Announcing the winners of the Shorthand Awards

At the end of last year we asked for nominations for our very first Shorthand awards, recognising just some of the fantastic work done in 2016.

We received more than 100 entries for the awards, which were shortlisted and the finalists for the first three categories were then reviewed by a panel of digital industry experts, to select a winner for each category.

The judges included:

- Catalina Albeanu, international editor, Journalism.co.uk
- Sarah Singer, director of editorial innovation, Mic
- Konrad Spilva, CEO, Isobar Australia & New Zealand
- Sharron Lovell, visual journalist, podcaster & lecturer
- Kat Thomas, founder and global executive creative director, One Green Bean

The shortlist included work by the BBC, Fairfax Media, WWF, WaterAid and many more. And picking a winner for each category was tough.

But the results are now in.

The judges praised this story for the way it "employs mixed media effectively."

"Still images, gifs, video and interactive animations all contribute to a wholistic and rich understanding of how an earthquake shaped a region.

"The deliberate use of each media to unlock a key component of the story made it a standout article. Specifically, the scroll over functionality, which caused a fissure in the road."

The judges commented on the way the narrative "made powerful imagery the centerpiece of the story".

"Without reading any words, a user would deduce the narrative journey of the story from solely the images. And this is an impressive feat."

They added:"The visuals are strong and used with purpose from start to finish, and the visually striking 'supply' and 'demand' images immediately hook you into the story.

"Selective editing and real consideration for user experience is critical for successful long-form multimedia stories. Black Gold clearly put a lot of work into this."

Judges praised the the way the story combined "powerful visuals with great copy in a clean and effective package".

"The timestamps on each section keeps the story anchored in the hours following the disaster, while the overall narrative offers context and arresting accounts of human endurance."

The Shorthand team judging this category was struck by the powerful introduction to the narrative, which combines heartbreaking narrative with powerful photography of the family.

"The story continues to engage the reader with a well-structured narrative, context-rich interactives and compelling video backgrounds, that truly makes the most of the visual format".

"Mercy Corps' 'Driven by Love' is one of the most powerful Shorthand stories we’ve come across. It uses the unique features of Shorthand to kindle emotion and communicate statistics in a beautiful way. It also looks fantastic on mobile."

The members of the Shorthand team judging this category were moved by Wales Online's story to mark the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, and as a result have awarded it a special mention.

They congratulate Wales Online on an emotive, sensitive and powerful reflection on the events of 21 October 1966.

"The story puts a spotlight on the voices of survivors and witnesses, with effective use of visual storytelling techniques that delivers an in-depth account of the disaster that is both compelling but respectful".

Each and every story deserves recognition, so while there can only be one winner for each category, here’s to all of you for driving innovation and excellence in digital storytelling.

We plan to push the boundaries even further in 2017, and hope you’ll join us in that mission.