16th AIMIA Awards Finalists

Best Advertising or Marketing

Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero; Soap Creative & OMD - JOHNSON’S® Baby: 50 years of No More Tears Publicis Digital & Virgin Mobile - Virgin Mobile Members' Lounge 26000 Vodka - Resn Resn & Krafthaus Films - JAG Black Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Lynx Primate Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Party Across The Internet

Best Children's

BMF Advertising & Commonwealth Bank - Pi | Create Your Own Cool Milk Digital & Learning Links - Counting For Life Sputnik Agency - Origin | EnergyForce Vishus Productions; Katalyst Interactive & ABC Children’s Multiplatform - The Figaro Pho website Roar Film & The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy - Budd:e E-security Education Package

Best Classifieds, News, Media or Reference

ABC Innovation - Black Saturday CommSec - CommSec Video Updates Moon Communications Group - BresicWhitney Estate Agents Website SBS Online; SBS News and Current Affairs & Different - SBS Dateline Wotnews - TeamStream

Best Cross-Platform

Holler & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry | 6 Beers of Separation Mobile Online Business & Sculpute by the Sea - Sculpture by the Sea: PC, Mobile & AR Experience Publicis Digital & Virgin Mobile - Virgin Mobile Members' Lounge Soap Creative, Universal McCann & Unilever | Lynx - Lynx Primate Tourism Queensland & Sapient NitroTourism Queensland | Best Job in the World

Best Cultural or Lifestyle

ABC Innovation - Gallipoli: The First Day Monkii - Melbourne Fringe Festival 2009 Website National Museum of Australia & Roar Film - European voyages interactive RedBubble - RedBubble Salted Herring & Splore - Splore

Best Enterprise

August & Origin Energy - Origin Energy 'Brand Central' Flash Group & Global Corporate Challenge - Global Corporate Challenge 2009 Moon Communications Group - BresicWhitney Estate Agents Website Viocorp International - Viocast Viocorp International - Viostream

Best Entertainment

FOXTEL Active; Emuse & Fox8 - Australia's Next Top Model 'Game On' FOXTEL; Lowe Sydney & Publicis Media - I am unIQue Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds Resn - Shapeshifter Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever | Lynx - Party Across The Internet The Wiggles & The Farm - Wiggle Time Wotnews - We Are Hunted

Best Export Achievement

Adrenalin Media & FortisWMS - Adrenalin Media - FortisWMS AURA Interactive - AURA Interactive DDX.COM.AU - GLU Platform Traction – Massmedia Studios Soap Creative - Soap Creative

Best Financial Service

BMF Advertising & Commonwealth Bank: Pi - Create Your Own Cool InvestSMART Financial Services; Fairfax Digital: InvestSMART Free Portfolio Manager Macquarie Bank - Macquarie Edge: The new way of online trading Sputnik Agency - Frank Health Insurance The White Agency & Commonwealth Bank - Commbank Website

Best Integration with an Offline Campaign

Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever:Lynx - Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete Visual Jazz - Jenny Craig: Magda's Journey

Best Learning & Education

ABC Commercial & Pascal Press - ABC Reading Eggs ABC Innovation - Gallipoli: The First Day Change 2 & 2and2 - Change 2 Liquid Interactive; Liquid Animation & Social Skills Training Institute, a division of Triple P International Pty Ltd - Secret Agent Society Game TigerSpike & The University of Western Sydney - The Vaughan Supremacy

Best Mobile Advertising or Marketing

AURA Interactive & Mediaedge: cia - Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen Telstra Corporation - Mum 2.0 Digital Makeover QR code and .mobi site Visual Jazz; & Defence Force Recruiting - Defencejobs Games: Supreme Air Combat iPhone Free Facebook - Vodafone Hutchison Australia Webling Interactive - Tic Tac Shake & Share

Best Mobile Product or Service

ABC - ABC Mobile iPhone App ABC - ABC Mobile Site (m.abc.net.au) AURA Interactive - AURA BlueZone network Coastalwatch, mogeneration & Hurley - Hurley Coastalwatch iPhone App CommSec - CommSec iPhone Sensis & DWS Consultingm - Yellow Pages® iPhone Application VHA - 3 mobile & Front Foot Media Solutions - 3 mobile content portal - iPhone & Android

Best Non-profit or Government

BCM Partnership - Share My Story Circul8; MeTTro; The Inspire Agency & Greenpeace International - Greenpeace Action-Pact Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero & MS Society - MS Sydney to the Gong Fundraising Online The Live Local Foundation & Digital Eskimo - Live Local Website the white agency - DrinkWise Visual Jazz & Defence Force Recruiting - Ocean Recon

