Winners Runner Ups Finalists View All Entries Judges Rules

Lynda Weinman

Lynda Weinman, a Web graphics and design veteran, wrote the very first industry book on Web design, Designing Web Graphics, in 1995. She is a prominent educator and the author of dozens of best-selling books. Weinman was a faculty member at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, in 1989, and has worked as an animator and motion graphics director in the film special effects industry.

Weinman has worked as a consultant for Adobe, Macromedia, and Microsoft, and has conducted workshops at Disney, Microsoft, Adobe, and Macromedia. She has been a keynote speaker, moderator, and lecturer at numerous design, animation, Web design, and computer-graphics conferences. Weinman and her husband Bruce Heavin co-founded lynda.com, a training company with headquarters in Ventura, CA, in 1995. She co-founded the Flashforward Conference and Film Festival, the largest Adobe Flash? conference in the world, in 2000.

Gail Anne Grosso

"The truth is at the heart of all that moves us."

Gail Anne Grosso's philosophy has guided her work in all aspects of marketing communications across a broad spectrum of practice areas. As a creative director in both advertising and public relations, she has found success by seeking to understand the real relationship a person has with a product, issue or experience and then crafting messages that are provocative, meaningful and engaging.

"Understanding the person you are talking to, whether you are selling a position in Washington, a product in Wisconsin or a business plan to Wall Street is key to making the communication effective."

"We must fit into the world of our audience; we cannot ask them to fit into ours. We may wish people thought of peanut brittle, Medicare funding or corporate responsibility all day, the reality is they are thinking about how they're going to get their work done, see their children and get a couple of glimpses of the game. We need to find the right way into their consciousnesses."

Grosso has created award winning advertising campaigns at agencies such as Publicis where she was President and Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi (Group Creative Director), Young & Rubicam (Creative Director), and for such diverse clients as VoiceStream, L'eggs, Johnson & Johnson, Clearasil, Vicks Formula 44, Acura, among many.

Since joining Edelman, she has worked on creating strategic and creative platforms that have lead to integrated executions for Walmart, the American Heart Association, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Grammies, the French Champagne Industry, Columbia University, Kaiser-Permanente, Lower Manhattan, the American Association of Railroads, the Biotechnology Organization, the American Red Cross, Starbucks and Monsanto to name several.

Grosso holds a BA from McGill University where she was honored as a University Scholar, and MA in English and is ABD for the PhD in English from Stonybrook, N.Y. where she was named a University Fellow for distinguished achievement.

She loves films, is a yoga student, a skier, a swimmer, a spinner and always up for a heated debate.

Rick Valicenti

Rick Valicenti is the founder and design director of Thirst, a communication design firm devoted to art, function and real human presence. Rick was recently awarded the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) Medal in 2006 for his sustained contribution to design excellence and development of the profession.This medal is the highest honor in the graphic design profession.

Rick is a member of AGI(Alliance Graphique Internationale)and was awarded the 2004 AIGA Chicago Chapter Fellow. A 356-page monograph on the Thirst work was published by the Monacelli Press in 2004 titled Emotion as Promotion.

His works are included in the permanent collection of The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the 2006 Triennial, Design Life Now. His Clients include Fox River / Gilbert Papers, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Holly Hunt, Herman Miller, Smithfiled Properties, to name a few.

Rick Valicenti provides inspiration to his colleagues and mentorship to a generation of students. For the past decade, Rick has lent his time and energies to college and high school students in the form
of workshops, personal critiques, on the design industry.

James Bennett

James Gordon Bennett has been involved with the marriage of design and technology for well over a decade.

He currently holds the Chair position for the Web Design department and is the Coordinator of the Graduate Program at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa, Florida. He is the author of Design Fundamentals for New Media; a textbook that is used at colleges across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His second textbook, Exploring Web Technologies for Designers will be released in the summer of 2007.

As an educator he has taught at the University of South Florida and The International Academy of Design and Technology. He has also served as a curriculum consultant and content expert for several colleges in the United States.

In the area of technology, James is a full partner in 3cg, Inc. (a Web design firm with a business presence in Tampa, Florida and Denver, Colorado that specializes in sites for the entertainment and professional sports industries.)