2012 MW BOW Ceremony final

2012 Best of the Web 2012 Best of the Web AwardsAwards

Best of the Web Awards


Douglas HegleyDouglas HegleyMinneapolis Institute of ArtsMinneapolis Institute of Arts

Welcome and Welcome and IntroductionIntroduction


Co-Chairs •Douglas Hegley, Minneapolis Institute of Arts•Kajsa Hartig, Nordiska Museet, Sweden

Panelists•Matthew Andress, North Carolina State University, USA•Steven Beasley, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, USA•Titus Bicknell, Discovery Communications, USA•Luigina Ciolfi, University of Limerick, Ireland•Brad Larson, Brad Larson Media, Inc., USA•Pepijn Lemmens, Netherlands Architecture Institute, The Netherlands•Maurizio Ortolani, National Arts Centre, Canada•Robin White Owen, MediaCombo, Inc., USA•Jon Pratty, Arts Council England, UK•Conxa Roda, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), Spain•Koven Smith, Denver Art Museum, USA•Corey Timpson, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Canada

BoW PanelBoW Panel


This is a CelebrationThis is a Celebration

Community• Aspirations• Online excellence

Congratulate the winners, learn from their work, but then make it your priority to take us even farther next year


Best of the Web: ProcessBest of the Web: Process

Sites are nominated by the community in an open call

Nominated sites are assigned to members of the panel

•All Judges are volunteers• No conflicts of interest

•All sites are explored in-depth, tested, reviewed/rated


Process, continuedProcess, continued

Disagreements are expressed and debated

Every site is evaluated in the context of the other sites nominated

Finalists rise to the top, then are re-evaluated to decide winners

Together, the panel selects winners in each category and overall


Recognizing ExcellenceRecognizing Excellence

A snapshot of recent work that has caught our attention

Not every nominated site can win (obviously)

Competition drives innovation and change

Awards provide a hearty “Well done!”

Be inspired!


Introducing my co-presenterIntroducing my co-presenterKoven Smith, Denver Art Koven Smith, Denver Art

MuseumMuseum

We represent all of the judgesWe represent all of the judges


And the winners are … And the winners are …


Category: Category: Audio / Visual / PodcastAudio / Visual / Podcast


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•use narrative, audio, or video to share museum content•content is original, appropriate, perhaps evocative•effective use of sound, video, images

And the winner is …

Audio / Visual / Podcast


Winner:Winner:The Vlog ProjectThe Vlog Project

Institution: Whitney Museum of American ArtInstitution: Whitney Museum of American ArtDesigner: NameDesigner: Name

http://whitney.org/Vlogs

Audio / Visual / Podcast – WINNER

http://whitney.org/Vlogs

“Making content accessible to deaf

visitors makes it accessible to all”

“ … successful because the interpreters are

thoroughly knowledgeable and seem

quite passionate about their subjects …”

“well done, engaging and informative”

“The look and feel is completely adequate to the task but not aesthetically outstanding”

“Could improve interactivity and functionalities, such as a comment option,

to make it more participatory”


The Vlog ProjectThe Vlog ProjectCongratulationsCongratulations

Audio / Visual / Podcast – WINNER


Category: Category: EducationEducation


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•teach a specific audience on a particular subject•present material in an effective and relevant manner•for schools, teachers, and students of any age•support lifelong learning activities•easily-identified target audience, clear pedagogical strategy

First, we have an honorable mention …

Education


Honorable Mention:Honorable Mention:WondermindWondermind

Institution: TateInstitution: TateDesigners: Designers: Tate, Preloaded, Martin Percy, supported Tate, Preloaded, Martin Percy, supported

by the Wellcome Trustby the Wellcome Trust

http://wondermind.tate.org.uk/

Education – Honorable Mention

http://wondermind.tate.org.uk/

“It’s a combination of beautiful design and engaging content”

“I like the contextual messages displayed while the main window loaded … nice way of

learning when I least expected it”

“I had initial trouble getting oriented to the goals of the

site. Perhaps the (excellent) introductory video could be auto-loaded, or made more prominent”


