The site uses a little more image as type than I expected, but its beautiful none-the-less. I was also hoping to see a nice web entry form, but the PDF is well designed as well.

Also, I’m not sure if you noticed it or not, but just in case, I’d like to point out that the em’s are in Georgia. I thought that that was a really neat touch.

The Judges page focuses on giving us information regarding the judges (and the merits that give them the right to judge). The number and order of Judges, however, is completely irrelevant. A design will not change based on whether there are three judges or four. A design may change based upon that judge’s field of expertise and background information. For instance, if one judge worked as a usability consultant for a design firm, I’d make damn sure that my design had thought out usability. This is why the unordered lists on these two pages is unnecessary.

One could argue that that it is to keep the pages more uniformed, but I do not believe that negates the fact that order is irrelevant.

As you mentioned, the ordered lists on the inner pages are styled fantastically but they are quite unnecessary. The information being displayed is not a set of instructions nor does it rely on being in a specific order, therefore using ordered lists once again only adds another layer of confusion.

@Kevin: I disagree, the content fits well in the format of lists. You have a list of meta information about the competition, a list of steps to enter, a list of judges and so on. While it’s somewhat petty to argue semantics I find it to be a well executed metaphor.

As for the actual design, I’m in love. The color scheme is brilliant. As you said, the contrast between the pink and the black elements certainly make a statement. When considering the type, I cannot help but to consider the target audience. I must once again offer the opinion that information should be straightforward; the due date on the homepage is anything but. If this design was used on a personal weblog or something similar, this would be understandable. However, when designing it is instrumental to remember your audience. This stems from usability.

As you mentioned, the ordered lists on the inner pages are styled fantastically but they are quite unnecessary. The information being displayed is not a set of instructions nor does it rely on being in a specific order, therefore using ordered lists once again only adds another layer of confusion.

The flash animations are unobtrusive and add a level of personality to the site. As I said, I find the euphemistic content to be annoying, however the author obviously does not and thus the designs make sense. I am not a fan of flash except for very rare cases, and this is one of them.

If we ignore the site’s purpose and audience and focus solely on the design, it is a wonderful piece of work in terms of both aesthetics and typography. When we consider the purpose and audience, though, it is clear that usability was not given enough consideration when the site was designed.