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Judges Spotlight February 8, 2016

Webby Judges’ Home Screens: Which Apps Made The Cut?

Invented by Martin Cooper (above) in 1973, the marvel of the mobile phone broadened our ability to communicate with one another. Nowadays, the questions is what apps are you using and what are you using them for?

Like another app to update, the smartphone continues to connect us in more intricate and fine-tuned ways. From games, to streaming, to Internet browsing, social media, lifestyle and everything in-between, the smartphone contains multitudes of app possibilities (and, admittedly, distractions too).

Inspired by Betaworks’ homescreen.is, we reached out to a selection of our judges here at the Webby Awards and asked to see what their home screens looked like. As members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, they see the breadth of the mobile landscape, experiencing apps big and small. As industry leaders and technology-forward users which apps they use most can be seen as a mark of excellence. Did your favorites make the cut?

 

There's An App For That

Invented by Martin Cooper (above) in 1973, the marvel of the mobile phone broadened our ability to communicate with one another. Nowadays, the questions is what apps are you using and what are you using them for?

Piera Gelardi, Executive Creative Director at Refinery29

Piera has a hand in everything at NYC-based beauty and culture site Refinery29; from design, photo, video, production and styling.

Piera’s taste-making sensibility translates to her Webby judging as well as her home screen where we see a refreshing blend of business, tech, and lifestyle. From Snapchat, Spotify, This AM, Peach and Uber, Piera has a well-rounded pallet, the busy (46 missed calls!) creative that she is.

John Maeda, Partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers

As a TED speaker and respected public resource on Internet history and forthcomings, John Maeda is a professional on how to utilize the mobile landscape to maximize our personal needs and deepest passions. With a relatively pared down home screen, John’s focus on health (Kinsa, Mango Health), unimpeded travel (INRIX Traffic, Turo) and Sneakers (Slang) represent a preference for efficient if not under-praised apps.

Even with two similar utility apps—”I am big on calendars and always use two as I haven’t found the perfect one,” he told us—the decluttered home screen indicates measured restraint that’s impressive for any smartphone wielder, let alone someone as involved in the tech world as John.

Bruna Calheiros, UX/UI Designer at Estée Lauder

The Portuguese-born designer creates wonderful interfaces for the historic beauty brand and a glimpse at her home screen reveals that she makes the most of her commute. From the NextStop app which tracks Subway arrival times; to Swarm, which allows Bruna to check-in to NYC as a gamified landscape, rife with the opportunity to score points.

Speaking of checking-in, Bruna likewise gives precedence to Foursquare; stays in touch no matter where on the globe she is with WhatsApp; and manages her workflow with the productivity app TeuxDeux. Looking at Bruna’s home screen we see a cross-section of interactivity organized in one place.

Paul Murphy, CEO of TwoDots Studio

Paul’s TwoDots mobile game studio spawned the Webby Winning app of the same name as well as its predecessor—Dots.

TwoDots began in the Betaworks incubator, and, proud of his achievements and background, Paul gives credence to his work and where it all began on his home screen. On the flip side, he also keeps many utility apps that come pre-installed on iOS alongside Bloglovin’, Swarm and Alto’s Adventure. Worth noting as well—it looks like Paul’s keeping up on his Español too!

Jenny Fieldings, Managing Director at TechStars

She describes herself as a “problem solver drawing on a diverse background in law, finance, operations, business development, and venture capital”—notice the prominent, central location of the LinkedIn app on her home screen—and Jenny Fieldings sure stands by her word.

At TechStars, Jenny helps brilliant ideas get off the ground. Her work requires lots of travel, meeting with potential clients, staying on top of industry news and to be a leader for her staff. As such, her home screen is robust and populated with essential apps for her career: AirBnb, Slack, NYTimes and Hotel Tonight.

Making great Internet? Or a Mobile-First Master, perhaps? Share your home screen with us @TheWebbyAwards.com!

Don’t forget, the Extended Entry Deadline is January 27th, 2017Enter today!

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