Best Retail

Adrenalin Media - Proactiv Amblique & SUPRÉ - SUPRÉ MYER & DTDigital - MYER Profero; Axe Group & Adactus - Pizza Hut - Online Ordering Website Reactive - Jeanswest Visual Jazz - Holden.com.au Visual Jazz - Mecca Cosmetica

Best Science, Health or Environment

Change2 & 2and2m - Change2 Circul8; MeTTro; The Inspire Agency & Greenpeace International - Greenpeace Action-Pact Digital Eskimo & Live Local Foundation - Live Local Website Flash Group & Global Corporate Challenge - Global Corporate Challenge 2009 ABC Science Online & CSIRO - Big Aussie Star Hunt

Best Sport

Costal Watch; mogeneration & Hurley - Hurley Coastalwatch iPhone app m.Net Corporation Limited & Premier Media Group - Foxsports Mobile Site Soap Creative; Universal McCann & Unilever: Lynx - Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete TigerSpike &Telstra - Official AFL: Finals 09 iPhone App WeAreDigital. - Carlton natural blonde: Match Centre2009

Best Student Project

Kara Bombell, Joel Caban, Jian Long, Jochen Spencer & Abbey Z - Traps Online Institute for Interactive Media and Learning, MIMM, University of Technology Sydney - dboard Luke Milkovic - Piano Jungle Master of Interactive Multimedia; Institute for Interactive Media & Learning (IML) & University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) - Strine.net.au University of Technology Sydney & Institute for Interactive Media and Learning - SoapBox Project

Best Tourism or Travel

Daemon Group &Tourism New South Wales - Tourism NSW 7 Days in Sydney Social Media Campaign Microsoft Australia, Amnesia & Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet Store Proof of Concept Tourism Queensland & Sapient Nitro - Tourism Queensland - Best Job in the World Visual Jazz - Jetstar Photo Competition Visual Jazz; Media Contacts & Projekta - Tourism Northern Territory 'Mix it Up'

Best Use of Social Media

Cadbury; Saatchi & Saatchi; DDX & GLU Platform - Cadbury Eyebrow Me! Application Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs Naked Communications & Frank PR - Ask Richard Profero - The Sims 3 Ultimate Aussie Fan Competition RedBubble - RedBubble Tourism Queensland & Sapient Nitro - Tourism Queensland: Best Job in the World

Best Video

ABC Innovation - Black Saturday Deepend, Unilever Australasia & DDB Sydney - Continental Free Cup Campaign Holler Sydney & BMF - Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds SBS Sport & SBS Online - TdF 09 Telstra Media; C4; Chief Entertainment & Sportsdata - BigPond Sport Game Analyser

Effectiveness Award

Droga5 & Future Buro - Right Music Wrongs News.com.au - News.com.au InstaBudget Pusher - Samboy is Back Soap Creative - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Soap Creative & LG - LG Autobot Stronghold Wunderman Sydney & Microsoft - Ten Grand is Buried Here

Advertisement

Web form is often the main communication channel between visitors and site owners. Feedback is always important which is why it’s necessary to make sure that web forms are easy to understand and intuitive to use. Nevertheless, even in form design one can afford some healthy portion of creativity.

Web forms don’t have to be boring and, using CSS or Flash, you can easily make sure that they are appealing and effective. To get noticed, you need to come up with something unique and interesting — symbols, icons, colors, position or the size of web form are often used to achieve interesting design solutions. We’ve searched for some examples and we’ve found them. Creative, original and unusual web forms.

Below we present over 40 (really) beautiful examples of web forms as well as modern solutions and creative ideas related to web form design. Some of the examples are Flash-based; however, in most cases you can easily create similar designs with pure CSS and (X)HTML.

Also consider our previous article

• CSS-Based Forms: Modern Solutions which lists modern solutions for CSS-based form design.

1. Clean, Simple and Beautiful Solutions

Since web form is probably one of the most important sections on the web-site, it’s necessary for you as a designer to make sure that visitors can easily understand what information they need to fill into the form fields. Complex and long web forms increase the cognitive load for users — they are just harder to deal with. In this context, preferring simple and clean solutions seems like a sound approach. However, if the form was designed with an attention to details and looks good, it’s also reasonable to use some attractive imagery in the forms.

Softmail’s newsletter-box comes from Brazil and displays an excellent integration of the message-icon into the form design. The submit-button is clear and attractive. This is a creative design.

Swfir also uses an envelope as a metaphor.

Handwriting in use on Katrin Wegmann’s site. Attractive, eye-catching and playful design which perfectly manages to convey its function to the users.

TheWatchMakerProject impresses with a nice and unusual design. The form is placed at the right hand side of the latest comments.

Frexy.com with a nice and clean solution.

