Web design competitions too focused on flashy sites

Sherpa!'s interactive team recently got recognized a bunch of times by the Horizon Interactive Media Awards. We have never submitted ourselves to one of these competitions before, but after a client asking us why we didn't have any awards like our competition we decided to invest the time to do so.

As this was a competition that showcased "the best web site design, cd-roms, dvds, video, kiosks, video games and other interactive media" (read -- Flash)
we really weren't expecting to win anything. We were tickled that we did. Out of the 6 entries we submitted, we got 5 awards. I still think the 6th site deserved something.

Judges come from all over the world, so the competition really is global in scope. The judges focused on the following:

• solution creativity
• overall graphic design / apperance / user experience
• communication of message
• technical merit
• effectiveness of solution

Knowing this information, we have to start questioning some of the Best in Shows. Take one of the gold winners in ecommerce/sales. Just go to the site and give us your impression. Is this considered gold material? We know this site took a long time and required a team of very talented interactive designers. We appreciate that! But, did the end result make for a more usable, engaging experience? Or was it a bunch of flashy graphics actively laid out? Was it worth the $50,000-$75,000 that someone paid for it?

Tell us what you think!