The Red Bull Art of the Can is a “nationwide hunt for creativity,” open to anyone. However, you can apply only to three cities: Atlanta, Dallas, and Minneapolis, where the winners’ creations will be exhibited this year. Atlanta and Dallas - applications due 22 July; Minneapolis - applications due 12 August. Make a sculpture, a picture, a three-dimensional model, whatever your heart desires, but make it “beautiful, clever, amusing, outrageous.” Each city has its registration available at the Red Bull Art of the Can site.

I finally got around to reading “The DaVinci Code” when it came out in paperback. My parents objected (my mother now is reading it “out of curiosity”), I received stares from big-haired women in public when I toted it around, and - in the end - I wondered what all the fuss was/is about. It’s a novel based on some fact, and a good novel at that…although I thought the ending was a bit stretched. I’ll see the movie if it isn’t banned in my town, because I like Tom Hanks, and because I’m a huge fan of John Langdon. No, I don’t mean Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks. I mean John Langdon, professor of advanced typography and logo design in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

What does John Langdon have to do with “The DaVinci Code”? John is the master of the ambigram, also known as an inversion, where a graphical figure that spells out a word not only in its form as presented, but also in another direction or orientation. John’s ambigrams, or his play with words, symbols, and typography are exemplified in his book, Wordplay: The Philosophy, Art, and Science of Ambigrams. Look at the book upside down, if you can, and you’ll see “wordplay” is just as legible at 180 degrees as it is right-side up. Read the rest of this entry »

The Design & Business Catalyst Award takes traditional design competitions a step further by recognizing excellence in market and financial performance as well as strategic and social impact. Created by IDSA and BusinessWeek magazine, the competition rewards management’s foresight in using the power of design beyond the actual design process. The Catalyst Award competition is open to all designers from around the world with one notable exception: jurors, their employees and immediate family members may not enter the competition. DEADLINE: 10 July 2006. See site for details.

An initiative of AIGA and the Winterhouse Institute, where an increase in the understanding and appreciation of design, both within the profession and throughout American life is sought. The writing award of $5,000 is open to writers, critics, scholars, historians, journalists and designers and given for a body of work. The education award of $1,000 is open to students (undergraduate or graduate) whose use of writing, in the interest of making visual work or scholarship or cultural observation, demonstrates extraordinary originality and promise. DEADLINE: June 30, 2006. See site for details.

This looks like fun - A bamboo building design competition open to architects, builders, designers, students anywhere in the world sponsored by Bamboo Technologies. This competition has been created to develop new award winning designs for bamboo buildings, raise awareness of the use of certified structural bamboo for building code approved structures, and introduce architects, designers and builders to working with bamboo as a structural material. Entries are electronic files submitted by ftp or email in a number of categories. DEADLINE: 15 Jan 2007. See site for details.

Communication Arts: One more…entry forms not yet available, but you might want to bookmark the site to remember your intent to enter your photographic images. Photography first printed or produced between March 15, 2006 and March 12, 2007 is eligible. Entries may originate from any country. Explanation of the function in English is very important to the judges. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use them for publication and exhibition. DEADLINE: 12 Jan 2007. See site for details.DEADLINE: 12 Mar 2007. See site for details.

Communication Arts: You have plenty of time for this one as well…entry forms not yet available, but you might want to bookmark the site to remember your intent. Any project—interface design, educational and entertainment programs, interactive product display, self-promotion—created for digital distribution on CD-ROM, interactive kiosk, handheld device, online service or the World Wide Web is eligible. CA is not responsible for damage or loss of any entry. Submission of an entry acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use it for exhibition and publication. DEADLINE: 12 Jan 2007. See site for details.

Communication Arts: You have plenty of time for this one…entry forms not yet available, but you might want to bookmark the site to remember your intent. Illustration first printed or produced between March 15, 2006 and March 12, 2007. Entries may originate from any country. Explanation of the function in English is very important to the judges. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use them for publication and exhibition. DEADLINE: 12 Mar 2007. See site for details.

Communication Arts: All work must have been printed, published or aired for the first time between June 3, 2005 and June 2, 2006. Publication means an ad appeared in a form of mass media exposed to a substantial audience. Entries may originate from any country, but you need to send an English translation for the jurors. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use them for publication and exhibition. Of the 14,731 entries to the 2001 Advertising Annual, 243 were accepted, making the CA Advertising Annual one of the most exclusive major advertising competitions in the world. DEADLINE: 2 Jun 2006. See site for details.

Communication Arts: All work must have been printed, published or aired for the first time between June 3, 2005 and June 2, 2006. Publication means an ad appeared in a form of mass media exposed to a substantial audience. Entries may originate from any country, but you need to send an English translation for the jurors. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use them for publication and exhibition. DEADLINE: 2 Jun 2006. See site for details.