I do not envy the task of the judges for our annual Best of Web competition. Besides the usual parameters for judging a design competition—layout, typography, color, use of imagery—they also must consider factors exclusive to the digital realm: interface ease-of-use, continuity, scalability, content management, on and on. The design dimensions of the web and motion graphics, it seems, are enormous. And because the technologies for digital design are ever-evolving, keeping current on the state of the digital arts has become, for all practical purposes, a full-time job. Nevertheless, our 2008 Best of Web judges panel—Kevin Farnham of Method, Yang Kim of People Design and Cheryl Towler Weese of Studio Blue—persevered, and in this issue you’ll see the collective results of their opinions, as well as their personal favorites from the competition.

As Kevin Farnham notes on page 72, the best of this year’s entries deliver the high levels of engagement that will be necessary as user expectations for what they want from the web continue to escalate. Partial to sites that excel creatively while staying within business parameters, Farnham praised entries that delivered deep levels of information made accessible in novel ways. The storytelling, he notes, must draw viewers in, then reward them: “You have to treat them right once they’re there.”

The winning sites in this year’s competition tended to have just those characteristics—a very good thing, given that one of the web’s advantages as a communication medium is its ability to house and make accessible vast amounts of information, information that can be added to, removed and/or expanded with far less eΩort than ever was true of print. Judge Cheryl Towler Weese also recognized this year’s entries for their innovations in navigation: “The real creativity is coming through in information design,” she says (see all of her comments beginning on page 76).

In some cases, a restrained approach to bells and whistles worked to the benefit of winning sites, according to judge Yang Kim. As she observes on page 80, too many websites today substitute gimmicks and games for real engagement. As it was for Farnham, clarity of purpose was a priority to her. “I want to understand the call to action,” she says. “What am I supposed to do?”

No doubt the sensible approach to information design and navigation provided some relief to all three judges. Because they must dive deeply into each site in order to fully understand it, evaluating hundreds of sites requires hours of patient study of thousands of pages. We are extremely grateful for their support, their expertise and their effort.

This issue’s cover, designed by Stefan G. Bucher of 344 Design, began as a statistical exercise in translating the relative length of articles in the issue into Venn diagrams. Bucher’s formula was, he says, “square root of [page count divided by pi] = radius.” The resulting concentric diagrams, while visually interesting (and amusing, as some bore a marked resemblance to a certain trademarked cartoon rodent), didn’t send as compelling a message as his eventual design, which in its marrying of bar code, issue content proportions and imagery offers a unique commentary on information design in the digital age.

P.S. The STEP Design 100 competition is now accepting entries. Don’t miss the chance to let your talent shine in the March/April 2009 Design 100 annual of STEP, the only design magazine that showcases an interview with every winner in its competitions. Enter now at http://www.stepinsidedesign.com/100. The deadline for entries is Oct. 1, 2008.