The State of Web Design Awards

I think that Web Design Awards have sometimes gotten a bad rap.  Back in the day, those fancy Flash sites that looked pretty but offered nothing in the way of real information or usability seemed to be winning them all, and so many complained that the REAL Web sites that were well-designed on a functional level were losing out simply because they didn't have fancy Flash transitions.  But on an informational and functional level, those 'boring' sites were really well-designed.

They were right.  But really, the trends in Web/Interactive Awards have really been following the overall trends in the Web in general.  We're seeing a lot more of a marriage of aesthetics and usability these days, and I can only hope that this continues.  I'm pretty sure it will.  Now that we have more advanced technologies to make real-time interactions with servers, showing/hiding relevant information and so much more, us designers are able to take advantage of information and technical functionality to provide a well-designed site.

And hopefully win some more awards.  I want to add a new shelf to my trophy case this year.