New Vision Resource Website Wins Major Award

    TARPON SPRINGS, FL, May 30, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The new vision resource eyes.com, launched last year by a nationwide affiliation of prominent ophthalmologists, received a Platinum Hermes Creative Award for overall website design and content.

The Hermes Creative Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). It is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the creation of both traditional and emerging media. The award is judged by AMCP members, mostly local professionals in the Arlington, Texas area, who, according to AMCP, have experience with projects similar to those they judge.

"I instantly liked the design," said James P. Gills, founder of St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute. "It's not just pretty, it's elegant. I was also proud to put my name on the content, which is thoroughly researched, well-written, and beautifully laid out."

Eyes.com is a comprehensive guide to eye health and vision correction. The website includes instructional videos and interactive features designed to communicate vital information on a variety of subjects, including eye surgery, diseases and conditions of the eye, eye anatomy, eye safety, and a number of useful "how-to" pages. The site also includes an interactive map that helps visitors locate member practices near them. The design also incorporates a number of features to improve its readability, including easy text enlargement, and even contrast change buttons that allow visitors to read black text on a white background or white text on a black background.

Eyes.com was designed by Page 1 Solutions, an Internet marketing firm in Colorado that specializes in ophthalmology websites. "When we were given the eyes.com project, I saw it was an opportunity to do something more than our typical website," said Account Manager Ashley Martin. "Eyes.com is a great domain, and with great domains come great responsibility, so I wanted to make a website that would be well-designed, easy to navigate and a valuable resource to consumers. We are honored to have won this award."

Since its launch in December 2009, eyes.com has received over 20,000 visits, with people seeking information on eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration, eye anatomy, how to locate a doctor, and how to choose a LASIK surgeon.

The Hermes Creative Award judges web sites on web content, design, and usability, but there are no formal standards. Instead, the judges discuss the entries informally, then assign numerical values to their subjective judgments. As far as the specific standards of the award, AMCP states that "Judges base their decisions on learned perceptions of creative excellence."

According to AMCP, "Each entry is judged against itself and not against other entries," and there is no attempt to rank individual winners. Instead, every entry that is given a rating of 90-100 by the judges receives a Platinum Award, entries receiving a rating of 80-89, a Gold Award, and those receiving ratings of 70-79 receive an Honorable Mention. In the Website Overall category there were 36 Platinum Award winners this year.

About James P. Gills

James P. Gills is one of the world's foremost experts in cataract surgery. He was the first ophthalmologist in the United States to dedicate his practice to the treatment of cataracts using intraocular lens implants. He has performed more cataract and lens implant surgeries than anyone else in the world. He is also responsible for many innovations that have improved the standard of care for cataract and other eye surgery, including: no-stitch cataract surgery, no-needle anesthesia, intraocular antibiotics and intraocular anesthesia.
About St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute

St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute was founded by Dr. James P. Gills. It is one of the world's leading ophthalmology practices, with five locations, including its headquarters in Tarpon Springs. The Tarpon Springs facility is nearly 80,000 square feet of clinic and ambulatory surgical center. The surgical center, licensed by the State of Florida and certified by Medicare, has six operating rooms and a 12-bed recovery room.

St. Luke's offers many services to patients in the St. Petersburg & Orlando areas, including:

- Cataract surgery
- LASIK
- Eyeglasses and contact lens prescriptions
- Treatment of retina diseases and conditions
- Cosmetic surgery and skin rejuvenation

To learn more about St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute, please visit http://www.stlukeslasik.com/.

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