As part of Creativity’s Hearts and Minds festivities, there will be a talent competition in conjunction with Penguin Books. Under the creative direction of VP/executive art director Paul Buckley, Penguin has become one of the most talked about creative forums for artists today, and was patron to the award-winning Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions, which tapped talents like Frank Miller, Roz Chast, Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware to update the covers of modern classics, including Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow and Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.

All artists, illustrators, designers and photographers are invited to create a cover for British author Sam Taylor’s upcoming novel The Island at the End of the World. The winner will be selected by Penguin editors, creative director Buckley and the editors of Creativity and will become the official cover of the book, to be published in 2009. The competition is open to all artists, whether you are just starting out or are an established name in the business.

Deadline is Friday, 18 July. Visit the site to learn the book synopsis and all the guidelines.

2008 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography will spotlight images from around the world. All subjects are eligible. The exhibition is open to all domestic and international, professional and amateur, photographers working with digital or traditional photography or combinations of both.

The Center for Fine Art Photography invites photographers working in all mediums, styles and schools of thought to participate in its exhibitions. Traditional, contemporary, avant-garde, creative and experimental and mixed techniques are welcome. With selection for this exhibition, artists and their work will be seen by an international audience of collectors, curators, art consultants and others who appreciate the fine art of photography.

Entries are due 15 July 2008. Visit the site to learn more about the judge, Hossein Farmani, and other particulars.

The UCDA Design Competition recognizes the best of the exceptional design work done to promote educational institutions (secondary, vocational, or higher education).The 2008 Design Competition is now underway. UCDA is looking for your biggest and best ideas for their annual design competition — whether it be print, electronic, green, and even student work. They’re looking for publications, illustration, photography, electronic media and more.

Entries must be received by Friday, July 11, 2008. Enter early and avoid the last minute rush to gather, prepare and package your entries. Visit the site to learn more!

Create a Concept Car which is designed to evolve within the cities of the future, whilst retaining the key values of the 21st century. The projects should bear Peugeot’s stylistic codes and must contain the following four aspects included in this design competition: environmental awareness, social harmony, interactive mobility and economic efficiency. The theme this year is “IMAGINE THE PEUGEOT IN THE WORLDWIDE MEGALOPOLIS OF TOMORROW.”

Together with the design, entrants must include a text explaining the concept of the vehicle. During selection, particular consideration will be given to the following: the originality of the concept and the clarity of explanations, faithfulness to the values of the Peugeot brand, creativity regarding style and the quality of the final product. At the end of the competition, PEUGEOT will build a full size model of the winning vehicle, which will be exhibited at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2009.

Any net users who wish to enter should connect to the Internet site http://www.peugeot.com under the heading “Design” before 20 July 2008. Correspondence is by e-mail only. Follow the instructions on the website.

The 20 winners of the “Young Illustrators Award” will be shown at a separate section at the coming ILLUSTRATIVE, the international festival for contemporary graphic and illustrative art as well as integrated into the artist selection of the Illustrative. The first laureate being determined at this year´s ILLUSTRATIVE in Zurich, is given the possibility to create one new “Limited Edition-watch” for Swatch and will be integrated into the international distribution. The other laureates can look forward to prices such as the possibility to exhibit their work, contracts with agencies as well as publications in magazines.

The best 20 are selected by an international jury. Registration deadline is 15 July 2008 (marked on calendar) and entry deadline is 31 July 2008. There is no theme, and a variety of media is accepted. Visit the site to learn more.

Don’t Panic and The League Against Cruel Sports have joined forces to launch the ‘Balls to Bullfighting’ design competition and find the next big thing in the graphic design world. Do you reckon you have what it takes? The brief is to create awareness by giving talented graphic designers a chance to come up with a T-shirt design that promotes the ‘Balls to Bullfighting’ message.

The winner will see their design worn worldwide, sold in various independent fashion boutiques around London and also on the League’s website. All profits will go towards putting an end to bullfighting.

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