Given the amount of websites still cluttering up the place with flashing pop-ups, rainbow text in Comic Sans and hit counters boasting 000139 visitors (rising to 000142 when you return six months later) this new competition from Freelance Switch can’t come soon enough.

The challenge was to take an outdated 90s website and bring it into the 21st century, a bit like the classic Oatmeal cartoon in reverse. OK, so the site in question, Mario’s Catering, is fictional, but it’s an attitude to be encouraged!

Here’s the original design. Very outdated but it could have been a lot worse, couldn’t it?

Why is the navigation so user-friendly? What’s that apostrophe doing in the right place? Where’s the unneccessary quotation marks? What’s that clear call to action doing there? Where’s the pixelated stomach-turning images of pizza? What’s with the clean white background that makes the text so easy to read? And where’s the Bontempi organ music with no visible off button?

I suspect it was put together by a skilled designer who just couldn’t bear to commit such crimes.

The winning redesign (above), from Lindsey Grande, offered a much more modern feel through use of textures and enticing images of the food that would be served up in Mario’s restaurant. ‘It’s clear Lindsey took the time to make sure every aspect of the design was polished to perfection,’ said the judging panel.

Second-placed entry SEVENTY7 (above) focused on typeface and illustration, and I also liked the clean, contemporary feel offered by third-placed Stephiking. Plus I’d give her extra marks for creating new content that complemented the design.

You can see the winning designs on the Freelance Switch website and in the FreelanceSwitch Flickr group.

What are the old-fashioned elements of web design that make you cringe? I say let’s ban clip art and animated gifs. Come on, who’s with me?