Woodpile Studios Makes One Giant Leap to the Webbys
Washington DC area Firm Wins a National Webby for It’s Educational Interactive NASA Home & City Web Experience—NASA.gov/City.

VIENNA, VA – MAY 4, 2010 — Woodpile Studios, Inc., a Northern VA-based woman-owned graphic design firm has won this year’s 14th Annual Webby Award in the Government Category for its interactive online feature, NASA Home and NASA City. In collaboration with the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) and exceedingly talented strategic interactive and development partners, Woodpile Studios concepted and developed this interactive experience for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Public Outreach Department. The objective of this effort was to provide and entertaining and accessible tool for educating the nation on how the global public benefits extensively through critical scientific breakthroughs, technological advancements and product innovation which resulting either directly, or in part, through NASA research and development conducted for space exploration.

Pete Buttecali, Co-Owner/Creative Director of Woodpile Studios and NASA Home & City architect, is grateful for the award. “It is very exciting for all of us involved in this project to be recognized for our group’s efforts. We credit a great deal of the success of this project to the leadership and vision of the NASA Headquarters Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Communications Office. With NASA and NIA support and guidance, both the design and development team were able to meet the challenges of creating a site that is both educational and entertaining for users of all ages. The site was subsequently repurposed for use in a display in the National Air & Space Museum as well as traveling exhibits across the US which allow guests to interface with it using a Nintendo Wii-Mote.”

Woodpile Studios was honored at the June 14th, 2010 ceremony in New York City, hosted by B.J. Novak of NBC’s The Office. On June 15th, fans were able to watch the ceremony, including Woodpile's five-word speech, at the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel. A full list of both Webby Awards and People's Voice Awards winners can be found by clicking here.

Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Martha Stewart, R/GA's Chief Bob Greenberg, David Bowie, Arianna Huffington and Twitter's Biz Stone. "The Webby Awards honors the very best of the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. "Woodpile’s achievement is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators." The 14th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states. other nominees in the Government category included AirForce.com, NASA.gov, 2010Census.gov and FireDepartment.org The 14th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states.