Shapeways, a leading global community for 3D co-creation and production, invites 3D artists to submit their hottest objects to be produced into physical tangible products by Shapeways.com and showcased at SIGGRAPH 2008. They are looking for the most inspiring 3D object that can be made. It could be anything: a necklace, a starship, a figurine, art or a useful object of some sort. Their judges are going to evaluate each submission according to just one criteria though: how inspiring is it? Shapeways is the first online platform to harness the power of a global network of 3D production service partners to ensure cost-efficient, reliable manufacturing and order fulfillment of 3D designs starting with custom 3D printing.

Submissions accepted through August 7, 2008 Visit the site to learn more.

Participants are invited to design a new company logo for this leading developer of global, reliable, environmentally friendly devices. Based in Canada, E3P will be a world leader of advanced environmental energy technology solutions. E3P is focused on technical supremacy and global significance, and is looking for a logo that becomes as recognizable as the company’s technology.

The winning logo will receive a prize of US $5,000.00 and the opportunity for your design to attach itself to this emerging leader in advanced environmental energy technology solutions. There is no entry fee. Contest is open to anyone who agrees to Contest Rules as specified on the Web site.

For design guidelines, Contest Rules and submission requirements, see http://www.E3PContest.com. Contest Deadline: September 15 2008.

Architects and designers of interiors, fashion, products and graphics, you are cordially invited to enter your work into the 2008 International Design Awards. Professionals and students alike are encouraged to enter. Winners of IDA08 will be celebrated at a cocktail party and week-long reception in Los Angeles or New York in December 2008. In addition, the winners will receive pulication of their work in the 2008 International Design Awards book, to be distributed to museum bookstores nationwide; promotion in email blasts to 100,000 design professionals and potential clients worldwide; year-long coverage on the International Design Awards Web site; critical acclaim by a distinguished panel of judges. Finally, all entrants are automatically included in the IDA Designer Directory.

Deadline is 30 August 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

If you are a designer and have something to say about Design for All, now is your chance to express it with design! EIDD Design for All Europe has launched the Design for All communications competition for posters, institutional videos and guerrilla marketing tools dedicated to capturing the differing perception of its work in the field of Design for All, i.e. design for social inclusion, all over the world and applying it for promotional purposes.

The EIDD Design for All Europe award scheme is endorsed by Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations), while the organizational aspects are the responsibility of IIDD Design for All Italy and Design Center Bologna.

The deadline for entries is 31 August 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Shift has been trying to offer artists many platforms to showcase their works online. The Shift calendar competition held from 2003 successively, pushes the boundaries between online and off line using a “calendar” as its medium. Entries are invited from all over the world and selected works will be distributed throughout the world in the format of a physical calendar.

This year, selected works will be exhibited and sold at PRINT’EM web site for a year with support by PRINT’EM, a graphic print center operated by Mitsubishi Paper MIlls Limited.

The deadline for this competition is 10 September 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Blu-ray are changing the way you watch movies! Be part of the ultimate in high definition by creating your own poster, ad or video for Blu-ray. Sony encounrages you to design an original, exciting and passionate expression of why Blu-ray offers the best movie experience with its high definition, better-than-cable or satellite quality, better picture than DVD and pure hi-def audio. Come up with an incredible idea as well as the tagline, “Why Blu?” and you could win amaing Sony prizes including a Sony PlayStation 3 with built-in Blu-ray Disc Player and $250 cash or scholarship.

Deadline is 30 July 2008 at 11:30 pm PST. Visit the site to learn more.

Opening in the historic center of Florence, a new international school of design will welcome students from all over the world to commence its first full session on January 19, 2009. The Florence Institute of Design International will offer a new type of boutique academics focused entirely on international students providing Interior Design, Graphic Design and Architecture programs with both master and semester abroad options available, as announced by Founder and Creative Director, Architect Marc DiDomenico.

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So many of us struggle with the demands of our careers, families and personal lives. Putting balance into your life can make all of it work better: It’s a combination of organization, recognition, realization and creation. Learn to recognize your unique priorities and design a path that turns your fantasy to reality.

You can learn to outline your career goals, successfully balance your work and professional life, and develop the strategic-thinking skills you need to get ahead in the design field—all in three one-hour Webinar sessions. Hugely popular HOW Conference speaker Jeni Herberger draws on her 20 years of experience in design to give you expert advice on charting your ideal design career.

The Webinar will take place on 24 July at 4pm ET/1pm PT. Visit the site to learn more and to register.

Creativematch has launched the Student Portfolio Competition, sponsored by Quark and aimed at creative students and recent graduates who want to get their portfolios in front of potential employers. The creativematch Portfolio Competition is open to UK resident students and graduates up to 6 months of leaving their course.

The competition is free and gives creative students the opportunity to showcase their work to thousands of professionals. To enter, students just upload their portfolio to the creativematch website, which is visited by tens of thousands of industry professionals a week. They will automatically be in with a chance of winning a design package containing a Mac Book computer and Quark 7 Pro, worth more than £1,200 and five runner up prizes of a Quark 7 Pro.

Closing date is 30th September 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Diesel Wall is an international art contest that aims to bring intriguing/inspiring/insightful/inciting contemporary ideas to giant urban canvases in city centers around the world. Diesel Wall was born out of a need to salvage what precious public space is left. They will take your art, your powers of dissuasion; your ability to disrupt; incite; excite; inspire and intrigue; to make comment; to make beautiful; to make real; to make people think again. And they will give you walls in four major cities around the world to express yourself!

You must be logged in as a DIESEL CULT user to upload file. Deadline is 11 July 2008. Visit the site to learn more.