Spark is the exciting new competition created to promote great design and designers. They invite everyone to participate - designers, art directors, architects, design firms, manufacturers, institutions, ad agencies, students and novices may enter and enjoy the Spark Design Awards.

Graphics, product, transportation and architecture are just a few of the many design categories accepted. If you or your company create great designs, don’t miss the opportunity to compete in this important event.

To accommodate the greatest possible range of designs and designers, and to lower the initial cost of entry, the SparkAwards are now configured as a “two-phase” competition, just like a sports playoff series. In Phase I, the entrant will upload an image of their work and short description to the Spark website. The Phase I fee is US$125.

The first phase (virtual jury) final deadline is August 1. An international jury will carefully review the entries in early August. Phase I entrants chosen by the Jury will then have the option to participate in Phase II, as a Spark “Challenger “candidate, with payment of a second fee of $250. Phase II deadline is September 1, 2008. Jurists will judge the actual, physical works of design, so you’ll need to ship your design to the Jury site by September 5. Visit the site to learn more.

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

This call for entries is open to young artists ages 16-25 living in the United States who have a physical, cognitive, or mental disability. They are interested in both representational and abstract work, based upon the theme, “Green Light.”

There is no entry fee and prizes are substantial. Art work must be original and created within the past three years. VSA arts and Volkswagen of America, Inc. (co-sponsor) reserve the right to purchase the artwork of the fifteen selected finalists at the artist’s specified price. Deadline is Friday, 11 July 2008, midnight (MST). Visit the site to learn more.

Boosted today announced an exclusive content deal with Los Angeles-based artist Amanda Visell offering its youth wireless customers an opportunity to own and experience a piece of artwork from the renowned artist on their Boost Mobile phone, for a fraction of the high gallery fees.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with talented artists such as Amanda Visell, and are leading in our efforts to differentiate this high quality content,” said Jeff Park, director of business development for Boost Mobile. “We are developing an intensive experience on the web that is consistent with the quality of the artist’s work and enables Boost customers to experience such art in a meaningful way.”

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At right: Lifecycle Building Challenge winner: South Lake Union Discovery Center. David Miller, The Miller|Hull Partnership.

Enter the second year of the Lifecycle Building Challenge competition to shape the future of green building and facilitate local building materials reuse. Submit your innovative project, design, or idea for reducing to conserve construction and demolition materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by designing buildings for adaptability and disassembly.

Lifecycle building is designing buildings to facilitate disassembly and material reuse to minimize waste, energy consumption, and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Also known as design for disassembly and design for deconstruction, lifecycle building describes the idea of creating buildings that are stocks of resources for future buildings.

Only residents of the United States and its territories are eligible. Registration closes 31 July 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

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!

Join the metacycle community by helping to increase product longevity through design and rapid prototyping technologies. In the design lab, they present the following design challenge: Choose one of 10 selected objects and transform it into a new, functional and eco-responsible product. For example, take a flip phone and turn it into a makeup case.

The winning idea will be developed by the professional designers of the Metacycle team and all commercial rights will remain with the originator of the idea. A physical model will be created and shipped to the winner.

Deadline is 30 June 2008. Winner will be chosen by 15 July. Visit the site to learn more.

The first competition of its kind to encourage unique concepts in mobile gaming from developers of all backgrounds and all levels, the Mobile Games Innovation Challenge seeks the best in groundbreaking ideas and game concepts from the brightest and most creative minds in gaming today.

Sponsored by Nokia Publishing, the Mobile Games Innovation Challenge invites developers to submit mobile gaming concepts to help drive mobile gaming worldwide to the next level of excitement and innovation, relying on the advanced features and functionalities of any Nokia N-Gage, Java or Symbian-based Series 40 or S60 device.

The three most innovative game concepts will be offered Nokia Publishing pre-production contracts, targeting publication of their winning concept on the corresponding Nokia device platform. In addition, the first winner will be awarded 40,000 Euros, the second 20,000 Euros and the third 10,000 Euros to enable the participant to further develop the concept.

Deadline for submissions is 20 August 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Online magazine SHIFT presents DOTMOV Festival 2008, a digital film festival aiming to discover talented creators and to provide them with an opportunity to show their works. Works submitted from all over the world will be screened throughout the world venues from November 2008 (Date will be different depending on the venue). Last year’s total submission was 297 works from 34 countries. This year’s tour will be Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo.

The goal of this festival is to discover talented artists and provide them with an opportunity to show their work. They also are trying to increase the international scope of the festival by inviting guest creators, active on the front lines of the creative world, to participate as judges. During the festival, holding a lot of related audio & visual events, they explore the possibility of digital films.

Deadline is 20 September 2008. Visit the site to learn more.