Party Pixel: Looks a very busy site right from the off. A lot going on here. At a bit of a disadvantage, because I couldn’t always understand what things were about or what was going on. The menu is easy to use, but kind of hidden there, since it’s surrounded by so many other things. I liked the rollover effect though, that was a nice touch.
White Web Works: Plus points for putting a Skip button on the intro. A very simple looking design, quite artistic. However some of the text, mainly that ‘close window’ font is mostly unreadable. Sometimes the anti aliasing goes a bit weird too. Nice, does exactly what it says on the tin, but doesn’t leap out and grab you.
Storm Front: Immediately I like this. It’s clean, fairly simple design, but it gets your attention. I loved that banner along the top, it goes great with the name. Plus the colours blend in together nicely. Everything is neatly laid out and you can find what you want quickly. No heavy loading times either. Plenty of small little features to the side to look through as well. Really good work and a very strong contender.
Audiobulb: Looks nice, very minimalist but it works. Not much in the way of Flash though, only the menu seems to to really use it. Speaking of which, it’s a bit difficult to see those buttons. I tried hovering over the text and the rest of the image before I realised the fact that there was a small switch there. However, the lightbulb effect was a good indication that you had actually rolled over the right bit.
Blaine In The Box: Hehe, very topical. Nicely done though, I like the cartoon style. The menu is obvious, you can’t really get lost browsing through this. I did have trouble sometimes though - occasionally I would click on a button and nothing happened. News did this a lot, as did About. Layout is good.
Advgroup: Lots of loading going on there, it took a good minute even on my broadband. Even inside, you have to wait for the sections to load. Branding especially, the individual projects took an eternity. Looks good though, a nice, bright, creative design. The upper menu is easy to use, but the crosses for items in the sectinos are a bit awkward sometimes. It’s a very small area for someone to click on. Good work on the transitions etc once you click.
Sixtailer: Oooo, nice little preloader there (and the writing paintbrush was cool too). Lovely little pixel block coloured logo as well. Once it opens fully, it looks amazing. The mostly white / neutral tones of the background make the coloured sections stand out so well. The images are great, very good choice. As for the pen that you could pick up and draw with… Pointless toy, but so much fun. Beautiful site.
Virtual Agency: No matter how many times I see it, I still love this kind of colour scheme. It just works. Cute little preloaders, I liked them. Makes a change from a loading bar. I’m heavily reminded of 2A with what’s going on, though this site does look different. I really like it, I have to say. Everything’s clear and the nav is no nonsense. The graphic work is top notch. If it weren’t for Sixtailer, this would have been number one for me.
Sunny Mangat: For a start, try reading the rules. I couldn’t find any Flash here whatsoever. In fact, all I could find was a splash page with one email link. Not SotW material at all.
Muthesius: Kind of bizarre, but actually this appeals to me. The moving menu boxes could present problems to users, but you’ve got the static version along the top which is thoughtful. It was another very very good looking site. Everything worked great and the white. Black and red colours stand out exceptionally well. No large loading times, despite the amount of information. In another week, this site would also be a worthy winner.
