Be ready to function in the 21st century! Be sure you’re on the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles’ Illustration West 47 Web site. This Web site will include all work accepted into the largest juried illustration competition west of New York. Fee is $25 per entry ($15 for SILA members and students entering category 8). Entry fee in full must accompany all submissions. Entry fees are not refundable.

Additionally, there is a $45 per accepted entry Web site fee ($25 for SILA members and students exhibiting their own artwork in category 8). The Web site fee is required for inclusion on the Web site. Each accepted entry will be reproduced in full color on the Illustration West 45 Web site.

Except for the Visual Development category, any illustration created in or published between June 1st 2007 and June 1st 2008 are eligible. The work in Visual Development category can date as far back as 2003. Entries from around the world are welcome. Deadline is 19 September 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The Design Exchange Awards, presented by Canadian Business, promotes Canadian design excellence and recognizes the critical role of design in all types of organizations including commercial entities (large and small), not-for-profit organizations, and the public sector. The Awards celebrate the success stories achieved through close partnerships between clients and designers. The DXAs are Canada’s only award program to judge design by results, balancing function, aesthetics, and economic success.

A jury of leading business executives, designers and community leaders will select Award of Excellence and Award of Merit winners in each of the twelve categories, with one project winning Best of Category in each. DXA Winners will be listed in Canadian Business’ best-selling December issue (the annual ‘Rich100′ edition), which is on newsstands for up to 3 months. As a result, your company will become visible to Canadian Business’ total readership of 985,000. As well, winners are featured in a major exhibition at the Design Exchange. Past DXA exhibits have traveled across Canada and as far afield as Korea, to be shown alongside the best in international design. Winners are also featured in press releases and in Express, the DX newsletter (reaching a readership of over 20,000). Winners are celebrated by their peers in the Canadian design disciplines at a gala Awards Dinner – an invaluable networking opportunity for established and new designers alike.

Final deadline is 26th September, 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The New York Festivals’ International Television Programming and Promotion Awards recognize “The World’s Best Work” in news, documentary, information and entertainment programming as well as in music videos, infomercials, promotion spots, openings and ID’s. Now entering its 49th year, the total number of entries in TV Programming continues to grow.

A separate fee is applicable for each category selection. Preferred payment is by VISA, MasterCard or AMEX. Checks must be drawn on US banks and made payable to International Awards Group. Checks drawn on international banks will not be accepted. No refunds will be made once judging begins. For wire transfer payments, all bank charges must be prepaid and an additional $25 US dollars must be added to the total amount of the wire to cover intermediary bank fees.

The deadline for entries is September 29, 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The Japan Design Foundation (JDF) will hold the International Design Competition 2008 under its basic principle of “Design for Every Being,” with its sights set on presenting visions for near-future lifestyles.

For the International Design Competition 2008, JDF has selected the theme “Earth Life.” They welcome diverse unique proposals on products, systems, business models, etc., that will prompt them to contemplate how we all should pass on to the next generation the Earth - a beautiful, irreplaceable,
living planet, the birthplace and foundation of human livelihood - and how to tackle, in our everyday lives, the environmental stresses facing us today and ensure a more sustainable, affluent and comfortable lifestyle.

Any individual or group, from any design field, anywhere in the world, may enter the competition. Entries will be accepted until September 5, 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The Board of Directors of Bodegas Terras Gauda, S.A., has unanimously agreed to set up an annual Advertising Poster Design Competition as a tribute to the artist who was not only solely responsible for the design of the corporate image, but also been a friend, efficient collaborator and partner since the creation of the Company. The winning original will form the basis for the Company’s advertising campaign for a one year period.

This competition is open to any natural or corporate person subject only to the restrictions imposed by current legislation. Original copies of entries, which must be unpublished, are to be submitted or mailed (by recorded delivery if the participant so wishes) to the offices of Bodegas Terras Gauda offices in O Rosal (Galicia, Spain). Any form of photographic, painting or computerized techniques, etc may be used. Under exceptional circumstances, originals created using painting techniques (oil, watercolors, guasch, pastels, etc) may be accepted without a computerized format.

All those works postmarked prior to 6 p.m. on 30 September will be accepted. Visit the site to learn more.

SnapVillage, the fresh stock photo site backed by Corbis, is giving away a free Wacom CINTIQ 21UX Tablet to one lucky creative. You’ve probably heard of it, but in case you haven’t, the Wacom CINTIQ 21UX Tablet is a top-of-the-line “interactive pen display tablet that combines a large-format LCD monitor with the most sophisticated cordless, battery-free pen technology, allowing users to create directly on the screen with amazing control.” For more details and specs, check out Wacom’s Web site.

Entering the drawing is easy and open to anyone in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and France – just fill out this short entry form. No purchase or registration (or talent!) is required. If you really want to win, come back once a day every day until September 5th to increase your chances.