To explore the challenges and opportunities facing the design and construction industry in the greening economy, the Sustainable Design Forum (SDF) has released a free e-book, “Environmental Sustainability: Collaboration and Marketing Best Practices in the Building Industry.”

“Sustainable buildings are energy efficient, increase resale and lease rates, attract tenants in a saturated market, reduce costs and liability, and improve health and performance—the challenge is proving it,” says SDF Managing Editor Aphrodite Knoop. “Right now, the industry is still struggling to convince the public that green is good for economy as well as for the environment.”
“Environmental Sustainability” makes the case for green, dishing out fresh insights and resources to help industry players leverage their expertise for competitive advantage, sell sustainability more effectively, and promote positive environmental change. “The e-book is a treasure trove of advice by professionals for professionals from across the design, development and construction sectors,” Knoop says. Read the rest of this entry »

DEADLINE; 15 March 2007

Upload a picture highlighting what you love about your hometown. 40 finalists get their poster-size photos sold in local Staples® stores and receive royalties. Plus, they get a $100 Staples Gift Card. The grand prize winner receives a 5 day/4 night trip to scenic Iceland, including air transportation, hotel, daily breakfast and scheduled tours. Visit the site for details.

DEADLINE: Monthly contest - final deadline 31 December 2007

Create a cover for any size UniKeep View Case Binder™- students, professionals, hobbyists - any art you are willing to share. Post your cover on your site or at UniKeeep - enter online; All entries will be available for download in the “UniKeep Gallery.� First 50 entries each month receive free UniKeep Binder, but you can win $100 monthly cash prizes and an overall $500 grand prize in each of these categories: Arts & Entertainment; Business & Professional; Education; Hobbies & Recreation; Sports. $1,500 for “Best of Show.� Entries will be accepted online January 1 through December 31, 2006, but you must be age 13 and up. Unikeep, BTW, is an organizing system that consists of folders, envelopes, etc. But, they’re not boring. Check out their previous winners galleries before you begin. See site for details.

DEADLINE: 1 March 2007

Slant, an annual short film festival seeks works by Asian American filmmakers. For the seventh year, Slant will showcase an eclectic mix of the best in emerging Asian American cinema. All genres are accepted. The festival takes place at Aurora Picture Show from May 19 - 20, 2007. All genres, including narrative, experimental, documentary, and animation. Filmmakers or film content should be Asian American or Asian Canadian. Visit the site for more information.

DEADLINE: 28 February 2007

Do you have a killer photo of Mumbai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Tokyo, Sydney, Kathmandu, Singapore, or Bejing? Send your best one into the Asia Citiescape Photo Contest for a slick set of books. Lonely Planet’s new set of Citiescape guides is an enticing little box set of books to have on your shelf. It’s also a quite useful set of overviews, filled with stunning photographs that capture the feel of 10 vibrant Asian cities. Lonely Planet is supplying prizes, but the company is otherwise not affiliated with the contest. Visit the site for details.

The judges are lined up and ready to start judging our next show for undergraduate and graduate students majoring in graphic design, photography, illustration or fine art. All winners will be exhibited in the Spring issue of Creative Quarterly. Category winners will receive special awards and all winning entries will receive a free one-year subscription to Creative Quarterly. The competition is open to students in the U.S. and Canada. Categories include photography, graphic design, illustration, and fine art. Visit the PDF file for rules and regs.

The Sendomatic Design Competition (online invitations, announcements & e-cards) is an opportunity for any creative individual - designers, students, artistically-inclined hopefuls - to produce a fabulous original design and win great prizes. The winning design will be spotlighted on the homepage and featured in the Sendomatic Design Library. Let the creative juices flow and send them something spectacular! The winner will receive a $200 gift certificate at 2Modern and unlimited use of Sendomatic for one year. 2nd & 3rd place will receive home decor items from Inhabit. All winners will have their design featured in the Sendomatic Design Library. The theme of this competion is St Patrick’s Day. We are looking for progressive ideas, original artwork/sound that fits with the Sendomatic brand. We are also looking for designs that have fast load times and have nice incorporation of HTML text that will be entered by the user of the design. Visit the site for details.

Housing professionals working in the 50+ housing market are encouraged to enter the 2007 Best of 50+ Housing Awards, sponsored by The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 50+ Housing Council. The awards are considered the premier design and marketing competition for the 50+ housing industry, and allow industry professionals to enter their best community designs, model merchandising, and advertising and marketing efforts. Award entrants have until February 23 to submit their entries.

Formerly known as the Best of Seniors Housing awards, the 2007 program includes more than 50 categories covering all aspects of the 50+ housing market. Active adult categories include overall community, clubhouse design, condominium unit design, and model home merchandising. Other design categories include aging-in-place, assisted living, congregate-living community, continuing care retirement communities, mixed-use, multifamily housing, renovated housing and special-needs housing. Read the rest of this entry »

In November, 2007 Z and A Publishing will launch Zoo and Aquarium Visitor magazine. They invite the public to submit their designs for the cover of this premiere issue.The Zoo and Aquarium Visitor magazine cover competition is open to ALL individuals and organizations. Your entry to the contest constitutes your agreement to allow your photographs - and your name, occupation, city and state of residence - to be published as selected award winners in Zoo and Aquarium Visitor magazine; exhibited in public venues; published or used on websites owned by Z and A Publishing as award winners; and used for promotions including, but not limited to, a calendar, a compilation book or electronic collection of covers, online photo features and awards contests, and web pages providing Zoo and Aquarium Visitor magazine contest information, updates, rules and tips. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs. Z and A Publishing shall have the right to verify, in their sole judgment, winner eligibility. No entry fee. Visit the site for more information.

DEADLINE: 20 February 2007

Bucharest-EST International Film Festival consists in a competition of feature films, short films and documentaries The Festival is an annual event. The third edition of the Festival will take place from 11th until 21st of April 2007. All competition entries are welcomed, and the final attendance on special invitation only. Films must have been produced after 1 January 2005, must be no longer than 150 minutes, and must be subtitled in English. Visit the site for details.