Electrolux Design Lab 2008 invites industrial design students around the world to create tomorrow’s home appliances for the Internet generation, deadline May 30.

Electrolux, a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional use, launches the 6th edition of its annual design competition via www.ElectroluxDesignLab.com and will select a limited number of entries to compete in Zurich at the international finals October 8 & 9, 2008.

The Internet generation comprises brand-conscious, busy young professionals between 25-35 who are independent, concerned about the environment, and whose lives are intertwined with technology and online social networks.

This year’s submissions should be for 2-3 years into the future and address food storage, cooking, and/or washing. “We are looking for daring ideas and solutions,” says Henrik Otto, Head of Global Design at Electrolux. “Entries should reflect the iGeneration’s core interests and concerns like mobility, convenience, time, materials, personalization, entertaining, technology, and sustainability.”

About Design LabSince 2003, thousands of design students have participated in the Electrolux Design Lab competition, which culminates in a different city every year at an international press event. Previous venues include Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, New York, and Budapest.

Last year’s competition “Green designs for 2020” was won by Levente Szabó from Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design, Hungary, with E-wash, a compact washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent.

The Design Lab 2008 has a First Prize of 5,000 Euro and a six-month internship at one of Electrolux’s global design centers. The second prize is 3,000 Euro and third prize 2,000 Euro. An international jury will judge the entries based on intuitive design, innovation, and consumer insight.

Entries must be submitted by May 30, 2008 via the website. A limited number of finalists will be chosen by the end of June and invited to Zurich to make a final presentation to the jury on October 8 & 9 where the winner will be announced and the prizes awarded.

For more information about the competition, high-resolution photos of previous finalists and their concepts, broadcast quality b-roll, and to watch videos from last year’s competition on Design Lab TV, visit www.ElectroluxDesignLab.com.

This category of the Prix Ars Electronica is open to:
works of 2D or 3D computer animation, digital short films and narratives, character animation, abstract CG animation, scientific visualizations, commercials, music videos, visual effects, CG for the creative manipulation or enhancement of live action scenes, real-time CG, game cutscenes, machinima, generative visuals, etc.

CATEGORIES

• COMPUTER ANIMATION / FILM / VFX
• INTERACTIVE ART
• DIGITAL MUSIC
• HYBRID ART
• DIGITAL COMMUNITIES
• u19 – FREESTYLE COMPUTING
• MEDIA.ART.RESEARCH AWARD

For entry details, please visit www.aec.at

SAN ANTONIO–February 6, 2008–MyToons.com, the premier online animation community, today announced that it has inked a deal with video site YouTube to showcase the creative work of thousands of animators on the new MyToons branded YouTube channel.

Launched last March at the prestigious SouthXSouthwest Festival in Austin, Texas, MyToons.com provides a global platform for animators to design and share their original animated videos, cartoons, and other content with animators and animation enthusiasts throughout the world.

“We have thousands of animators utilizing our free upload and streaming system to broadcast their work to the world,” said Paul Ford, co-founder and president of MyToons.com. “Our new channel with YouTube provides tremendous new exposure for our artists and enhances our ability to extend the MyToons brand, as well as to reach a broader consumer base with which to share high quality original animations.”

MyToons.com, dedicated to “everything animated,” offers both professional and amateur animators a platform to reach a world-wide web of talented animators, industry specialists and fans alike.

“YouTube is an important step on the road to much wider distribution for MyToons and our animation community members”,” said Ford. “We’re always focused on providing additional enhancements to give our animators even greater exposure.”

MyToons further supports the animation community through contests and events, as well as sponsorships. This week MyToons is a Silver Sponsor of the International Animated Film Society’s (ASIFA) 35th Annual Annie Awards, which will take place on Friday, February 8, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The Annual Annie Awards recognizes the highest honors awarded for excellence in animation. ASIFA was founded by a group of professional animators in 1957 and encourages the preservation and extension of the art of animation, which mirrors MyToons’ philosophy and mission.

About MyToons

Based in San Antonio, MyToons.com was established in 2006 as an online resource and entertainment destination for professional and student animators, industry executives, artists and fans. Founded by industry leaders Paul Ford, Dan Kraus and Stacey Ford, MyToons.com is currently aligning with content creators and well-known industry personalities to provide the highest quality and best variety of online content and services for MyToons.com.

