About the Panel of Judges

A special panel of Executive Members of The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) along with executives from Microsoft and Boys & Girls Clubs America will determine the three Finalists teams and Championship winner from the Design Challenge Entries.

The decisions of the judges are final and binding. In the event of a tie between any eligible Design Challenge Entries, the tie will be broken by an additional judge who will then judge the tied Entries based on the judging criteria in the order listed above and determine rank order.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the judging body of The Webby Awards, was founded in 1998 to help drive the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media.

The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes 650+ members such as musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Martha Stewart, R/GA Founder and Chairman Robert Greenberg, Virgin Atlantic Chairman and Founder Richard Branson, Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone, and The Weinstein Company Co-Founder Harvey Weinstein. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper.

Judging Criteria

The panel of judges will identify the highest ranked Design Challenge Entries in the Finalist Round and shall select three winners to compete in the Championship Round (which will, subject to verification, receive the Finalist Prize). The judges will identify the highest ranked Design Challenge Entry in the Championship Round and shall select one winner (which will, subject to verification, receive the Grand Prize).

The judging criteria will be based upon the following criteria:

Content and Communication Plan (20 Points); and

Content is the information to be provided on the site. It is not just text, but music, sound, animation, pictures, or video -- anything that communicates a sites' body of knowledge. Good content should be engaging, relevant, and appropriate for the audience. It has a voice, a point of view. Your presentation should address how the Website will use content to achieve its' goals.

Things to keep in mind:

The new Website homepage answers the question, "What is this place?"
The content will be organized and easy to read
Each page has a clear and distinct purpose
The most useful and relevant content will be easy to find and use
The site will use a tone of voice that is appropriate to the audience and the brand
Pages have clear headlines and headings

Structure and Navigation (20 Points); and

Structure and navigation refers to the framework of a site, the organization of content, the prioritization of information, and the method in which you move through the site. Good structure and navigation is consistent, intuitive and transparent, allowing you to form a mental model of the information provided, where to find things, and what to expect when you click. Excellent navigation gets you where you want to go quickly and offers easy access to the breadth and depth of the site's content.

Things to keep in mind:

A consistent, reliable navigation system
Links and navigation will provide flow
The design concept has an effective and consistent layout across all pages
There is a logical order to page components
Users will know where they are at all times

Visual Design (20 Points); and

Visual design is the appearance of the site. It's more than just a pretty homepage and it doesn't have to be cutting edge or trendy. Good visual design is high quality, appropriate, and relevant for the audience and the message it supports. It communicates a visual experience and may even take your breath away.

Things to keep in mind:

Consistent use of colors, shapes, patterns, layouts, and font styles
Design of a distinct and unique visual theme
Contrast is used effectively
Imagery is used to add value to the message

Integration of Microsoft Technology (20 Points); and

Your presentation must showcase creative and compelling use of the Microsoft Web Platform, Microsoft Silverlight, and potentially other Microsoft tools and technologies to address the Design Challenge Brief.

Things to keep in mind:

Your presentation should highlight and call out some of the Microsoft's tools and technologies that were or would be used within the solution you propose as part of your Design Challenge Entry.
Integration of third-party social media APIs such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live

Scope of Interactivity (20 Points)

Good interactivity is more than a rollover or choosing what to click on next; it allows you, as a user, to give and receive. It insists that you participate, not spectate. Consider how Microsoft technologies will make the input/output of visitors effective - as in searches, chat areas, e-commerce peer-to-peer applications and real-time feedback. Interactive elements and the technology that enables it are what separate the Web from other media.

Things to keep in mind:

Interactivity should require an ease of use on the part of the user
Keep the use of plug-ins in mind. If a user is required to install software, does that reduce chances they will return to the site?
Consider the way a user interacts with the web via offline, desktop or mobile Microsoft technologies.

This is an excerpt of the requirements. Please see the Official Rules for complete details.

Our premier jury of IADAS, Boys & Girls Club & Microsoft will evaluate all entries and choose 3 finalists.

In Las Vegas, the 3 finalists will pitch their strategies live before the jury.

The winner will get $50,000 upon delivery of their finalized wire frames and solution strategy so that bgca.org can put it into action.

Chris Colborn EVP, Chief Experience Officer

As EVP, Chief Experience Officer, Chris works to align client business objectives with customer needs, driving relevance and efficacy in an increasingly chaotic marketplace. He is focused on turning insights into innovations that create more meaningful ways to engage consumers, especially through emerging media and technology. Read more...

