Best Album Art Cover

Janelle Monáe’s The Electric Lady

There is an enormous amount of talent in album covers this year. It was ultimately hard to choose one that felt unique and timeless. The Electric Lady illustrated by Sam Spratt showcases the cyborg elements that connects well with the overall sci-fi music vibe. What is most remarkable is the attention to detail to the lighting and shadow effects that make it photorealistic considering the references were photos of different angles of her.

Best Product Design

Nest Protect

I find Nest to be an underrated company when it comes to product design. With corporate giants like Apple’s Mac Pro and Sony’s Playstation 4, there is little room of finding a niche design in an unappreciated market. The nest protect is exactly what every home needs and built into a elegant and simple design that does what it needs to — save your life.

Best Video Game Art Cover

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

This year in video game art covers disappointing to say the least. This probably due to the next generation consoles came out just a few months ago. Ubisoft’s Far Cry series struck gold with Fry Cry 3 last December which expanded to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. There is a “It’s so bad it’s good” approach. The use of neon purple-ish pink and Tron art style fits the outrages story of the title. None-the-less, The dinosaur makes it badass.

Best App Design

Duolingo

Apple’s app of the year is also my best design of the year. Not only is it free and features no ads, it is hands down, the best language learning tool. The simple UI as it guides you down their branches, it is very simple to learn the correct word of the language. Doesn’t hurt that I love their logo of the green owl that brings character as he guides you through the experience.

Best Web Design

RedRain

Another day, another amazing website has been developed. RedRain created by Rain is a beautiful crafted online portfolio and I will admit that I am a sucker for the trendy parallax designs. What seperates from the rest is wonderful color palette that creates a memorable experience. The subtle animations in Rain’s portfolio gives it another depth that brings the imagery to life and is certainly inspirational.

Best Message in Advertising Design

Stop Texting and Driving

Often I feel the marketing direction of messages fail miserably when it comes to preventing accidents, but not this ad. The surprisingly easy readability on a billboard sign speaks volumes on why texting while driving is harmful and hopefully has saved life in the process.

Best Magazine Cover Design

Bloomberg Businessweek

Say what you want about the healthcare website, but the incorporation of combining digital UI with print works extremely well since print is often described as “dying medium”. The Designer Richard Turley features simplistic designs gets the message across effortlessly.

Best Logo

Mall of America

I am disappointed in this years new logos. Nothing felt like it was raising the bar or innovating. But, what I did like was Mall of America logo designed by Duffy & Partners. The assortment of colors is beautiful and intelligently placed together and a solid typeface as well.

Best Redesign

iOS 7

Whether you love it or hate it, the design of iOS7 took the design industry by storm. Out with the skephorism in with flat design. I could go on about why flat design is perfect for iOS, and know it’s been done before, But I will also acknowledge that it is not perfect. The inconsistency of UI and content is often confusing as well as certain gestures are left for the user to figure out on their own. It’s bold, it’s colorful, (Even though why Jony Ive allows the ugly grey color in spots) and it will only improve in the future.

Best Movie Poster

Gravity

Not revolutionary by any means, could it be better? Of course, but it captures the essence of what Gravity is about.