WondermindWondermindCongratulationsCongratulations

Education – Honorable Mention


EducationEducation

And the winner is …And the winner is …


Winner:Winner:Beyond the ChalkboardBeyond the Chalkboard

Institution: Boston Children’s MuseumInstitution: Boston Children’s MuseumDesigner: AlmightyDesigner: Almighty

http://www.beyondthechalkboard.com/

Education – WINNER

http://www.beyondthechalkboard.com/

“This site is fantastic! Beautifully designed,

well executed, and filled to the brim with fascinating activities”

“The site makes a very tight

connection with its audience, and provides resources for after-school activities that are spot on target”

“The comments regarding the activities are really

positive, which validates that the content actually worked in the classroom, at home, or elsewhere”

“The site goes further, suggesting an integrative process – make it matter, make it happen, make it click, make it better”

“The interface was less successful for me. I found the design contemporary and hip, but the color contrast caused me to have to squint at the screen at times. It

might be a good idea to add an accessibility button or some alternative style sheets”


Beyond the ChalkboardBeyond the ChalkboardCongratulationsCongratulations

Education – WINNER


Category: Category: ExhibitionExhibition


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•present and interpret museum collections and themes•provide a rich and meaningful digital experience•complement physical exhibitions or provide digital experience•innovative, imaginative, can be “born digital” collections•engage different categories of ‘visitors’


Exhibition


Winner:Winner:Split SecondSplit Second

Institution: Brooklyn MuseumInstitution: Brooklyn MuseumDesigner: In-houseDesigner: In-house

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/splitsecond/

Exhibition – WINNER

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/splitsecond/

“ … truly innovative!”

“The results were used to curate a physical exhibition of paintings at the Museum, and the findings were presented in the galleries”

“Great idea, well executed, with lots of data left behind for visitors to play with that still encourages users to explore a fairly decent

catalog online. Win!

“Another brilliant idea from the Brooklyn Museum. Can’t quite grasp *why* people would participate, the ‘what’s in it for me’ question”

“As with most Brooklyn Museum web/app activities, the interface is bare

bones and functional – not a lot of graphic design to speak of.”


Split SecondSplit SecondCongratulationsCongratulations

Exhibition – WINNER


Category: Category: Innovative / ExperimentalInnovative / Experimental


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•creative, new, innovative uses of the web•demonstrate originality and potential for development•apply new web concepts to museum goals•experimental and creative uses of emerging technology


Innovative / Experimental


Winner:Winner:Walker Art Center WebsiteWalker Art Center Website

Institution: Walker Art CenterInstitution: Walker Art CenterDesigner: In-houseDesigner: In-house

http://www.walkerart.org/

Innovative / Experimental – WINNER


“… really cool … welcoming other voices in,

being open to provocation, allowing criticism and comment by people who may not even be professional art critics.”

“Bonus points for thinking outside of their silo and including art news from other museum’s communications departments”

“Notice how seamlessly and consistently the different content feeds are shown visually. That’s really hard to do”

“Accessibility-wise, there are some issues with alt-tags and anchors, some missing page tags and descriptions caused fails. They can work on that though.”

“ (perhaps) … allow the Editor to

have a backchannel for feedback and comment about the site itself (and the process) … “


Walker Art CenterWalker Art CenterCongratulationsCongratulations

Innovative / Experimental – WINNER


Category: Category: Long-livedLong-lived


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•long-term commitment to excellent online presence•year-over-year, these sites deliver quality and serve communities•continued growth in available resources•sustained use and engagement by site visitors•alignment with vision and strategy of the institution


Long-lived


Winner:Winner:National Galleries of Scotland WebsiteNational Galleries of Scotland Website

Institution: National Galleries of ScotlandInstitution: National Galleries of ScotlandDesigner: Keepthinking (London)Designer: Keepthinking (London)

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/

Long-lived – WINNER

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/

“A complete museum website … with a good search function”

“The collection interface is excellent, giving several ways to explore”

“I wanted to see the Connect section be more integrated”


National Galleries of ScotlandNational Galleries of ScotlandCongratulationsCongratulations

Long-lived – WINNER


Category: Category: MobileMobile


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•sites or apps created to function best on a mobile device•accessible on multiple platforms•use of mobile interaction possibilities•creative ways of presenting content•ease of use for both experienced and novice users

First, we have an Honorable Mention …

Mobile


Honorable Mention:Honorable Mention:MuseumAppMuseumApp

Institution: Amsterdam MuseumInstitution: Amsterdam MuseumDesigners: 7scenes, Waag Society and Designers: 7scenes, Waag Society and

Amsterdam MuseumAmsterdam Museumhttp://www.museumapp.nl/home.php?language=en

Mobile – Honorable Mention

http://www.museumapp.nl/home.php?language=en

“The idea of a multi-institutional app is terrific and the design is clean and to the point”

“Users can comment on the content of

each tour stop, rate and share them with others … a very good feature”

“I’ve already bought the app, so why do I need to login? And why a unique login? Perhaps the next version could use OAuth or a similar method.”


