Smithsonian magazine Annual Photo Contests


* Visual Design
* Information Architecture
* Custom CMS
* Logo Design
* Animation
* Polling System

- HTML/CSS, PHP, MySQL, CMS, Flash




Our initial project with the Smithsonian magazine was to design, architect and build a full-featured photography contest management system and front-end / public contest entry website.


The custom CMS:
The solution we provided was a custom PHP & MySql -based system. Because we did not use a 'boxed' system, we were afforded the opportunity to design and architect a CMS tailored exactly for the Smithsonian magazine's needs. After our discovery phase with the editors, we learned how they work and how they felt the contest process should run. We combined it with our own expertise in usability and went to work.

We built the system so each editor had their own account. Within the accounts, editors could save entries, dismiss and disqualify entries, search etries and reorganize entries. Editors could also add and edit keywords and captions.

Once the contest submission period was over, the editors sifted through the 20-30,000 entries and compiled their lists. All the saved entries from each editor was pulled into a 'Super-user' account which is populated by the editors' edited lists. It is from within the Super User account that the finalists from all categories, and overall winner, are determined.

It is noteworthy to add that the editors' were so surprised and astonished by the ease in which the CMS worked, and how comfortable they felt in the environment, they dubbed our CMS "The Cool Tool".


The public website:
After we designed the contest logotype, we moved into designing the site. We created a simple architecture and overall structure designed for users to easily enter the contest. Certain precautions were built into the system to avoid multiple entries and other actions that violated contest rules.

Starting with the 2nd Annual Contest, and continuing with the 3rd and the 4th, we designed and built the site as a stand-alone website. Starting with the 5th Annual Contest, we then incorporated the website into the Smithsonian magazine's main website & CMS.