It’s time for the prestigious Red Dot Communications Awards again! The competition, which is organized by the renowned German design institute Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, is calling for designers, advertising agencies and clients of communication designers from all over the world to submit their entries. The communication award was launched in 1993 and the winners are awarded for outstanding achievements in the fields of corporate design, advertising, interactive media or sound design. However, competition is fierce: in 2007 there were over 3800 submissions from 60 countries and 336 winning entries. (more…)

This competition is about more than creating great design concept; it’s about creating an end to extreme poverty. Design 21 calls for the design of a web based campaign for the non-profit organization Millenium Promise that promotes public awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (the UN declaration to address extreme poverty that was signed by 189 world leaders in 2000). The aim of the campaign is to prompt the general public to do what they can to support the cause and urge their leaders to stick to their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.

Design 21 – The Social Design Network, is a non-profit organization and Unesco partner that promotes design that addresses social issues by creating networks between designers, non-profits and corporations. Read an interview with Design and Content manager Jacqueline Khiu here

Millennium Promise is a non-profit organization working to end extreme poverty. Their mission is to achieve the MDGs in Africa by 2015, working with the belief that for the first time in history our generation has the opportunity to end extreme poverty, hunger and disease.

Competition closes June 17, 2008
First prize: $5000

http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/13

Adobe Systems and the people at Cut & Paste have joined forces to present “See What’s Possible.” All manner of designers, photographers, and animators are invited to submit an animation or motion graphic video no more than 15-seconds in length that speaks to the theme: “Photoshop: See What’s Possible.” A panel of judges will select the five winners, who will all receive a licensed copy of the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection. Of the five finalists, one will be voted the Grand Prize Winner, a title that comes with $20,000 and mentions in Adobe’s corporate marketing materials and programs.

Submissions will be accepted up until March 15, 2008, and the winner will be announced on April 4, 2008. You can check out some of the competition in the online gallery. Complete rules and registration forms are available here.

The good people over at HOW are currently seeking submissions for the 2008 HOW Promotion Design Awards, and according to them, “There’s a category for every design occasion, from wedding invitations to pro-bono projects to client promotions.”

One Best of Show winner will receive a free trip to the 2009 HOW Conference, where he or she will be honored in an awards ceremony. All winners will have their work featured in HOW’s October 2008 Self Promotion Annual.

All entries must be postmarked no later than March 21, 2008. The official rules and entry forms are available here.

The American Design Awards Semi-Annual Design Contest is under way. In fact, the February 15, 2008 deadline for submissions is rapidly. There are twenty-two categories in which one can compete, and graphic and web designers both international and domestic are encouraged to submit their work.

The competition seeks to promote ethical and fair design practices, so those who choose to take part in the competition should keep the following guidelines in mind: 1) Do not display pricing on a website; 2) Do not take part in spec contests; 3) Do not undervalue time; 4) Do not copy anyone else’s design work; 5) Do not use templates for a quick and easy fix; 6) Do not work without a working agreement; and 7) Do not “steal” clients.

Winning designs will be posted on the American Design Awards website. Winners will also receive a personalized certificate, promotional merchandise and other prizes.

Complete guidelines and entry forms are available here. More information about fair and ethical design practices is available here.

PRINT is now accepting entries for its Regional Design Annual, which some call “the most comprehensive survey of graphic design in the United States.”

There are fourteen separate categories and all printed communications published or appearing in the U.S. between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007 art eligible. Art directors, designers, illustrators, photographers, and typographers are encouraged to participate.

Winning submissions will be featured in the November/December 2008 issue of PRINT. Winners will also receive Certificates of Excellence.

The entry deadline is March 3, 2008. Complete guidelines and entry forms are available here.

The One Club for Art and Copy, a nonprofit organization, is seeking submissions for it’s One Show Design Awards. Below is a blurb from the site.

The One Show, the premiere international advertising award show, sets the industry standard for creative excellence with categories including print, television radio, outdoor, innovative media and marketing, and integrated branding. Each year, a wide variety of work — from multinational advertising giants to small regional shops — is judged by an international jury of award-winning art directors, copywriters and creative directors.

Winners are announced at the awards show and party in New York City. From there, the work becomes part of our international traveling exhibition… .

More importantly, and perhaps the single biggest reason people enter the One Show is the prospect of having your work immortalized in The One Show: Advertising’s Best Print, Radio and TV, one of the industry’s most respected advertising annuals.

The entry fees are not nominal, but if your work is awesome and you can afford it, this might be worth a shot. To download a Call for Entries PDF, including the full list of categories with detailed instructions for entering online and preparing your entries, go to www.enteroneshow.org.

The Design Institution seeks to promote the development of the design practice and gathers together designers from all over the world who work everyday to improve the vision of the design world around us.

It’s currently hosting an international competition: The Designer’s Workstation 2008. Designers, both professional and students, are invited to submit their ideas about the ideal work station for the designer of the XXI century.

Materials should be submitted in jpeg format via the Design Institution website. Designs will be judged by an esteemed panel in accordance with the following criteria: innovation, functionality, materials, anthropometry, and context.

Cash prizes of up to $4000 USD will be awarded, and winning designs and other selected works will be published in a virtual exhibition on The Design Institution website.

The complete rules and regulations as well as entry forms can be found here.

Last year, SIGG asked Japanese artists to design water bottles that captured the essence of their culture. The result was a wonderful collection that is going to be offered worldwide in SIGG’s 2008 water bottle line.

For 2009, SIGG is looking to create a similar line of bottles inspired by and representative of the United States. Contestants are encouraged to work creatively, to show the U.S. as they see it and experience it. SIGG is looking for unique, out-of-the-box designs that go beyond stars and stripes. The design should speak to an international audience while representing the United States.

The top 10 designs will be sent onto Switzerland and 6 top designs will be chosen for the new collection. The Grand Prize winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and 100 SIGG bottles (of their design) to give out to friends and family. The other 5 winners will receive 10 bottles of their design.

Complete rules and design templates are available here. The entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. PST on Saturday, January 19, 2008.

Entries are currently being accepted for I.D. magazine’s 2008 Student Design Review.

The magazine is searching for the best work from design schools around the world in four categories:

* Industrial Design
* Graphic Design
* Interactive Design
* Miscellaneous

One Best of Show winner will get US $1,000 in cold, hard cash. Plus, all winning projects will be featured in the I.D. September/October 2008 issue, and may be posted on the I.D. website with links to winners’ online portfolios.

The 2008 Student Design Review is open to any student enrolled in a collegiate-level design program (undergraduate or graduate), anywhere in the world. All projects entered must be the result of a classroom/academic assignment, and must have been designed/completed during the 2006-2007 academic year.

The entry deadline is February 1, 2008. Complete guidelines and entry forms can be found here.