STC Toronto Web Site Design Contest
	The purpose of the contest is to find a new design for the STC Toronto Web site. We are looking for a look and feel, not code, so HTML programming skills are not required.
	Contest rules · Judging criteria · Prizes · Judging procedure  · Submission requirements

• The contest is open to all members in good standing of the Toronto and Southwestern Ontario chapters of the STC except for the secretary and Web committee of the STC Toronto chapter and members of the judging panel.
• Entrants may be individuals or teams.
• Entrants may submit multiple entries.
• Each entry must demonstrate the following:
• The appearance and structure of three different pages on the site--the home page and two other pages. The two additional pages should demonstrate what a user might see when drilling down through the site.
• The navigational strategy for the site.
• Each page must include the STC Toronto logo and the STC logo. The STC Toronto logo can be the logo currently displayed on the chapter’s Web site or a logo created to accompany the design. The requirements for each logo are:
• The STC Toronto logo must contain the chapter name: STC Toronto.
• The STC logo can appear as part of the STC Toronto logo (the current situation) or it can appear separately. Use of the STC logo must conform to the guidelines published in the document Guidelines for Use of the STC Logo And Logotype. For a copy of the STC logo, log into the STC Web site, navigate to any of the pages available from the STC Members menu, click stc logo in the navigation pane and download a colour copy.
• Page content can be actual or dummy text. We've put together a selection of sample pages that mimic actual content on our site. Feel free to use the content from any or all of those pages in your design. You'll find tham at http://www.publishingsmarter.com or download them here. If you prefer to use dummy text, the following Web site can help: http://www.lipsum.com
• The overall design should accommodate the content of the current STC Toronto Web site.
• The design should not be predicated on the use of frames.
• The design should be viewable at a resolution of 1024 by 768.

The winning entry must demonstrate the following qualities:

• It has good page structure.
• It has a pleasing, professional and uncluttered appearance.
• It adheres, as much as possible, to usability standards.

  See the Links page on our Web site for a list of sites that discuss usability standards.

• It is easy to use and navigate.
• It meets the Webmaster’s criteria for ease of maintenance.

  >>> The Webmaster’s position is voluntary and, hence, the Webmaster may have limited time for site maintenance. We need a design that minimizes maintenance requirements.

We will award three prizes:

• First prize: $500.00 cash and an award certificate**
• Second prize: $200.00 cash and an award certificate
• Third prize: $100.00 cash and an award certificate

Prizes will be awarded on a per entry basis and will be presented at the time the winners are announced. Certificates will be presented at the chapter’s annual awards ceremony.

** We reserve the right to modify the design to meet the requirements of the chapter as determined by the STC Toronto executive committee.

We want to make the judging as unbiased as possible; therefore we’re making the judging blind. The chapter’s secretary will handle all registrations and submissions, and will assign a identifier to each entry. This ID is the only identifier that will be associated with the entry until after the winners have been selected.

The actual judging will take place as follow:

1. The chapter’s Web committee will review each entry to determine whether it meets their criteria for ease of maintenance.
2. A judging panel will then select the best entries from among the entries received, taking into account the Web committee’s comments. The secretary will notify the owners of the selected entries by February 1, 2007.
3. The selected entries will be presented to the membership at the February 2007 STC Toronto chapter meeting. They will also be posted on the chapter’s Web site so members not at the meeting can review them.

   >>> We will invite a member of the STC Toronto executive committee to present these entries (again, to ensure the anonymity of the designers) so the completeness and quality of your entry will help to ensure that your design is presented well.

4. Following the meeting, chapter members will be invited to vote electronically for the best design from among the short listed entries. Voting will close February 23, 2007.
5. The judging panel will tabulate the results of the vote and, if necessary, break any ties for the winning entries.
6. The winners will be notified by February 28, 2007.

We will be asking for volunteers to become members of the judging panel.

• Entrants must register their intention to compete by sending an email to by November 30, 2006. ^NEW! Include the following information in the message:
• The names, email addresses and STC membership numbers of the members of the design team
• The name of the main contact person on the team
• Entries must be emailed to by January 1, 2007. The entry may be submitted in any of the following file formats: PDF, JPG, PNG, HTML, PowerPoint or OpenOffice Draw/Impress.
• The necessary components of an entry are:
• A graphical representation, in storyboard format, of each page of the design showing, clearly, how the pages would appear in a Web browser.

  >>> Try to include the colour codes (pantone or RGB) for each colour used in your design, if possible.

• A narrative discussing the rationale for the design and describing the navigational strategy and any additional features not apparent in the representation.

>>> We recommend that you do not include anything in the actual design or narrative that could identify you. This will help us ensure that the judging is unbiased.

** All entries become the property of the STC Toronto chapter.