Got a Big Idea for the Next Big Thing? Share your concept design with WACOM for the next hit selling product and test your design skills against other designers and artists in The Big i Contest! They are looking for designs in two categories: 1) consumer electronics (phones, PCs, mp3 players, etc.) and 2) household goods (kitchenware, furniture, etc.)

Deadline is 31 December 2008 at 11:59 pm, Tokyo time. Visit the site to learn more.

55DSL knows life moves pretty fast. That’s why their motto is to “live at least 55 seconds per day” to shake things up on a regular basis and always get in on a piece of the action. It’s what they’ve been doing, as a company and as a streetwear brand, since 1984.

And they’re at it again this year, partnering with Cut&Paste to present the 55DSL Logo Remix. The Logo Remix challenges graphic designers, illustrators, and typographers, as well as all-around creative types, to take the iconic 55DSL Shield logo and spin it into a remix that reflects 55DSL’s culture and spirit, its origins and its future.

The Grand Prize–winning design, to be featured in a T-shirt design for the 2010 Spring/Summer collection, will successfully reinterpret the 55DSL Shield logo and represent 55DSL’s identity as an experimental, avant-garde streetwear brand (which first launched as a spin-off of Diesel), while considering the art, urban culture, extreme sports, and music influences that have always been at the heart of the label’s fun-loving, nonconformist attitude.

The Grand Prize winner of the 55DSL Logo Remix will receive 1,055 Euros in addition to seeing his/her logo design produced by 55DSL.* During the contest period, all designs submitted for the Logo Remix will be showcased in Cut&Paste’s online gallery for public viewing, commenting, and voting. The People’s Choice Prize, a specially created goodie bag of 55DSL limited editions, will be awarded to the design that receives the most votes online. Both winners will be featured in the online gallery, which will be permanently available as part of Cut&Paste’s online collection of work.

Contestants may submit their designs on http://logoremix.55DSL.com. All entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on December 5, 2008. Online voting on Cut&Paste’s 55DSL Logo Remix gallery will take place throughout the entry period and conclude on December 12, 2008, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The Grand Prize and People’s Choice Prize winners will be announced in January 2009.To learn more about the brand, visit the site.

*The winning logo design will be used at the discretion of 55DSL and will not replace the 55DSL Shield logo.

Inspired by the passion for color and the natural love affair with the beauty of gemstones and innovation, ENLIGHTENED – Swarovski Elements Passion Topaz genuine gemstone collection was created to bring color and an added touch of something special to design.

Passion Topaz and design innovation in color using Swarovski’s ENLIGHTENED – Swarovski Elements genuine Passion Topaz® gemstones is the main focus of this competition. The designs will be used to inspire the use of their Passion Topaz assortment and stimulate the market through future insights of jewellery and bejewelled eyewear design. The submitted designs will not be produced in series, but Signity AG reserves the right to realize the winning designs as prototypes, include any and all design sketches in our communication tools and present them during various ENLIGHTENED – Swarovski Elements Branding activities.

International designers and design enthusiasts are welcomed to participate in the competition. The minimum age for the participation is 18 years of age at the time of submission. Prospective entrants must first register and accept the competition conditions before submitting any of their designs. Groups are not allowed to participate in the competition. November 30th, 2008 is the last day for submission of designs to be taken into consideration for exhibition at Baselworld 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

Community-centric tee shirt company Threadless.com is nixing the holiday calendar and brewing up spooky situations after Halloween. That’s right, as an excuse to keep those scary decorations up and continue asking your neighbors for candy, Threadless’ latest “Loves” challenge is asking designers everywhere to conjure up a design for a tee based on the concept of horror.

These ghastly designs could snag designers a cauldron full of tasty treats, courtesy of some awesome partners. So whether it’s spiders, ghosts, a bad dream, or a fear of submitting a tee shirt design, now’s the chance to earn a limited-edition skate deck and a 1970’s signed vintage Fender bass guitar from Alkaline Trio, a feature in an upcoming issue of Rue Morgue along with an instant collection of horror memorabilia, and an extensive comic collection from Devil’s Due Publishing. Wacom is also going to hook the chosen designer up with a new Intous tablet. And as always, designers will also receive a $500 Threadless gift certificate and $2,000 in cash!

What are you afraid of?

“Threadless Loves” challenges give designers an opportunity to flex their skills and design to a particular challenge. Challenges are sponsored and supported by companies relevant to the idea. Previous “Loves” partners include Hot Chip, Moby, MTV’s Human Giant, and the Lomographic Society International.

Deadline for entries is December 1, 2008. For more info on the design challenge and all its partners, go to http://threadless.com or http://www.threadless.com/loves/horror

Think of an idea for a DORITOS brand commercial. Not just any idea, but one worthy of being called the best of the Super Bowl. Maybe it’s an action-packed storya bout the first time you tried DORITOS brand Tortilla Chips. Maybe it reveals what life is like for the spices on the survace of the chip (that one is trippy). Make the video that would knock YOU out of your seat if you were watching the Super Bowl.

If you make it as one of five finalists, you’ll win $25,000 USD. Then, if America votes it as its favorite, your video will be aired as a DORITOS brand commercial during Super Bowl XLIII. You’ll also win a $1,000,000 USD bonus. This contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry.

Finalists may be asked to provide the original audio and video files used during production of the entry for broadcast purposes. This may include uncompressed QuickTime files, final audio mix and/or separate audio tracks for dialogue, music, and effects. These items are not mandatory to become a finalist. Deadline is 11:59:59 pm CT on 16 November 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The ScreenBurn at SXSW Game Design Competition provides a venue for emerging designers to pitch their concept to a jury of established professionals. Participants in this event are challenged to excite the imagination with a description of the game they want to build.

Getting involved in the Game Design Competition is incredibly easy! Using the form on the site, tell ScreenBurn about your amazing idea for a new game. This is an exercise in blue sky creative thinking - imagine what kind of cool all-new video game you would put together if you had an unlimited budget and unlimited resources. Please give as much detail as possible about your idea, but entries cannot exceed 200 words. Spelling, good grammar and complete sentences are important, so please proofread your submission before you hit the send button. There is no fee to enter the Game Design Competition. But, each person can only submit two ideas.

The entry process runs through Friday, December 5, 2008. 10 Semi-finalists for each category of the Game Design Competition will be announced on Friday, January 16. These semi-finalists will then construct a slideshow presentation that graphically illustrates their concept which includes art, slides, and notes. Slideshow presentation is due by Friday, February 27. All semi-finalists who submit a final presentation will be given a 2009 Interactive Festival registration (which includes admission to all ScreenBurn at SXSW activities). Visit the site to learn more.