PALO ALTO, April 8, 2011 — Punchcut principal and executive creative director Jared Benson was invited to judge Communication Arts 2011 Interactive Annual, showcasing the year's best in digital design. As one might imagine, the gathering of judges and work presented a great opportunity to step back and evaluate our industry today and where it's going.

Overall, we were pleased to see a class of designs that were more focused on people than features, and interfaces that were more interested in supporting conversations in meaningful, natural ways than the years before them.

A few highlights from this year's winners:

National 9/11 Memorial Interactive Timeline // "A fascinating look into the moment-by-moment events and artifacts of 9/11. Simple and focused, yet engaging." —Jared Benson

Sometimes, what makes an interactive experience compelling what it chooses to leave out. Where so many designs loose focus, we believe in the Goldilocks experience because it takes into account what the users want.

NPR Music // "A good example of a clear and effective interface that doesn’t upstage the content." —Jared Benson

To that end, we tell our clients to fight "feature addiction." Examples like NPR Music and Instapaper show that sometimes the best interface is nearly no interface at all. Refuse features for feature's sake and you're likely to find more loyal adopters.

LEGO Photo // "Simple, fun, on-brand and a great attention to sound and motion details." —Jared Benson

Expedition Titanic // "I love sites that take common interaction conventions, like scrolling, and utilize them to deliver a unique experience that aligns closely with the subject matter." —Jared Benson

Blu Dot: The Real Good Experiment // "A creative use of sensors to deliver a compelling product story." —Jared Benson

Yes, I Am Precious // "A marriage of real-world sensors and online experience. Whimsical and engaging." —Jared Benson

Best Buy Movie Mode // "A great example of the creative use of mobile to challenge social norms and deliver unique value to a familiar medium. It created one more reason to go see the movie." —Jared Benson