MuseumAppMuseumAppCongratulationsCongratulations

Mobile – Honorable Mention


MobileMobile



Winner:Winner:ArtClixArtClix

Institution: High Museum of ArtInstitution: High Museum of ArtDesigner: Second Story Interactive StudiosDesigner: Second Story Interactive Studios

http://www.high.org/moma.aspx#/Picasso-to-Warhol/artclix

Mobile – WINNER

http://www.high.org/moma.aspx#/Picasso-to-Warhol/artclix

“This app gets to the heart of what visitors want to do – snap their own photos of the art, capture their own experience, and then share with friends”

“ … try out the image recognition software … it works really well”

“Adding a search function could reduce potential frustration, users would not need to scroll and scroll to find an artist (if they are not onsite and using the image recognition capability)”


ArtClixArtClixCongratulationsCongratulations

Mobile – WINNER


Category: Category: Museum ProfessionalMuseum Professional


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•serve museum professionals and their requirements•administration, exhibitions, education, PR, registration, collections management, development•contribute to institution, or to museum profession as a whole•provide software, guidelines, templates and packages for museum professionals


Museum Professional


Winner:Winner:Museum AnalyticsMuseum Analytics

Designer: INTK (The Netherlands)Designer: INTK (The Netherlands)

http://www.museum-analytics.org/

Museum Professional – WINNER


“ … great because it points the way toward

transparency, toward the use of open audience benchmarking data, toward a more instantaneous appraisal of statistical tracking”

“ … this new tool is addressing a very

concrete need for museum professionals”

“This is a very nice idea, to aid the

monitoring of social media activity around heritage institutions”

“Perhaps they could add a statement about the

limits of the conclusions that can be drawn. Even with this said, it’s a fascinating site all the same.”

“As a research tool into comparative statistics, the problem is that the overall sample of museums is

incomplete. Of course, it could grow over time.”


Museum AnalyticsMuseum AnalyticsCongratulationsCongratulations

Museum Professional – WINNER


Category: Category: Research / Online Research / Online

CollectionCollection


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•support research on museum collections•provide resources for researchers from any discipline•content is accurate, deep, consistent, current•provide extensive links and references to other related resources and sites•creative use of APIs, mashups, integrations of multiple sources

First, we have an Honorable Mention …

Research / Online Collection


Honorable Mention:Honorable Mention:Museum Metadata ExchangeMuseum Metadata Exchange

Institution: Powerhouse MuseumInstitution: Powerhouse MuseumDesigner: In-houseDesigner: In-house

http://museumex.org/

Research / Online Collection – Honorable Mention

http://museumex.org/

“A monumental task, and overall a very useful mashup. Powerhouse’s staff is taking the

spaghetti model out of collection recollection and enabling researchers to uncover forgotten resources”

“I think we’ll see more sites like this – if funds allow – building the infrastructure to link digital public spaces together”

“It’s not glamorous or very flashy, but that’s the nature of the site: putting

digital infrastructure in place so that others can make use of it”

“The platform could use further development … more interaction, sharing, commenting, more visual presentation tools such as maps or timelines”


Museum Metadata ExchangeMuseum Metadata ExchangeCongratulationsCongratulations

Research / Online Collection – Honorable Mention


Research / Online Research / Online CollectionCollection



Winner:Winner:Collections at the MetCollections at the Met

Institution: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtInstitution: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtDesigner: In-house and CogappDesigner: In-house and Cogapp

http://metmuseum.org/collections

Research / Online Collection – WINNER

http://metmuseum.org/collections

“A superb addition to the Met’s web offering, the new

Collections section is full of surprises and deep, deep content that one can just get lost in”

“I want to spend hours browsing this collection online”

