I Won One of the American Web Design Awards and Here Is How

I always dreamed of getting one of the American web design awards. This is something that couldn’t leave me in a piece.

There are so many designers who are so cool, because they do some extra activities, like YouTube, Facebook, or design contests! I always wanted to become one of them.

This mission was impossible at the beginning of my career. I simply couldn’t imagine that I could enter some design contest to win some of the American web design awards.

My skills and knowledge weren’t enough for that. You also need to submit a live website in most cases. Being a UX/UI designer I couldn’t code. It was devastating.

And that was until now.

I found a way to resolve this problem with Webflow. This is an amazing tool if you can’t code. And here is where my design contest journey started.

How Everything Started

My first experience with Webflow was a challenge with one of the startups I worked with.

They needed to create a website within a few days without coding. As far as I was the only designer there, it was my responsibility.

New knowledge and experience are always valuable to me, so I decided why not? I will learn Webflow within a few days and create a website.

A few years ago I started to learn to code because I thought to make a switch to a Front End career or become a hybrid specialist.

I decided to stay in the design niche, but I got the basics of coding.

This is the only thing you need in Webflow. You need to understand the structure of the website and how programmers create sections.

That’s it.

So I started to build my very first Webflow website. I couldn’t say that it was fast.

I spent one week creating 3 pages of the website because it was a new tool, I had many questions, and there was no one near who could answer.

But this is something really cool because you learn everything on your own. Until you understand everything, you can’t move on.

Yes, I am a big fan of self-education.

Luckily, I was successful and my first Webflow website was done.

I was surprised by how convenient this tool is for designers. There is no need to code everything because you kinda work with elements of the website.

This is similar to any builder on WordPress, but you get control of your design.

I’ve had so many issues with WordPress. I couldn’t go beyond the edges, my elements need to be aligned only inside the block.

With Webflow, I felt amazing. It’s a mix of Figma and WordPress for me. I can design what I want. I can re-create it in the Webflow in a pixel-perfect way and I can add animations. It was amazing.

This experience inspired me to create my own websites and start participating in design contests.

My Expectations vs. Reality

I decided to update my personal website and submit it to Awwwards. From my previous article, you can learn how hard I was working on it.

Many hours were dedicated to the content, visual style, and identity. Unfortunately, I didn’t win any of the American web design awards.

I expected to win something. But I miss the most important part of my research. If you want to win a design contest, you can’t send your mid-level work.

You need to create something outstanding in order to be considered for American web design awards.

This is where my expectations broke. I got pretty nice votes on my first entry, but I didn’t win anything. It’s pity.

This is why I decided that my second try will be a way higher level of design with some innovation.

I researched the platform and checked what kind of designs are frequent winners.

From my research, I can say that interactive elements, animation, and big typography are the go-to design methods for almost all winners.

Once I understood the general strategy, I started to design my second entry.

Apart from that, I also decided to check other design platforms. I like CSS Design Awards and submitted my new website there. My second platform was Awwwards as well.

This time I didn’t expect anything. I just planned to practice my Webflow design skills and boost my creativity to a new level.

Yes, it would be great to win something, but I didn’t concentrate on that.

If you want to win American web design awards, you need to be patient. Awwwards takes 2 weeks to get votes, and the CSS Design Award is around 1 week.

All you need to do once you submit your website is to wait and see your results.

I was waiting and how I was surprised when I received an email from CSS Design Awards that I won a secondary prize. It was SPECIAL KUDOS!

If you’re curious, here is my design entry.

Special Kudos is one of the American Web Design Awards from CSS Design Awards.

It means that people liked your entry and judges voted no lower than 6.5. Yes, it’s not WOTD or WOTM, but this is a nice start to my design awards journey.

What Are My Next Steps?

I am very inspired by my results. The only downside of a design contest is that you need to pay for them. If they were free, I believe I would participate in each of them.

My current plan is to participate in one design contest per month.

For example, I have submitted my latest work for Indigo Design Award. This is another place where you can win one of the American web design awards.

You might be wondering why I am participating in design contests and paying for them. Or why do I pay but not win?

To be honest, if you pay for a contest, you can’t expect anything. Literally, don’t expect to win anything. It’s in the judge’s power to decide whether your submission is worth any of the American web design awards.

But there is a huge benefit from design contests. You can gain unique experience, grow as a designer, stay up-to-date with current trends and build your personal brand.

All these factors are the major reasons why I will continue my journey to win even more design contests.

And you know what? People are paying thousands of dollars for design contests. For example, Sati Taschiba spends this impressive amount of money on her design submissions. She won many design awards.

The reason she does such an incredible activity is that she is building a case for her EB-1 case study.

Besides, I think you’d agree with me that winning some of the American Web Design Awards is already a cool thing.

So I plan to continue my journey and see how it goes.

I started my design career as a regular designer and didn’t even expect to do such an activity.

Today, I am a designer, speaker, writer, and mentor. Design contests are a new experience for me and I hope to win one of the American web design awards one day.

Final Thoughts

Participating in design contests is an amazing activity for your career. It gives you a chance to create outstanding products.

When you work at your 9–5 job, you might feel bored because of the tasks you do again and again.

Design contests can become your opportunity to not only win the American web design awards but also your self-improvement.

All of my extra activities, besides my 9–5 job bring me amazing results, and I hope that design contests will be productive as well.