An Awwwards Young Jury member reviews numerous site submissions and notices many technically perfect but soulless websites. A quiet Chennai night frames an evening spent evaluating work against creative and technological standards. Jury responsibilities include finding projects that inspire and push boundaries. Many portfolios feature flawless execution—clean layouts, smooth animations, precise grids, and modern frameworks—but still feel forgettable. Conversely, imperfect designs that incorporate tactile interaction and narrative can generate emotional engagement. An interactive story about a local artisan produced a tangible sense of clay spinning under the cursor, proving that authenticity can give a site soul.
The Chennai night was quiet. I finally cleared my evening to dive into this month's submissions. Being part of the Awwwards Young Jury is less a job and more a responsibility, a chance to help define what "excellent" even means on the web today. We're tasked with finding and elevating the work that inspires, the work that pushes the boundaries of creativity and technology.
The first site was... nice. A clean, responsive portfolio for a designer. Smooth fade-in animations. A perfect 16px grid. It was built flawlessly with React. It was also completely, utterly forgettable. I made my notes and moved on. The next one was different. It was a bit clumsy. The grid was unconventional. But it was an interactive story about a local artisan, and as I scrolled, the pottery actually formed under my cursor.
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