You Know You Are Good When…
A photography school instructor was fond of saying:

“Everything looks good when you shoot in color. But if you can make it look good in black and white, that’s when you know you’re good.”

Photography has come full circle from black and white to color and back again.

While black and white photography was once seen as passé and antiquated when compared to color images, the original form has returned as a popular medium for artistic expression and dramatic impact.

Blipoint.com is celebrating this unique photography format by holding its Black and White Portrait Photography Contest for illustrators, graphic designers, and photographers.

Contest Details
Submit a black and white portrait that shows the character and state of the subject you are photographing. Blipoint says:

“The black and white portrait transmits an image to us that reveals feelings and moods regarding the photographed person. It gives us a greater insight than just how people look on the outside.

“The visual language that we achieve through black and white photography adds complexity to the subject and gives it unique features.”

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Your images must be uploaded to the contest site. If your images are oriented vertically, the minimum dimensions for your photographs should be 15×10cm. Horizontal images must have minimum dimensions of 13×17cm. Maximum file size should be no larger than 700kb.

There is no entry fee for this contest and you may submit up to two images

Jury and Prizes
The winner of the contest will be selected though a process determined by the most popular images voted upon by the public and a final critique by a qualified panel of judges.

The winner will receive a free premium account to blipoint.com that will allow the winner unlimited use of the Blipoint Online Gallery.

Final Details
The deadline for submitting your digital images to this contest is September 1, 2010. You must open a free account with Blipoint in order to submit and vote for photographs and to access other areas of the contest website.

Follow these links for important contest information and details:

Official Rules and Guidelines
Blipoint.com Contest Website
Registration Page
Contest Images
Contact Information

The face of the U.S. population is gracefully aging (literally) because the “Baby Boomer” generation (individuals born between the years 1946-1964) are entering the early stages of retirement. There are almost 80 million people who are part of this demographic.

The Global Age-Friendly Design Awards 2010 (GADA 2010) is a contest that is open to all students, graphic designers, design firms, and the general public.

The purpose of the contest is to seek out design ideas for new products that can be used to enhance and assist the general well-being and lifestyles of the elderly.

GADA 2010 states:

“[The elderly] are integrated into the mainstream of everyday life through a more inclusive and embracing approach in the design of buildings, public spaces and, more recently, products and services.

This is important not only for social equality but is also a significant opportunity for business growth through new products and services.”

The Contest Details
Your product must be designed specifically for the elderly.

The following criteria will be used to select winners from the submitted designs. According to GADA:

* Innovativeness in design
* Creativeness in solutions
* Commercial value add and manufacturability
* Relevance to the elderly market
* Ease of use and relevant aesthetics
* System and environmentally sustainable and friendly

Entries are to be submitted online to the official contest website. Your submissions should include the following:

* 4 - JPEG images (different perspectives) with total size less than ….4MB
* 500-word write-up on the design rationale
* Agreement to License Form
* Parent/Guardian’s Consent Form (for participants under the age of ….18)

The Awards
There will be several cash prizes (Singapore dollars) for contest winners in addition to having their work displayed at the International Conference on Design for Aging, held in Singapore from November 18-20 2010.

Open Category
1st Prize - S$1000.00
2nd Prize  -  S$750.00
3rd Prize - S$500.00

Student Category
1st Prize -  S$750.00
2nd Prize - S$500.00
3rd Prize - S$250.00

Contest Links and Additional Information
For important contest forms, information, and contest guidelines follow these links:

Contest Website Details
Contest Rules and Guidelines
Contest Submission Form
Licensing Agreement - PDF Doc
Parent/Guardian Consent Form - PDF Doc (entrants younger than 18 years of age)
Contact Information

The deadline for submissions to the GADA 2010 contest is September 26, 2010. You may enter as often as you like. This contest requires no entry fee.

Design a Home for the 21^st Century
Are you a graphic designer and a fan of architecture? Are you interested in trying something different with your design skills?

Or perhaps you are an architecture professional or student. If so, now is your chance to stretch your creative muscles and apply your talents in the FreeGreen New Home Design Contest.

The contest is seeking entries from designers that demonstrate the concept of “affordable luxury” in homes. In the words of the contest sponsors:

“…home owners still desire livable, ascetically pleasing, and luxurious homes, but now need these same concepts implemented into smaller more affordable residential structures.

“This creates the perfect opportunity for the design community to take charge of this challenge and be the first to create new home designs, and design delivery methods that meet today’s restraints and requirements.”

Choose Your Venue
Contestants have the option of choosing between two design profiles: a traditional single family home or a modernist retreat.

Your draft must identify the climate region the home is designed for and cost $220,000 to $410,000 to build. All entries must fulfill the required square footage requirements for each design profile.

To see a summary of the requirements for each profile, follow these links:

Traditional Family Home
Modernist Retreat

Please note that certain contest assets and details will be only available after contest registration. The cost of the entry/registration fee is $50.

Judging and Prizes
The winners will be selected from the votes for best design from the public and a jury comprised of industry professionals. According to the official contest rules, prizes for this competition are:

Best in Show ($5,000 Prize)

* $5,000 Cash - For the best design across both contest profiles.
* The implementation of your design into a true house plan (full construction document set) by ….FreeGreen, to which you will retain the rights.
* Your winning house plan will be posted on the FreeGreen for-sale House Plan Web site, Better ….House Plans.

