Announcing the winners of “XMAS 2.0”

Guys and Gals – it’s time to crown the final winners of 2009 (yes, Zodiac Zoo ends in 2010, mr. anal). First off, we’d like to apologise for the one-day delay, although if you’ve been following our progress, the delays have shortened over the course of our 18 month existence.

8 contests in 18 months. Wow… and the time between them gets shorter as well. XMAS 2.0 had a rushed birth due to the awareness we now have of when we need to start selling Christmas Cards. Designers had barely a month to submit designs this time around, and honestly, we have no idea how they managed to do what they did.

As usual, you guys were the judge of that, and here… are your results.

5. funkiness – Even If (Prize: US$100)

Number 5 in two contests in a row is funkiness, a relatively new designer to Foldees from Romania who has hit immediate success in her first two contests. Her style reminds us of cardboard arts n craft that we used to do back in high school, and it’s put to excellent use here in this card that shows you don’t need a chimney for Santa to swing by and visit :)

4. Dientes – Merry Crisismas (Prize: US$100)

We’d like to think that after all this time, we’re getting pretty good at spotting our winners. This card was one of the first that we received for this contest, and we had a feeling that we’d soon have to figure out how to send money to Argentina :)

The card itself has a very South American feel, with a cigar-chomping industrialist Santa covering up the state of the the economy. Paired with a truly unique angular style and its milkdly political theme, the card is quite different from anything we’ve ever received before.

We likey.

3. salchipunk – The Christmas Computer Virus (Prize: US$300)

We have a confession. When he first submitted his new design, we gave feedback thinking that the card was perhaps a bit too wordy for our tastes. However, as usual, our feedback is (usually) optional, except for breach of themes or technical/grammatical errors.

Sure enough, Mauricio a.k.a. salchipunk stuck to his guns, and here’s the result. For once, you’ll be more than happy to see a virus. Heck, if you’re on the naughty list, you probably planted it there in the first place. As it is, he’s in third.

Welcome back to the podium, Mauricio!

2. leighdoll – I Won’t Get Lost (Prize: US$600)

Goshdarnit. We *almost* had a new winner again. It’s always a good thrill to know that new designers stand just as much of a chance as old ones, and just like in pretty much every contest before, we get a few surprise winners.

Another luminary from the Philippines (like noelevz!), her card is already selling briskly at retail, once again, with an update just to make sure Santa doesn’t get lost. While it’s not the only card that uses the GPS as a gimmick, the image of a little girl placing her hopes on new technology is just something that makes our iPhones feel all warm and fuzzy.

Welcome aboard, leighdoll!

1. Kokuzo – Santa Delivery Service (Prize: US$1000)

Yup. Franz Liu has become the first ever double winner on Foldees.com. To be honest, if you played around with the vectors on this design, you’ll realise just how staggeringly detailed it is, and how excited we are about where Franz’s career will go from here.

It’s also kind of nice to see that despite the modern theme, Santa seems to be using a good ol fashioned map to find his houses. It’s this kind of detail that has shattered our so far perfect record of new winners each and every time.

And it’s this kind of detail that we absolutely love, and convinces us that our ratings system is awesome.

PS: Franz has mentioned before that he only gets his girlfriend to vote for him, and we believe him.

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Once again, THANK YOU to all of you who participated in XMAS 2.0!

Even if you didn’t win, don’t forget to check out your Royalties page for card purchases. If you want a better chance at making that happen, don’t forget to pop our widget over on your blog/website, and ensure that your profile is up to date! Also, make sure you let your fans know about our Store Locations page, so they have a chance to buy some Christmas cards if they’re in a rush :)

In the meantime, do of course check out our newest contest, Zodiac Zoo! You have about 30 days more to submit your designs, so hurry!

Didn’t think the contest was fair? Let us know by participating in our Foldees Official Designer Survey 2009! It’s your chance to vote on the outcome of future contests, so don’t miss this chance!