deal of new web technology. What innovative types of sites are you expecting to see in this years range of entrants. Do you think the newer web technologies with feature?
Duncan: Social has come to the fore in the last couple of years, and finally Australian sites are catching up. I'd expect to see strong integration of social media features in general entries, and in some categories sites that seek to extend or offer new twists on what we see coming out of the United States.
Web Awards: Finally what elements of a web site can really turn you off the site and spoil the overall experience for you.
Duncan: Although it's not everything, visuals and design can and will cause a negative reaction, even when the idea behind the site is a good one. That doesn't necessarily mean bad visual design either; sometimes a design can looking visually stunning but doesn't work from a consumer/ end user perspective. There's a line there that needs to be balanced.