Best in Class (Two $1,000 Prizes)

* $1,000 Cash - For the best design in each profile (the Best in Show Design is excluded)
* The implementation of your design into a true house plan (full construction document set) by ….FreeGreen, to which you will retain the rights.
* Your winning house plan will be posted on the FreeGreen for-sale House Plan Web site, Better ….House Plans.

Final Details
These links provide important information regarding the FreeGreen Home Design Contest:

The Official Contest Site
Contest Schedule
Contest Rules
FAQs
Registration Page

The entry deadline is September 1, 2010. Send any questions about this contest to WhosNext [at] FreeGreen.com. There is a $50 entry/registration fee required to participate in this competition.

Lights, Camera, Action!
You may not have the multimillion-dollar budgets that Spielberg or Bruckheimer have at their disposal for producing movies, but you can create your very own short video commercial for the Unilever Consumer Creative Video Challenge.

Make a Commercial
Unilever makes a variety of products for consumers from soap to soup. The manufacturer says:

“Unilever works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Two billion consumers worldwide use a Unilever product on any given day.”

The contest sponsors want video ads that feature any of their featured global products.

Click on each brand name (bold blue text) to see the specific rules, guidelines and production assets for making your videos. Please note that some contest content are only available after registration (free).

* Axe

* Ben & Jerry’s

* Close Up

* Dove

* Knorr

* Lifebuoy

* Lipton

* Heart Brand

* Rexona

* Snuggle

* Sunsilk

* Surf

* Vaseline
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How to Enter

Video files must be submitted to the official website (see contest guidelines for each brand).

General requirements for entries are as follows:

* Videos files must be no more than 300 MB in size.
* Files can be in any of the following file formats: .mpg; .mov; .avi; .wmv; .mp4; .m4v.
* All prospective contestants must register for a free account at MoFilm to enter and download ….needed contest assets.
* All video submissions must be no longer than the maximum running time as specified in the ….contest rules.

Judging and Awards
Entries will be judged according to:

* Originality and Creativity: 50%
* Adherence to Creative Assignment Parameters: 50%

Winners will be awarded:

* An expenses paid trip to the Mofilm award ceremonies held in London (plus one guest).
* Entry to the BFI Film Festival in London (plus one guest).
* Red carpet privileges at the exclusive premier event.
* A total of £70,000 to be divided among 60 winners of the contest.
* Digital camera equipment.

Important Links and Information
Each contest brand has its own specific guidelines, video assets, and information. To access this information, register and go to the contest website.

For general information about this contest, follow these links:

Official MoFilm Contest Site
Contest Information - Legal
Frequently Asked Questions
Free Account Registration Site

There are no entry fees for this contest. The deadline for entries is September 15, 2010.

Frogs Are Our Friends
Frogs can be found, virtually everywhere, throughout the Earth in jungles, lakes, ponds, waterways, marshes, forests and other natural habitats.

Frogs are not only interesting and unique creatures that are able to live on land or in the water; they serve an important role in balancing the ecosystem by eating various insects, small animals or pests.

Frogs also serve as a source of nutrition for larger animals in the food chain.

Frog Population Declining
According to various studies the population and health of frogs are declining due to deforestation, climate change, and pollution. The organization, Save the Frogs, is an international group of scientists, naturalists, educators and policymakers whose goal is to help protect amphibious creatures by educating the public and through legislation efforts.

The Contest
Save the Frogs is holding its 2nd Annual Save the Frogs Art Contest. The competition is especially calling for entries from art students and teachers, however amateur and professional graphic designers are welcome to enter as well.

The contest is international and artists from any country can enter. There is no entry fee for this contest.

The sponsor of the contest is asking for submissions that have graphic elements that feature images of amphibians, the text Save the Frogs!, Save the Frogs.com or both texts.

The winning artwork will be used on various Save the Frog items such as t-shirts, mugs, hats, posters, and stickers. The money raised from the sale of these items will be used for conservation efforts by Save the Frogs, a public funded charity.

Contest Guidelines
A Grand Prize Winner will be selected from one of the following age categories:

* Under 10 years old
* 10-13 years old
* 13-17 years old
* 18 years and older

Submissions for this contest may include artwork that is either hand-drawn or produced through a computer graphics program.

The theme of the image may include pictures of frogs, toads, salamanders, caecilians or newts. The artwork may be in color or black and white.

According to the contest sponsors, artwork entered to this contest must be original and not be based upon the artwork of others. All artwork must refer to the theme Save the Frogs by including one of the following elements in a clear and legible form by showing:

– the phrase SAVE THE FROGS! (capitalized, with an exclamation point!)
– the phrase savethefrogs.com (lowercase with NO exclamation point)
– both SAVE THE FROGS! and savethefrogs.com (as in a logo)

These two phrases can appear on the same design, or alternatively you could put one phrase each on two related pieces of artwork which could work well as the front and back of a t-shirt, or on the outside and inside of greeting cards, for example.

For complete instructions on image format, resolution settings and submission guidelines click here. For questions concerning this contest that are not covered on the official website, send your emails to: art [at] savethefrogs.com

Awards
Each age category winner will receive $35 in cash and a $30 credit to the Save the Frogs gift center. The Grand Prize Winner and category winners may have their artwork featured on products and items sold by the Save the Frogs gift center.

Contest winners and honorable mentions will be acknowledged on the Save the Frogs website along with images of their artwork.

Other Info
For those who wish to submit their entries via regular mail, click here for the contest entry form. Complete contest rules can be found by clicking here. The art contest terms and condition can be found by clicking here.

The deadline for entries is September 29, 2010.