mesonprojekt Wins Unique CSS Design Honors

Posted: 1 October 2009

My heart pounds as I write this post. It is probably going to take me weeks to get over this. Words fail me at this moment. This is a brief outline of the whole story. But first a little background information about Unique CSS.

About Unique CSS and the competition

Unique CSS is a CSS gallery featuring some of the most unique, functional CSS designs on the Web. However, two major differences set it apart from other CSS galleries on the Web. The most important one being that while other galleries are updated with new designs almost daily, UniqueCSS only features six every month.

Every month, they recieve hundreds of entries from talented designers from all corners of the world: North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc. A panel of judges then selects six finalists for the month. The finalists' entries are then thrown open to public voting. The entry with highest rating at the end of the month wins.

The second difference between Unique CSS and the rest is that (at the time of writing this) Unique CSS is the only gallery that offers cash prizes to designers. That's right, the monthly winner recieves $25 by PayPal. So apart from a month's bragging rights, there's also a cash prize. Truly unique!

Back To The Story

After I was done putting the finishing touches to this website somewhere around August 2009, I submitted the site to a number of design galleries. Unique CSS was one of them. I hadn't heard of Unique CSS before this happened. I thought it was just another gallery.

Sometime around 1 September 2009, I recieved an email from the Unique CSS team, which I would like to quote below:
"I wanted to personally congratulate you on behalf of the Unique CSS team. Our judges only select 6 design finalists each month, and your site is one of them! This recognition testifies to your creativity and ingenuity." ... "you may want to encourage friends and clients to cast their vote. Remember, the design with the highest ranking at the end of the month wins $25!"

No one will imagine how happy I was that day! I immediately posted the news to Twitter and Facebook, asking people to vote for me. The competition was rather tough, I must say, so I needed all the votes I could get. The other five finalists were spectacular in their own right. I especially liked the illustrative/whimsical Hua Zhong Wen, and the ubercool portfolio of Jarad Johnson.

In the end, it was me who walked away with the honors. At the end of September I amassed a total of 79 votes with an average of 4.56 out of 5. The news came out via an Unique CSS news announcement on 1 October 2009. This is what they said about me:

"mesonprojekt has a managed to create a vintage retro grunge look, while maintaining a clean execution of the content throughout. We look forward to seeing more from Karl in the future. Well done!"

I was over the moon! Later in the evening, I recieved an email from the Unique CSS team that read:
"Congratulations on behalf of the Unique CSS team! The votes are in, and your design has been selected as the winner for September. Your website will be featured on UniqueCSS.com in our 'Past Winners' archive. We will also be sending you $25 via Paypal. Please provide us with a valid Paypal address so we can send along your prize."

Within the next hour, I had recieved the $25 in my PayPal account. With all the excitement, it honestly felt like $25,000. But it was never about the money. It was about the fame and the respect; and the self-satisfaction that comes with living your dream. I won't forget that feeling for a long time.

Acknowledgements

I have to say I'm truly blessed to have so many friends and fans who voted for me throughout the course of the month. I was in the lead from start to finish. I'm really touched. This goes out to all my friends, family, classmates, fans and clients. A profound thank-you for your love and concern, and for your votes.

And finally to the Unique CSS team, for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show my talent. You made all of this possible. All I can say is thank you! God bless you all and keep up the good work! Cheers!

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