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MyToons is a trademark of MyToons, Inc. All rights reserved. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About YouTube

YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded in 2002 when the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998, came into force. Currently 105 countries have become parties to this International Treaty. The ICC is an independent and permanent court that prosecutes those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The establishment of this Court is a milestone in the development of international justice.
The aim of this project is to construct permanent accommodation for the ICC on a prime site bordering the North Sea dunes and the city of The Hague and covering over 72,000 m². The ICC and the host State of The Netherlands share the conviction that the new ICC premises should provide suitable working conditions, functionality, security and ecological fit.
Within the premises, up to 1,200 workstations, courtrooms, and various ancillary facilities will have to be provided with a total gross floor space of up to 46,000 m². Furthermore, parking facilities as well as plans for two expansions of 150 workstations each are foreseen. The spatial and functional design should take into account the need for flexibility and scalability on the long term.
A worldwide architectural design competition will take place in order to select the best architect for this unique project for which this is a call for candidature. The competition is organised by the Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands. It is a restricted anonymous project competition that begins with an open application for candidature, followed by a pre-selection of up to 20 participants and a design competition.

For entry details, please visit ICC.

American Illustration and American Photography – the award winning, large format, beautifully designed and printed hardcover annuals offer high visibility and recognition where it matters most. Both are the exclusive source for assignment and commissioned work.

Your work will be seen by a jury made up of top creative professionals, art directors, photo editors, art buyers, gallerists, and publishers.

Selected images appear in the books one-image-per-page with an index that includes all creative credits and contact information. In addition to the annuals, juried images appear on the AI-AP web site, which attracts over 200 unique visitors per day.

Images remain on the site for life, allowing artists to create an archived portfolio of winning images that can be viewed by potential clients. And we can quickly update your contact information at no extra charge.

Inclusion in the book places you in the highest ranks of your profession.

For entry details, please visit the site.

Creating Icons is No Longer A Baffling Ordeal With New Perfect Toolbar Icons

Aha-Soft today announces the immediate availability of Perfect Toolbar Icons, a set of stock icons to trim the interface of any desktop or web application.

No doubt any e-company wants to add some color to the means of its representation: programs, websites or even documents in order to make them distinctive and eye-catching. The simplest way to do so is to decorate the front-end of a product - in this case we start with icons. Creating professional and stylish icons is no easy task and requires talent, skills in design and days and sometimes even weeks of work. Fortunately, with the set of newest icons from Aha-Soft, creating a nice interface for desktop and web applications will no longer be a headache.

Perfect Toolbar Icons delivers the newest eye-catching and most distinctive icons that provide designers with the cost-effective “specimens” for their work, relieving them of the burdensome task of creating icons. All the icons are available for viewing and downloading and can be purchased either individually or in sets. It is possible to order custom icons of your individual design. The icons are available in the following sizes: 16*16, 20*20, 24*24, 32*32, 48*48 and formats: PNG, BMP, GIF and ICO. They also come in two variants: for websites and the old Windows versions and in 32-bit True Color format for Windows XP and Vista.

Aha-Soft offers a flexible purchasing policy. When purchased individually, each icon costs $4 (USD). You are welcome to contact Aha-Soft with the names of the icons you would like to purchase, and the order will be processed immediately. Moreover, a collection of icons with only some of the available sizes can be ordered. In this case you will get a discount off the usual price. Minimum purchase is 2 icons. More information on the icon set can be found at http://perfecticon.com/stock-icons/perfect-toolbar-icons.htm.

About Aha-Soft
Founded in 2000, Aha-Soft is an Information Technology company specializing in professional icon and cursor design and management software. Aha-Soft is the author of such popular tools as AhaView, Any to Icon, Icon to Any, ArtCursors, ArtIcons, ArtIcons Pro, IconLover, IconUtils and IconXP. If you would like to get a comment, request a reviewer copy, have a businesses proposal, want to become an authorized reseller or have any other inquiry, please visit the company’s web site at www.aha-soft.com.