12/96 Features: Web Winners
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12/96 Features: Web Winners
Winning Web designers strut their stuff in WINDOWS Magazine's Web page contest.The number of sites submitted to WINDOWS Magazine's Web page design contest didn't surprise us--there were more than 1,000 entries in the six categories. But we must admit that we were pleasantly surprised with the consistently excellent design quality. Picking the cream of this crop was indeed a tough task. Today having a Web site isn't just a status symbol--it's a way of communicating that brings the outside world to your doorstep. A Web page can serve as a virtual storefront for your business, organization or even you, providing information and instructions about your products and services. A great Web page isn't just about stunning design. It's also a matter of juggling aesthetic appeal with key concerns like bandwidth and content. Simply put, good looks alone aren't enough. Our contest rules were simple: Any page designed with Windows 95 or NT tools was eligible. The tools our entrants used ran the gamut from basic text editors, like Windows Notepad, to professional-level products, such as Adobe Photoshop. Page creators submitted designs in one of six categories--corporate, cultural, educational, media, organizational and personal. However, we considered all entries for the Best Overall Page award. |
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 / best overall page / / best corporate page // best cultural page /
/ best educational page / / best media page /
/ best organizational page /
/ best personal page /
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/ best overall page /
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A Stylish Design Our Best Overall Page winner, Fashion Internet, proves that a Web site can never be too rich or too thin. This site's designers used rich graphics without sacrificing aesthetic appeal to bandwidth. The pages' brightly hued navigation graphics and animated .GIFs are stylish and whimsical. The judicious use of white space and bite-sized images contribute to the site's visual content and good performance. |
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/ best corporate page /
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Bold and Beautiful Our Corporate winner, Tektronix, offers a stunning front page. The effective use of color and slick, lively art represent this color-printer industry leader well. The bold, eye-catching image map is functional and quick to load, and the site's intuitive navigation and layout make it a friendly place to visit. |
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/ best cultural page /
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Rock On Simple, colorful line art adorns the understated Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Web page, our pick for Best Cultural Page. It's as striking as its subject material--but not nearly as rowdy. Navigation is clear and uncomplicated, and the images are small, speedy and stylish. What's more, ALT image description tags help speed access to the rest of the site. |
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/ best educational page /
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Hot Page for the Hoyas Our Education winner, the Georgetown University Alumni Association page, makes elegant use of white space, complemented with subtle blue and gray graphics, and simple key images over block text. This page maintains a classic simplicity, with its single-color art and spare use of text. |
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/ best media page /
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Read All About It Though the Best Media Page mimics a print page, this one's clearly designed for a Web audience. The Tampa Tribune site uses tables to create a two-column layout that plays well, regardless of your browser screen's width. The headline news stories are eye-catching, and the header and divider graphics break up the text nicely, without unnecessary distraction. |
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/ best organizational page /
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Friendly Environment The U.S. EPA Energy Star Program page, winner of the Best Organization Page, offers style and simplicity. The page uses a series of small square .GIFs rather than large, bandwidth-hogging graphics, to conserve both online time and space. The effective background appears almost as a watermark. Note: This URL and page design changed since we reviewed it. |
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/ best personal page /
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Delectable Design The custom graphics at our winning Personal Page, Diana's Kitchen, are used effectively on this well-designed site. This personal page not only looks good enough to eat--it helps hungry Web-surfers figure out what to eat. |
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