5th Web Awards: A mix of old and new

The 5th Philippine Web Awards came and went quickly this year with some old favorites reclaiming their places as top websites and new players finding recognition in the country’s only awarding event for Web design and development.

Held at the Dusit Hotel, a smaller venue in comparison to last year’s event that took place at the Meralco Theater, the 5th Web Awards had a native and nationalistic motif. Despite the new venue, the event was well-attended.

Winners from years past that found themselves on centerstage once more included www.unionbankph.com for the Banking and Finance category; iconic music webzine PhilMusic.com for the Music category; Lakbay.net for Travel; and Lopez Museum for the Arts category. Philmusic also took home the People’s Choice Award.

The new Web awardees included the anime-comic-inspired KuborKikiam.com for Weird and Humor; e-zine Generationrice.com for News and Zines; and namria.gov.ph, the official website of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, for Government. (For a full listing of winners, log on to www.philippinewebawards.com).

The Web development and design industry is recognized as one of the key areas where local artists and designers can compete head-on in the international market. Many practitioners in this area feel that support for the industry is lacking.

Some developers feel that there should be other events, contests and activities to further generate interest in the community. Others believe there is a lot of talent that has not yet been recognized and one yearly event with the same companies and websites competing against each other may not be enough to expose the growing number of independent developers and design firms.

Local Web designers are known for their effective and colorful designs that are comparable to the best in the United States and Europe. Western influences and popular culture have also enabled local designers to avoid being ethnocentric in their designs, which makes their work saleable in foreign markets. This is an advantage over Indian and Chinese developers whose designs reflect a lot about their ethnicity.