Science fiction movies and novels have always had a soft spot for robots. Isaac Asimov, a prolific science fiction writer and scientist developed the Three Laws of Robotics:
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1. Robots must never harm human beings or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
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2. Robots must follow instructions from humans without violating rule 1.
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3. Robots must protect themselves without violating rule 1 and 2.
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Some depictions of these mechanical and electronic marvels in films were sometimes scary and sinister, but the flip side to this was being portrayed as friendly, helpful, and even comical.
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The first big superstar of robots debuted in the classic film Forbidden Planet, where Robby the Robot captured the imagination and delight of sci-fi fans everywhere. But most of us are familiar with R2D2 and C3PO from Star Wars. The darker side of robots was shown in the Terminator movie series.
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If you believe that robots are our friends, there is a contest just for you. It is named the People and Robots Best Friends Forever Design Challenge. This fanciful contest is sponsored by Mozilla, the developers of the popular web browser Firefox, and design company, Studio Number One.
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The contest rules are simple and direct. According to the contest promoters:
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* Make your design about technology making people’s lives ….better. Including robots is good too.
* Designs do not need to include the Firefox logo in the design
* Designs do not need to be composited onto a device (unless you really want to).
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There are three prizes:
First Prize: $1000 cash, and 5% of net sales from your design, Firefox Ogio Messenger Bag , plus $100 in products from infectious.com.
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Second Prize: Roomba Robotic vacuum cleaner, Firefox Ogio Messenger Bag, 5% of net sales from your winning design plus $100 in products from infectious.com.
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Third Prize: $100 of products from infectious.com, Firefox Ogio Messenger Bag, and 5% of net sales from your winning design.
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For the complete rules and submission guidelines click here. The contest deadline is August 24, 2009.

Many graphic artists, illustrators, and painters have dreamed about their work being published or displayed to a wide audience.
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How would you feel if your image was displayed on a large billboard for all to see, and admire?
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If you are looking for public exposure of your art, the Art Moves International Billboard Art Competition may be just the contest for you.
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The Art Moves Festival in Torun, Poland is particularly interested in entries from students attending  graphic arts schools or graphic arts colleges because the competition is, “…particularly addressed to young artists who are usually most eager to face new themes and untypical ways of art presentation.”

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According to the contest organizers, the contest theme, “Is Everything Interlinked?” encompasses:

“…a sort of metaphor of the contemporary world, both in the macro sphere (as clearly demonstrated by the example of the current global financial crisis which has revealed the links between particular national economies in the worldwide context…

“…and in the micro sphere, in which individuals exchange their emotions and affect other people’s life, without often realizing it. A simple illustration can be smiling at another person on the street and making him or her feel good as a result.

“These are obviously only examples and the actual interpretation of the theme and identifying various links in today’s world will be the role of the artists.”

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Ten winners will be selected. These designs will be printed and displayed on billboards throughout the city of Torun during the Art Moves Festival in October. Each winner will also be rewarded with €1600 ($2,264). Applicable taxes apply. Entries that do not win may also be displayed in the city at the discretion of the judges.

For a complete list of submission guidelines and rules, download the document by clicking here. For the official entry form, click here. There is no entry fee required for this competition.

Deadline for submissions is August 25, 2009.

Entries must be uploaded to the Wimco contest website and need to include the following information for each photograph:

- Your first and last name, street, city, …state and zip code of your residence
- Photos labeled with the entrants last name
- Location of where the photo was taken
- A valid e-mail address
- Comment about the circumstances of where the photo was shot

Vacation photos must be original and not plagiarized. Entries that are not original will be automatically disqualified from the contest. The judges will use their sole discretion to eliminate entries that are inappropriate.

There will be three prizes awarded:

First Prize: A week for two in St. Barts at Villa SIB VEL, plus a rental car. Beach bags, a $50 gift certificate to mypublisher.com, and travel guides.
Second Prize: A three night package at the Hotel Carl Gustaf in St. Barts, rental car, $50 gift certificate to mypublisher.com, beach bags and travel guides.
Third Prize: Complimentary first night lodging on next villa vacation from Wimco, $50 gift certificate to mypublishers.com, beach bags and travel guides.
Three Honorable Mentions: Each winner will receive beach bags and travel guides.

For complete contest rules and guidelines, click here.

The deadline for entries is August 7, 2009. Winners of vacation packages must use them by December 15, 2009. Blackout dates may apply.

Textiles or the weaving of fibers into cloth was once a painstakingly hard and arduous process.

Today, the textile industry is a mechanized marvel in the production of cloth in virtually every size, shape, color, and pattern.

If you are a graphic artist with an interest in textile design and want to see your creations come to life, Textile Republic is announcing an open call for design ideas in its Open Design, No Theme Contest.