“The Who, What, When, Where structure is inherently understood with me, and I think this is stellar implementation of collection browsing”

“The look feels a bit old-fashioned and authoritative … does it need to look subdued and grey? Some

added color would only increase the elegance”


Collections at the MetCollections at the MetCongratulationsCongratulations

Research / Online Collection – WINNER


Category: Category: Social MediaSocial Media


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•use social media to engage & involve communities•coordinated strategy that evolves based on user needs•maintain voice and identity across platforms•robust online participation


Social Media


Winner:Winner:Kermadec Expedition BlogKermadec Expedition Blog

Institution: Auckland MuseumInstitution: Auckland MuseumDesigner: Zest Media LTDDesigner: Zest Media LTD

http://kermadec.aucklandmuseum.com/

Social Media – WINNER

http://kermadec.aucklandmuseum.com/

“Very nicely produced … capitalizes on the inherent interest in this grand adventure”

“Brings the progress and research to the audience directly and almost in real time. Blog posts, videos, and an agile Q & A interaction provided a

compelling and engaging chronicle of the expedition”

“Would have been helpful for me to have a listing of blog posts by category. For example, “New Discoveries”, “Daily Life Onboard”, etc. Would make the site more browsable, especially now that the expedition is over”


Kermadec Expedition BlogKermadec Expedition BlogCongratulationsCongratulations

Social Media – WINNER


Category: Category: SmallSmall


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•created in-house or with volunteer effort•mounted by small institutions (5 for fewer professional staff) •created with very limited budgets (sometimes no budget)


Small


Winner:Winner:It’s ElementalIt’s Elemental

Institution: Chemical Heritage FoundationInstitution: Chemical Heritage FoundationDesigner: The Berndt GroupDesigner: The Berndt Group

http://www.chemheritage.org/ElementalVideos

Small – WINNER

http://www.chemheritage.org/ElementalVideos

“Good work on a low budget!”

“… it’s student work, and there

is a lot of humor and

creativity in evidence”

“Oh my … is this a good site, or a site that

is so bad that it’s good?”

“… some of the videos are so

bookish and nerdy that I’m rooting for the heroic creators (to survive high school!) …”

“I’d like to have been able to browse to the more notable entries, and/or quickly get to the videos where it’s obvious that the students had fun”


It’s ElementalIt’s ElementalCongratulationsCongratulations

Small – WINNER


Category: Category: PeoplePeople’’s Choices Choice


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•each registrant at http://conference.archimuse.com may cast one vote


People’s Choice


Winner:Winner:Museum AnalyticsMuseum Analytics

Designer: INTK (The Netherlands)Designer: INTK (The Netherlands)


People’s Choice – WINNER


“… opens the door to audience tracking and content performance in a new way”


Museum AnalyticsMuseum AnalyticsCongratulationsCongratulations

People’s Choice – WINNER


Category: Category: BEST OVERALLBEST OVERALL


Characteristics include:Characteristics include:•together, the Panel chooses the "Best of the Web"•recognizes the outstanding nature of a site and its contribution•considerations: quality of content, ease of use, accessibility, stability•sites are not nominated for Best Overall, the choice is made by the Panel from among the sites nominated in all categories


Overall


Winner:Winner:Walker Art Center WebsiteWalker Art Center Website

Institution: Walker Art CenterInstitution: Walker Art CenterDesigner: In-houseDesigner: In-house


Best Overall – WINNER


“This points to a new model … getting

away from the ‘silo-ization’ and

myopia of your institution … a new way for museums to excel”

“… a real case of by the

community for the community”

“OMG! They built this in-house!”


Walker Art CenterWalker Art CenterCongratulationsCongratulations

Best Overall – WINNER


For Next Year…For Next Year…

Best of the Web – we want to reflect the CURRENT and BEST online presence

• Do we have the right categories?• Do we have the right criteria?• Is the process effective and appropriate?

We’d love to hear your suggestions


Challenges, revisitedChallenges, revisited

Corey Timpson, Canadian Museum of Human Rights


CongratulationsCongratulations

To all of the nominees, finalists, To all of the nominees, finalists, And award winners!And award winners!

Everyone: keep creating, keep innovating, and Everyone: keep creating, keep innovating, and submit more great sitessubmit more great sites next year! next year!

Technology

2012 MW BOW Ceremony final