I’ve enjoyed this summer with my 17-year-old daughter, as it may be the last full summer that I spend with her as a “dependentâ€? child. She’s about to embark on a new adventure in a special school for the arts. This school will mark her last two years in high school, and then she’s off to make her own mark on the world (she’s a much better artist than I was at her age…).

She’s the reason why I haven’t posted much other than design competitions to this site this summer. And, to milk the most out of this time with her, I’ll drive her down south to visit with relatives and then to school. So, for the next two months I’ll be on hiatus. When I return on the last weekend of the month, I’ll report the plans I have for this site.

Until then you might stay on top of some design news through the “News/Rhetoric” categories listed in the menu at right, below the flickr sitings…

Ciao!

Don’t miss your opportunity to enter the 15th Annual HOW International Design Awards. It could be your chance to gain international recognition, feel like a star and show off your hard work Winning entries appear in the April 2007 issue of HOW. Entry deadline is September 1, 2006. Rules and entry form available on the HOW site. Also get a glimpse at who and what won last year so that you can gauge your competition.

I’ve wracked my brain with ways to pay for this blog, and I’ve tried everything over the years. Amazon, Google Ads, etc., all bring bread and butter to the table (thanks to my readers who trust my choices). But, when I spend time writing reviews, opinions, and critiques, I want more than a copy of the book or a few pennies each day. While the books and pennies are greatly appreciated, I want someone to actually pay for my expertise (over twenty-five years in the visual arts business). One way to accomplish this feat is through http://www.payperpost.com, a company that pays bloggers to write about certain products.

If you focus on a given field, http://www.payperpost.com will give you fodder to express yourself and to earn money while you write. You’ll need to sign up first before you can access the fine print, but you can view the offerings before you commit. Plus, once you’ve committed you can refuse to use any of the products shown. Surely, however, you can find at least one product or service that might bring a few more bucks to pay that hosting bill! Good luck…

San Jose, Calif. - July 10, 2006 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the Adobe MAX 2006 Conference, to be held Oct. 23-26 in Las Vegas. MAX 2006 will give developers and designers a forum to network, share ideas, get hands-on technical training from certified experts, gain new skills and learn about new and emerging Adobe products and technologies. Adobe also announced the call for entries for the fourth annual Adobe MAX Awards, which recognize customer achievement in eight different categories.

With the conference theme of “Beyond Boundaries,” the event will feature keynotes by Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen, President and COO Shantanu Narayen and Chief Software Architect Kevin Lynch. The winners of the 2006 MAX Awards, to be announced at the conference, will honor the most effective and compelling customer work in eight categories: achievement (high return on investment); advertising and branding; industry innovator; interactive process management; media and entertainment; mobile and devices; rich Internet applications and Web development; and training and collaboration. Adobe will begin accepting submissions on July 17. All entries must be submitted online by September 1. Read the rest of this entry »

You can win a trip to Barcelona simply by creating a “skin” for the HP (Hewlett Packard) Designjet. To begin, download the template on the contest section, take a look at what others have done (the one shown is entitled, “Return of the Tiger,” by Linny Jories) and start designing. Deadline: 31 October. See site for details.

Jaxter is looking for design skill and marketability in a T-Shirt design, where the winner will receive $2,000. The theme this year is “sound,” and your design must be based on a template that you can download from Jaxter. No restrictions on color. Deadline: 31 July 2006. See site for details.

The Flashforward Conference and Film Festival bring together the best minds in the Flash design and development community, with an optional intensive workshop day, a three-day conference, and the largest International Flash-related film festival on the planet. With the focus on Flash as a platform, Flashforward offers diverse knowledge and inspiration for everyone in the Flash community, whatever role Flash plays in their life and work. Flashforward is dedicated to providing education, inspiration, information, and community resources via our conference, website, blog, and podcasts. Be in Austin, Texas for this conference on 11 - 14 September 2006. See site for details.

You’re invited to enter the first ever TreeHugger design competition in collaboration with I.D. Magazine. You’re asked for creative approaches to the umbrella problem. Of the 33 million sold annually in the U.S. alone, hundreds of thousands break down, facing abandonment and landfills. Treehugger is asking for creative solutions: either an innovative umbrella with a Cradle to Cradle(R) sensibility, or a women’s couture garment fashioned from old umbrellas. Step up fashion and industrial designers (or those with design aspirations)! Entry info is available here. Finalists and winners will be featured on TreeHugger and in I.D. The winning couture garment will walk the runway at Paris’ Ethical Fashion Show. Submission deadline: 1 September 2006.