Before taking on this new position, Chris acted as EVP, Worldwide Creative Director. He was responsible for providing creative leadership for the global Nokia account and other accounts as they arose in R/GA's international offices.

Chris joined R/GA in October 1998 as VP, Interaction Design. He established the department that created structured design systems for information architecture, navigation and user experience. These systems provide the groundwork and flexibility to empower multichannel communications across a variety of interfaces, from a 23-story digital sign to mobile devices.

Chris's background is extensive and diverse. He has won numerous international awards and speaks throughout the Untied States and abroad about interaction design and emerging media in advertising. Read less...

Lori McLemore Director, Marketing & Web Strategy BGCA Marketing & Communications

As the primary content editor for Boys & Girls Clubs of America's external Web site, www.bgca.org, Lori McLemore plays a key role in the development of the site and other online projects, including Web templates development for affiliated Clubs, e-mail marketing and online fundraising. She has more than 10 years of experience with online communications, marketing and metrics. Lori holds a bachelor's degree with a primary focus in journalism from Auburn University.

David Pescovitz Co-Editor, BoingBoing

David Pescovitz is co-editor of Boing Boing, a technology and culture Web site with several million monthly readers, and a research director with the Institute for the Future, a non-profit forecasting thinktank. He is also editor-at-large for MAKE: magazine, the DIY technology quarterly. Pescovitz co-wrote the book Reality Check, based on his long-running futurist column in Wired magazine where he is still a correspondent. He has also written for the New York Times, Scientific American, Popular Science, the Washington Post, Salon, and New Scientist, among many other publications. Read more...

In 2002, he won the Foresight Prize in Communication, recognizing excellence in educating the public and research community about nanotechnology and other emerging technologies. From 2000 to 2007 he was the first ever writer-in-residence at UC Berkeley's College of Engineering. Pescovitz's writing also has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, IEEE Spectrum, Salon, Spin, MTV Online, I.D., Discovery Channel Online, and Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Pescovitz is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Science and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and networks including CNN, NPR, Fox News, ZDTV, and CNET.

Pescovitz holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Media from the University of Cincinnati and a Master's in Journalism from UC Berkeley. Read less...

Nicolas Roope Co-Founder Poke, London

From leading creative practitioner and cofounsder of Antirom in 1995, through to creative director roles at Oven Digital and Poke, Nicolas has always looked beyond industry rhetoric to the inspiring truths of interactive networked media, a passion driving his career in the business spanning the last eleven years. This period has been punctuated with success stories and awards recognizing his contribution. Read more...

Nicolas jointly set up Poke in 2001 after heavy industry fallout. Since then, he has creatively and strategically driven numerous high profile accounts and self-initiated projects, picking up world class awards along the way. He is a frequent contributor to ICON and Design Week, and his work and ideas have been widely distributed through the on and off-line worlds.

Nicolas also founded the Pokia / Hulger project (www.hulger.com), another creative slant on technology, but in this instance physical. Read less...

Rob Pulciani Sr. Marketing Manager Developer Platform Evangelism

As Sr. Marketing Manager in Developer Platform Evangelism, Rob works to promote developer and designer adoption of Microsoft technologies like Windows, Internet Explorer and Silverlight. Rob specific focus is around user experience and helping customers and partners drive their business using the Microsoft UX platform. Read more...

Before joining Microsoft in 2005, Rob spent almost 10 years working in account management and business development for agencies like McCann Erikson, Wunderman, Deutsch and R/GA. Read less...

Jaime Endreny Executive Director Center for Architecture Foundation

Jaime Endreny is the Executive Director of the Center for Architecture Foundation where she oversees all K-12 architecture and design educational programming, scholarships, and related exhibitions at the Center for Architecture. Jaime spearheads long-term planning, operational management and fundraising efforts of the Foundation and the Center, often in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. Read more...

Jaime has been working in the nonprofit sector and with underserved youth for over 14 years, beginning her career as an instructor at the Courageous Sailing Center in Boston, and consulted for the Providence Preservation Society Revolving Fund in Rhode Island. She facilitated after-school and summer programs as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Providence CityArts for Youth, and worked as a consultant with arts and cultural organizations such as the Brooklyn Arts Council and the New York Foundation for the Arts.

She was recently selected as a Future Leaders Fellow by National Arts Strategies. Jaime received a MPA from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and a B.A. in English and Art History from Colby College. Read less...