As the name of the contest suggests, there are no limitations to the scope of what you want to submit for textile design patterns.

Entries must be submitted in jpeg and be no larger than 500KB. You may submit multiple entries. Only two color variations for each design are allowed in order to prevent entrants from resubmitting designs that only vary in color composition.

Special consideration will be given to entries that can be tiled or are able to be reproduced in a seamless pattern when printed adjacent to itself. If you win, you will need to provide your design in .tiff, psd, .eps, Illustrator, or .pdf format for reproduction purposes.

According to Textile Republic:

“… the most creative and popular (based on user voting) patterns to be printed by one of our reputable manufacturers all of which are internationally recognized for their superior digital textile printing. Designers whose patterns are selected to be printed and sold by Textile Republic receive $1,000 cash for their design and a 5% royalty on profits.“

Prospective participants must first sign up for a free account at Textile Republic in order submit designs. Click here for an account. There is no entry fee for this contest. The deadline for entries is December 1, 2009.

Everybody Owns At Least One
There is a ubiquitous piece of clothing that virtually everyone has worn at one time or another.

Some own six or seven, while others have dozens, if not hundreds.

Some use them as nothing more than utilitarian pieces of clothing.

Others use them as fashion statements, personal statements, or for fun. Corporations, businesses, and entertainment groups use it as a means of advertising.

This piece of clothing has stood the test of time and is as popular now as it was over five decades ago.

We are referring, of course, to the humble T-shirt.

The T-shirt has risen to designer status and is recognized as a legitimate form of fashion. If you are a graphic designer, illustrator, or have talents in the other disciplines of graphic arts, DBH is holding a competition that may be of interest to you.

The Contest
Design By Humans is celebrating its second year of operation by holding its DBH 10K Contest 2009. The deadline for this contest is July 26, 2009, Midnight, Pacific Standard Time.

Entries should be submitted under the following guidelines:

• The entries must be original art and owned by the entrant.
• The T-shirt designs can be for both the front and back.
• The design may contain oversized and mixed media content.
• Designs are allowed up to 14 colors, including gradients and halftones.
• Winning entries must be resubmitted in high resolution at actual size.

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The Judging

There are two periods of judging. In the first, the top 20 finalists are selected according to the top number of votes received before the voting deadline ends.

In the second phase, the top 20 winners will have all their votes reset to zero, and a second round of voting occurs to pick the top 10 entries that tally the highest votes.
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The voting schedule is as follows:
Top 20 Finalist Voting Period: August 3rd - 9th (Midnight, PDT)
Top 10 Finalist Voting Period: August 10th - 16th (Midnight, PDT)

The Prizes
The winning entry announcements will occur:
Aug. 24, 2009 - Fourth Runner-Up - $1,000 USD
Aug. 25, 2009 - Third Runner-Up - $1,000 USD
Aug. 26, 2009 - Second Runner-Up - $1,000 USD
Aug. 27, 2009 - Grand Prize - $10,000 USD
Aug. 28, 2009 - First Runner-Up - $1,000 USD

The votes will be monitored closely by the contest organizers. Suspected fraudulent votes will be removed immediately. DBH uses its sole discretion for determining the validity of votes submitted. To vote for your favorite design, click here.

For official contest rules and how to submit your entries, click here.

There is an old adage that states music is the universal language of the world. No matter what nationality, creed or culture, it can be enjoyed by practically anyone.

Those who are aficionados of music know the importance of a good set of earphones.

Sennheiser, a company that has been long recognized as one of the leaders in audio technology products, is announcing an open call for entries in its Sennheiser Headphone Graphic Design Contest.

Contestants 18 years or older, professional designers, amateur designers, and students attending graphic design colleges or graphic design schools are encouraged to enter.

Sennheiser is unveiling its new HD 418 headphones and needs ideas for exterior skin graphics to adorn the product. The HD 418 is a closed-back around-ear stereo headphone with an on-board dynamic bass feature.

Sennheiser states:

“Headphones are a means to listen to music… but it could be so much more! Here is your chance to customize your very own Sennheiser headphone to not only become an extension of who you are but allow you to enjoy the music inextricably intertwined into your life and share your passion with others!”

The target audience for the graphic designs is towards music lovers between the ages of 22-28 years old.

There will be 45 winners selected. Each winner will receive one limited edition of the HD 418 with their winning design featured on the headphone.

Entries are to be submitted in color and in high resolution .tif mode. Winners must turn in their original working files in .AI format. Additional information can be obtained by clicking here.

For a complete listing of guidelines and rules for this contest in .pdf format, click here.

The deadline for entries is August 28, 2009.