And the Winners Are…

Quark VS InDesign.com announces the winners of simultaneous design competitions celebrating InDesign and QuarkXPress.

Announcing the Winners of the…

Logo: Celebrate QuarkXPress Postcard Design Competition and Celebrate InDesign Postcard Design Competition

On 11 April 2005 Quark VS InDesign.com, The Authority for News and Opinion on the War Between Desktop Publishing Giants QuarkXPress® and Adobe® InDesign®, announced twin design contests in celebration of InDesign and QuarkXPress. In that announcement was a $10,000 prize chest to be divided amongst six winners. Within hours additional announcements had to be made when the total prizes increased to first $14,000 then $15,500 with the entire desktop publishing support industry showing its support for the contests, the design community, and QuarkXPress and InDesign.

While Quark VS InDesign.com and the industry honored its affinity and passion for two of the graphic communications industries’ greatest powerhouse tools, the design competitions were truly about providing a vehicle for Quark and InDesign users to express their passions. And express they did.

Though with an open forum for extolling the virtues of two tools that have so vehemently polarized a dozen industries and with such a valuable prize chest, we had anticipated a greater number of entries, particularly in the QuarkXPress contest, we did receive some amazing examples of graphic design.

Postcards were chosen as the format for both contests, which presented two distinct challenges to entrants:

First, the small space constrained the amount of copy that could be employed to describe the layout application or its features. In a postcard advertisement, which would arrive in a mailbox amidst a hail of bills and advertisements, the use of compelling visuals was essential—even more so when advertising the tools of visual production. That constrained the space available for copy, forcing designers to weigh the value of each word against the space it would occupy.

Second, because a postcard is double-sided and one can never predict which side will greet a viewer, both sides had to be equally engaging. And, rather than all-or-nothing design possible with one-page publication advertisements, entrants were forced to create a story and visual identity that traversed the flip and unified the front and back of each postcard.

I was impressed with the way each design met these challenges and with the unique vision each designer brought to the same topics, particularly in the Celebrate InDesign Postcard Competitionwhere we received so many more entries. Each entry displayed talent, dedication to the crafts of design and illustration, and, most of all, passion for their subjects. I truly wish I could give all the entrants a share of the prizes. But, through long and difficult evaluation, of all the amazing designs submitted to the twin competitions, it is the six designs below that best exemplify creative originality, attention to structural detail, good typography and use of space, and, most importantly, a passionate celebration of their respective subject matter.

With great pleasure, I present the winners of the Quark VS InDesign.com Celebrate InDesign Postcard Competition.

1st Place

Migrate 1st Place

Migrate
Jeremy Schultz
Jeremy Schultz Artist
W DesMoines, IA
See both sides of “Migrate” at full-size and read the interview with Jeremy.

1st Runner-Up

Fly with InDesignCS 1st Runner-Up

Fly with InDesignCS
Bonnie Wetzel

Windsor, CT
See both sides of “Fly with InDesignCS” at full-size and read the interview with Bonnie.

2nd Runner-Up

Daisies 2nd Runner-Up

Daisies
Vadim Litvak
easternBLOCK Design
SF, CA
See both sides of “Daisies” at full-size and read the interview with Vadim.

And, with equally great pleasure, I present the winners of the Quark VS InDesign.com Celebrate QuarkXPress Postcard Competition.

1st Place

QuarkMan Delivers 1st Place

QuarkMan Delivers
Matt Bargell
Rodderboy LLC
Sterling, CO
See both sides of “QuarkMan Delivers” at full-size and read the interview with Matt.

1st Runner-Up

Redefining Layout 1st Runner-Up

Redefining Layout
Michael Piperno
Imbue Creative
New Hope, PA
See both sides of “Redefining Layout” at full-size and read the interview with Michael.

2nd Runner-Up

Definition 2nd Runner-Up

Definition
Stephen Cheslik
Casper Star Tribune
Casper, WY
See both sides of “Definition” at full-size and read the interview with Stephen.

Prizes – First Place

Jeremy Schultz, First Place Winner in the Celebrate InDesign Postcard Contest will receive as his prizes:

Prizes – First Place

Matt Bargell, First Place Winner in the Celebrate QuarkXPress Postcard Contest will receive as his prizes (which he will donate to Sterling, Colo.’s Northeastern Junior College and Sterling High School):

Prizes – 1st Runner-Up

Bonnie Wetzel, 1st Runner-Up in the Celebrate InDesign Postcard Contest will receive as her prizes:

  • 2 Copies of InDesign CS2 from Adobe
  • InDesign CS2 Product Expert Support Contract (1 year) from Adobe
  • 4-Disc Set of David Blatner’s InDesign CS videos from Software Cinema
  • 1-Year Subscription to InDesign Magazine
  • Choice of Text Count or History plug-in by DTP Tools
  • Overset Manager plug-in by SoftCare
  • Notes Manager plug-in by SoftCare
  • Commercial Press Template of choice by StockLayouts

Prizes – 1st Runner-Up

Michael Piperno, 1st Runner-Up in the Celebrate QuarkXPress Postcard Contest will receive as his prizes:

  • QuarkXPress 6.5 by Quark
  • 1-Year Print Subscription to X-Ray Magazine
  • X-Ray Magazine T-shirt
  • FlightCheck Studio (Mac only) by Markzware
  • Spellbound with Webster’s Dictionary xtension by Compusense
  • Choice of MIF Filter or Text Count xtension by DTP Tools
  • ProPack xtension by Gluon
  • Commercial Press Template of choice by StockLayouts

Prizes – 2nd Runner-Up

Vadim Litvak, 2nd Runner-Up in the Celebrate InDesign Postcard Contest will receive as his prizes:

Prizes – 2nd Runner-Up

Stephen Cheslik, 2nd Runner-Up in the Celebrate QuarkXPress Postcard Contest will receive as his prizes:

  • QuarkXPress 6.5 by Quark
  • 1-Year Print Subscription to X-Ray Magazine
  • X-Ray Magazine T-shirt
  • 1-Month Stock Photography Subscription to AbsolutVision
  • explainIT xtension (Mac only) by Alef
  • ProPack xtension by Gluon
  • Commercial Press Template of choice by StockLayouts

Congratulations to the winners, Jeremy, Matt, Bonnie, Michael, Vadim, and Stephen! Enjoy your booty!

Thank You

On behalf of myself, Quark VS InDesign.com, and the generous companies and individuals furnishings prizes for these two contests, I would like to thank every one of the creative professionals who celebrated QuarkXPress or InDesign by entering these competitions. Your designs were intriguing, impressive, and extraordinary. And your passions for QuarkXPress and InDesign are inspiring.

Thank you once again to those individuals who helped make these contests fun and exciting: Christy Siebler, Samuel John Klein, Cyndie Shaffstall, Michael Taylor, 65bit, AbsolutVision, Adobe, ALAP, Alef, Compusense, DTP Tools, eQuatrix, Extensis, Gluon, InDesign Magazine, Markzware, Meadows Publishing, Quark, RogueSheep, SoftCare, Sterling Ledet & Associates, StockLayouts, Techno Design, Total Training, Vision’s Edge, and X-Ray Magazine.

Sincerely,

Pariah S. Burke

Editor-In-Chief