The 1st Annual
OMW Awards
A year ago today, I posted 5 interviews with 5 amazing people. Then, one thing led to another and I ended up posting 72 more. It has been an incredible year, during which I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, and would have seen a grown man naked were it not for some conveniently placed vellum. I honestly couldn’t have done it without a single one of you, whether you’ve been interviewed on the site, shared the site, or just read the site – Thank you!
It seems only right to celebrate some of the people who have helped me along the way – Some of the people who have provided great insights into their world, great jokes, great pictures, great stories, or simply those who have been great. But since I love all of the interviews, it was a pretty tough call to decide on the very best. So I called in a few friends to help me make the decision. The panel consisted of Dan Gneiding, Matt Chase, Simon Ålander, Matt Braun, Seth Nickerson, and, well, me. This crack team of design gurus chose the best interviewees in a few different categories, based on a shortlist drawn up by yours truly. Read on to discover the best quote, check out the most awesome workspace photo, and see whose interview will be crowned Interview of the Year…
Longest Interview: Mikey Burton
This one was really no contest. Mikey spent over 30 minutes on Skype to me, revealing all about his love for self-initiated projects, his style, and how he got into design. All of that translated into a whopping 2,769 words. And since it was over Skype, I had to got the great opportunity to transcribe all of those words!
Runners-up: Mackey Saturday, Ryan Hamrick
Most Referrals from Search: Claire Coullon
Nobody quite knows how or why Claire directs so much search traffic to my site. Some say her parents embedded <meta> tags directly into her DNA. Some say her middle names are “Make Money Quick Online Lose Belly Fat”. Some say she’s just a fantastic designer who a lot of people want to know more about. Personally, I’m going with the third option.
Runners-up: Ryan Brinkerhoff, Ross Moody
Most Referrals from Personal Website: Simon Collison
Back in September of 2011, Simon wrote a lovely little piece about his interview on One Minute With. Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who thought it was lovely, and lots of people flocked to the site to read more of Simon’s writing. I don’t think they will have been disappointed.
Runners-up: James T. Edmondson, Simon Ålander
Most Popular Interview: Kamil Khadeyev
The day I posted this interview, I knew it’d be a popular one – It picked up momentum on Twitter very fast, and still gets lots of visits every week. I won’t reveal exactly how many pageviews Kamil’s interview has received, but I can tell you that it is more than the About page for this site has received. I guess people like awesome Russian icon designers. Who knew?
Runners-up: Luke Beard, Simon Collison
Best Photo of Workspace: Seb Lester
This vote was so close to unanimous it’s not even funny. Apparently people don’t want clean, minimal workspaces with 27″ iMacs and beautiful posters, they want honest, rough-and-ready workspaces that actually represent the life of a designer. Because let’s be honest: There does not exist a single designer whose workspace isn’t a little bit messy.
Runners-up: Darren Booth, Claire Coullon
Best Photo of Self: James T. Edmondson
Um… yeah. I ask every interviewee for a picture of themselves for the post, because, y’know, I think it helps to get to know the person in question. I think we might have gotten to know James a little too well.
Runners-up: Matt Chase, Evan Huwa
Best Advice: Simon Collison
This is Simon’s second big win in these awards, and boy does he deserve it. His advice for designers is not only immensely quotable, it rings incredibly true, and, well, it’s just great advice. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is not the same old advice that we see everywhere, but a whole load of unique tips from a man at the top of his game.
Runners-Up: Ryan Clark, Aaron Draplin
Best Quote: Matt Chase
“We stay up late to draw pictures of bears and letters and logos for things that only exist in our heads. Regular people don’t do that. Regular people sleep. How many accountants do you know who go home and crunch numbers in their spare time? The answer to that question is zero.”
In just a few sentences, Matt managed to sum up everything that is great about design – We do it because we love it. And it’s also a factually correct quote, as verified by Dan Gneiding: “My dad is an accountant. It’s true, they don’t crunch numbers in their spare time. They drink beer and go fishing.” So there you have it. True, funny, and factually correct. Who could ask for more?
Runners-up: Brandon Rike, Seb Lester
Best Answer: Ricky Linn – A Formal Education in Design
In his answer, Ricky provided a fantastic breakdown of the pros and cons of getting a formal education in design, giving a sincere, honest answer, with a whole load of great analysis that will ring true for years to come. An answer well-worthy of the award.
Runners-up: Dan Gneiding – Lettering vs. Typography, Matt Braun – A Typical Day
Best Interview: Greg Christman
What’s the perfect recipe for a great interview? Awesome design work? Check. Hilarious answers? Check. Excellent advice? Check. An answer that is only one word long? Check. Greg’s interview has it all, so it’s easy to see why people chose it as their favourite. It is worth noting, however, that every single nominee in this category got at least one vote, but Greg got two – Easily the most hotly contested award around. Well done Greg!
Runners-up: Dan Gneiding, Aaron Draplin, Matt Chase, Ricky Linn
So there we have it – Your winners for the 2011-12 season of OMW. Tune in next year to see who will get gold in the 2nd Annual One Minute With Awards. But in the mean time, do come back here regularly, because, as proven today, there are some pretty good interviews floating around.
