It’s not even March yet, but already the enquiries about the 2008 World Communication Awards are flowing in.

We’ll start calling for entries in March, 2008, but if you are starting to think about your submission we can now confirm that the list of categories for the 2008 WCA will be as follows:

* Best Brand

* Best Content Service

* Best Customer Care

* Best Managed Service

* Best Mobile Operator

* Best International Carrier

* Best New Service

* Best Operator in a Developing Country

* Best Project Management

* Best Technology Foresight

* Best Changemaker

* Best Wholesale Carrier

* Best Global Operator

* Person of the Decade

* The Green Award

Unbelievably this will be the tenth year of the WCA and so fittingly the theme will be a Decade of Excellence - things have certainly changed since the first awards presented in Geneva in 1999.

This years gala evening will be the 26 November, and the venue will be the outstanding Hilton on Park Lane, London.

If you are interested in getting involved, please visit the site.

We hope to start unveiling sponsors very soon…..

Now accepting entries for the 2008 Regional Design Annual. NEW for 2008: Entering your work is even easier. You can now register and pay for your entries online. Read the complete guidelines or access the official entry form (pdf).

This issue, the Regional Design Annual, is the most comprehensive survey of graphic design in the United States-and one of the biggest issues to hit the graphic design industry each year. All winning work will be organized by region and featured in the December 2008 issue of PRINT. They received more than 20,000 individual entries for the 2007 Regional Annual, from almost every state. The process of selection in all regions of the country was as stringent as ever, and, as always, they feel that the work chosen is first-rate, and that it represents the best design, illustrations, and photography being produced throughout the United States.

NEW: Get inspired with ten year’s worth of Regional Design Annual Winners. Learn more about the Regional Design Annual 10 Year Retrospective DVD and website. Entry form pdf is here.

CUT&PASTE Presents

The Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) “See What’s Possible” Challenge

Adobe and Cut&Paste challenge designers to “See What’s Possible” by entering a visually pioneering 15-second or less animation or motion graphic video. Grand Prize – $20,000, Adobe CS3 Master Collection, and inclusion in Adobe Photoshop marketing materials

February 5, 2008: Cut&Paste(R), the producers of the international live design tournament, announces the first Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) “See What’s Possible” Challenge, to be administered on http://swp.cutandpaste.com.  Cut&Paste teamed up with Adobe Systems
Incorporated to put the call out to its joint community of graphic designers, animators, and motion graphics wizards worldwide to create a promotional animation or motion graphics work that best illustrates the theme of “See What’s Possible.” The twist: this isn’t just a
competition, but for the winner, an opportunity for their winning work to be used in Adobe’s marketing campaign of Photoshop in addition to the Grand Prize of $20,000 (USD) and Adobe Creative Suite 3(R) Master Collection.

“As the Cut&Paste community and designers across the globe appreciate, Adobe Photoshop is the professional industry standard in digital imaging software, so we’re thrilled to team with Adobe to provide more exposure to aspiring and experienced designers and animators alike,”
says John Fiorelli, executive director of Cut&Paste. “But this challenge isn’t just about winning – all submissions will be publicly showcased on CutandPaste.com where contestants can share their skills with not only fellow designers, but fans, recruiters, and potential clients.”

To judge the competition, Cut&Paste has assembled an all-star team of judges including Alexei Tylevich (Logan), Jonathan Notaro (Brand New School), Nando Costa (Nervo) José Gomez (Shilo), Adina Sales (Blacklist) and Victor Newman (Freestyle Collective). Judges will be looking for work that breaks new ground and has a “wow” factor.  Submissions should not exceed 15 seconds in duration, should incorporate and close with the Photoshop “See What’s Possible” brand logo and tagline, and should use Adobe Flash(R) or After Effects(R) in its creation (see Rules at http://swp.cutandpaste.com for more details).  “It’s always inspiring for us to see how our users push the creative boundaries of what’s possible with Photoshop,” said Kevin Connor, senior director of product management for Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “By teaming up with Cut&Paste, we are excited to offer graphic designers, animators, motion graphics designers, web pros, and photographers a unique opportunity to display their work for the entire community.”  Five submissions will be chosen by the judges as Finalists, and Adobe will award one of those five finalists the Grand Prize of $20,000 (USD) and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection. In addition to the Grand Prize, the winning submission will be featured in Adobe’s marketing campaign of Photoshop. All finalists receive Adobe Creative
Suite 3 Master Collection. The Challenge also offers a People’s Choice Prize: All eligible submissions will be available for voting on the Cut&Paste Web site. Anyone may view the submissions and any registered users may add comments to any work or vote for their favorite submissions for the People’s Choice Prize, which is Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection. Supporting the promotion of the challenge to its subscribers are media sponsors, Stash DVD Magazine and the motion graphics blog, Motionographer.

How It Works :

Grand Prize Selection
Cut&Paste will screen all eligible entries to a final 30 selections that will then be provided to judges for evaluation. The top 5 scoring finalists will then go to Adobe who will choose the Grand Prize Winner.

People’s Choice Prize
Commenting and voting on all submissions are open to all registered users Popular online vote by registered users will determine winner.

Prizes

· Grand Prize - $20,000 (USD) and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection (retailed at $2,499) and inclusion in Adobe marketing including:

o Featured on adobe.com

o Available as a screensaver for community download

o Showcased at Adobe(R) tradeshows, seminars and demos

o Intro to Keynote speeches, etc

o HTML email, banners

Five Finalists – Adobe(R) Creative Suite 3 Master Collection(R)
People’s Choice Prize – Adobe(R) Creative Suite 3 Master Collection(R)

Timing
Contestants may submit entries on http://swp.cutandpaste.com beginning
February 15, 2008, and ending on March 15, 2008
People’s Choice Prize voting open from February 15, 2008 to March 31, 2008
Prizes announced at Photoshop World – April 4, 2008

How to Enter
Contestants post submissions to a video-sharing Web site such as YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, or Revver.
Starting February 15, entrants may register with the Cut&Paste Web site and complete a Web application form at http://swp.cutandpaste.com

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

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.