We are very excited to bring you the finalists of the SXSW Interactive Awards. All finalists are projects that were launched or completely redesigned in 2011, with the exception of the Classic category. The winners in each category will be revealed at the 15th Annual SXSW Interactive Awards Ceremony presented by HP on Tuesday evening, March 13 at the Hilton Austin Downtown.

We'd like to extend a huge thanks to those who participated, and to the judges who chose our finalists.

Activism

Green, governmental and non-profit projects that are striving to make the world a better place.

31K Portraits for Peace
Highrise: One Millionth Tower
Made in a Free World - Slavery Footprint
Starved for Attention
YouCanGo!
The Activism category is presented by Convio.

Amusement

Humor, memes, games, interesting projects and all the stuff that is weird for the sake of weird.

High Tea
Jameson1780
LEGO Life of George
World's Biggest Pac Man
zOMT

Art

From traditional photography to non-traditional performances, this category focuses on interactive collections of life, society and culture.

(2015) Quilt
Aquatypes
Bla Bla
Curious Creatures
The National Parks Project Interactive

Business

Devoted to the promotional needs, functions and services of for-profit businesses.

DentsuNetwork.com
Diesel Denim F/W 2011
IWC
Nike Team Sports
Screw*D

Classic

While the SXSW Interactive Awards focus on the best new digital experiences, this category is devoted to projects that launched before January 1, 2011.

Expedition Titanic
Nike+ GPS
NoWait Host App
Red Universe
XFINITY TV
The Classic category is presented by Hoefler & Frere-Jones.

Community

Social networks and wikis that have quickly developed an extraordinarily active multi-user community and an exceptional following of users who assist with content development.

Big Stories, Small Towns
Cities of Service Online Network
Getaround
Trover
Tumblecloud

Educational Resource

From elementary school learning to advanced technology-related tips, these are digital projects that help you learn.

Dragon Children
Journey to the Exoplanets
Projeqt
Vocabulary.com
Wondermind

Experimental

These are cutting-edge and trend-setting works that are pushing the envelope and challenging our perceptions of the what’s possible.

Course Curator
Americans Elect
The Social Interview
Soldier Brother
Take This Lollipop

Film/TV

Projects related to actors, television, films and the film industry, as well as works that offer streaming video content.

Forget Me Not
Goa Hippy Tribe
The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch
Hashtag Killer
Kenny Powers, MFCEO

Motion Graphics

Animations, cartoons, and other intriguing works built using tools like Adobe Flash and HTML5.

Androp "Bell" Music Video Game
Lights
Smack My Pidge Up
U.S. Navy Blue Angels
Vlog.it

Music

Projects related to musicians, bands, and the music industry, as well online radio and other developments that offer streaming audio content.

Manchester Orchestra - "We Built This House"
Obsessed With Sound
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Sasquatch Music Festival Lineup 2011
This Shell

Personal

The blogs, portfolios, pet projects and personal collections of individuals who are displaying their work and passions in the digital space.

ChairTrips
Dean West
Janée Meadows Illustration
Joshua Cogan
Life Sushi

Social Media

Users and campaigns that are creatively connecting and sharing their experience.

KLM Tile & Inspire
Know Your Exit
Nike Basketball Black Mamba
Stamped
Storify

Student

This category is devoted exclusively to the student designers who are refreshing this industry with new talent and new ideas.

Coal: A Love Story
Digital Flux
Finding the Uwharries
Prescribing Addiction
StoryTree

Technical Achievement

These are the projects that are re-inventing and re-defining the technical parameters of our online experience.

Eye-fi iPad App
LiveOn
New Zealand's Homepage
THINK: An Exploration into Making the World Work Better
What Do You Love?

Contributed by Andrew Mc Neil, photos by Annie Ray