Australian Web Design Competition (and evening)

Maxine Sherrin from WebDirections sent me this about the new McFarlane web design prize:

Named in memory of noted Australian web pioneer Nigel McFarlane, the inaugural McFarlane Prize, aims to recognize and encourage excellence in web design by Australian web developers.

The Prize aims reward excellence in web design in the broadest sense, from the appropriate use of technology, to design aesthetics, to its impact more broadly on the web.

The Prize also aims to be a showcase of the best in Australian web design, and to inspire other Australian developers in their own endeavours.

The McFarlane Prize will be awarded by a jury of Australian experts in various fields of web design and development. The decision process has two stages. In the first stage, entries are assessed for their adherence to best practices in accessibility and standards based coding (correct and valid use of CSS and HTML). These criteria are outlined in detail here.

The top 15 sites from this phase will be individually assessed in four areas by members of the jury who have expertise in a particular area.

These areas are

* Accessibility
* Usability
* Design
* Coding

Based on the two rounds of judging, the McFarlane Prize shortlist will be announced on September 22nd.

The announcement of the winner of the inaugural McFarlane Prize will be made at the Web Directions Conference Reception, September 28 2006, during Australian Web Design Week.

Don’t forget that tomorrow night (Thursday 29th) is the WebDirections evening at the CBD hotel.

What: Web Directions presents Lars Rasmussen from Google Maps and Dean Jackson from the W3C
When: 6.00pm for 6.30pm June Thursday 29 2006
Where: Hotel CBD, Jam Bar, Level 4, 52 King Street, Sydney
Cost: Free, but please RSVP info@webdirections.org

Technorati Tags: Online Communities, Dean Jackson, The McFarlane Prize, WebDirections, Nigel McFarlane, Lars Rasmussen