Flingmedia uses a sliding contact form. Depending on the visitor’s intention (general comment, new project request etc.), user can slide to a web form which addresses his/her interests.

Envero.org — the web form is huge and fills the whole layout width. The font-size and the size of input fields are chosen accordingly.

2. Creative solutions

Although web-forms are supposed to enable users to get in touch with site owners, quite often designers risk creative solutions and offer layouts visitors wouldn’t actually expect from a boring, standard web form they’ve used to over years. Many different metaphors are used. Here is an overview of some interesting ones.

Created201.com takes a look at the contact form from a quite different perspective. The effect is created using Flash.

Ok, this is really different. If you’d like to get in touch with Edward Pistachio, you’ll need to solve a puzzle first. This approach isn’t applicable for blogs or business web-sites. However, it perfectly fits to the concept of the site. The visitors are amazed.

Chemistry Recruitments uses a folder, stick-it-notes and few sheet of paper.

Alexandru Cohaniuc presents a huge web form with a sketch and a stamp.

Tony Yoo’s contact form shows the contact details on the left hand side. No happy talk, just getting to the point. And some designers need an extra-page for contact details!

Qwert City enables users to send the designer a “postcard”…

… so did Wildvuur.com (currently offline) — the web form was perfectly integrated into the site layout.

BubblesSOC has a ribbon on the top of a large, laaarge, really laaaaarge web form.

3. Use illustrations to brighten up the form

When a user clicked on the link which leads to a web form, he or she is one step away of getting in touch with site owners. Some designers try to make sure visitors actually fill in the form by using attractive characters and illustrations which serve the purpose of making users feel more comfortable with the form.

Intuitive Designs tries to impress visitors with a busy mailman. Doesn’t he actually have enough to do?

X-Grafik.sk with a mail stamp from Slovakia.

Kgoule.com has a friendly buddy who invites visitors to post a comment.

Dressfordialogue.com (the design is different now) uses a tiny illustration at the top right of the form. Nevertheless, it works. Sometimes a tiny detail is enough.

4. Integrate more functions

Searching for creative web forms, we’ve observed some new functionalities which haven’t been that popular last year. Among them are WYSIWIG-editors and sliders. Editors are used to provide users with rich text-editing for text formatting, different header levels and images. A slider can be used to define the budget limits for a given project.

InfectedFX has a rather complex web form with hints, options and buttons. The form integrates a WYSIWIG-editor into the textarea.

Sidebarcreative.com offers a a slider potential clients can use to limit the project budget.

5. Use icons to communicate required information

From the usability point of view, there is nothing more painful than a long web form with plain-text labels and without any visual indicators. Such forms are boring, unattractive and uncomfortable to use. You can design web forms better. In fact, not much is required. Often icons are used to visually indicate the information required from the user to fill the form.

DesignDisease Wordpress Theme uses simply symbols to indicate the required information.

Bouctoubou.com has very basic and simple symbols. However, they manage to make the form more interesting.

6. Hand-writing and grunge in use

We’ve already written about the popularity of hand-drawing and grunge in modern web design. Such design elements are also being used in web forms as they are always unique and convey the personality of the designer. Particularly Flash-based solutions prefer this approach.

Redblu is presented as a sheet of newspaper. To get to the contact form you need to drag the newspaper accordingly.

Fivecentstand offers a Flash-based solution which is seamlessly integrated in the overall site design. It might be difficult for new users to find the form, though.

Pointofe.com with a web form presented as a stick-it-note. The font-size should probably be increased.

Swiths.com with a vintage design. The hover-effect is provided as well.

7. Experimental solutions

Below you’ll find an overview of some unusual solutions which can serve as a starting point for your further design. Not all of them might look good, but they have something and you may want to improve the ideas further.

Adorama.com offers a nice-looking and compact solution: a newsletter-box in the sidebar.

Different language — different style. On Booloob.com the submit-button is placed on the left hand side of the form.

Paregonta.com: cubism meets minimalism. Colorful yet extremely compact form which uses little space. This is a contact form.

Sunmatecushions.com with a really different style which somehow fits in the design.

Well, why not? Wallpaper for the textarea on GeekAndHype.com.

Revota.com is dark and shady, but uses a light hover-effect to display the current field.

Catydesign is also dark. The form impresses with a clever placement of the hints.

Designorati.com: this comment form is hard to overlook.

MyMileMarker: the web form gone in width. Sometimes horizontal approach is more useful than the standard vertical approach.

Jaroslav Cerný shows how to combine an e-mail with a web form. The form isn’t online any longer, but it’s definitely worth mentioning.

Xyarea.be: unusual and original. This is probably the thinnest newsletter box in the world.

Further Resources

• Blog Comment Forms
  A growing collection of examples of blog comments forms by Christian Watson.