Are you a visionary?
What will cars look like in the future? How will our dwelling places look like? What sorts of home appliances and electronics will be available to the families of the future?

If you have thought about these questions you have the opportunity to show your ideas of the future by entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011.

The contest details
Send in your best renderings in 2D or 3D to Realtime Technology.

The sponsor states:

“Show your creative visualizations for product innovations in the year 2020. What comforts and luxuries you envision for future consumer goods like cars, home appliances or any other objects. Make these modifications tangible, through the use of 2D or 3D stills and animations.

“RTT is asking the next generation of computer scientists, creative design, architectural and illustrative visionaries to step up and submit their visions for innovative product interface designs in the future.”

Submission guidelines

* You may submit your images in digital format or an URL link to your ….artwork
* You must send in a project description of your work
* Your project description should show the proposed solution and reason
* The project description should be submitted in PDF format (in English)

Send your entries to: contest [at] rtt.ag (replace [at] with “@”)

Prizes
Winners will be invited to the RTT Excite 2011 event in Munich, Germany (May 19-20) to present their projects. There will also be two Intuos4 M Tablet PCs given to the two winning teams.

Contest links and information
Send your questions about this contest to: contest [at] rtt.ag. The contest deadline for entries is April 15, 2011. The contest is free to enter.

Follow this link to the contest website:

RTT Funky Visualization Contest 2011

Graphic design school and your future
If you are thinking about entering the RTT Funky Visualization Contest your active imagination for designing products may be strengthened through classes at a graphic design college.

You will learn about the principles of design, layout, and related courses that will help you to improve and hone your design talents in package design, industrial design and other related disciplines.

Speak with a graphic design school representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.

Look, laugh and listen
In this article we’ll show more of the graphic design mistakes that slipped through the cracks during the production phase. Were these errors made under tight deadlines or too much pressure? These are the times when visual gaffes happen.

Some slip-ups are understandable while others could have been entirely preventable. Whatever the case, we hope that the mistakes of others can help all of us to be more careful when producing our images.

Have a good laugh and file these “lessons” away until you need them…especially when you only have a few hours left till deadline. Our thanks go to the members of photodisasteters.com for finding all of these gems or should we say lumps of coal?

Sweat the little stuff
Sometimes it’s the little stuff that gets past the gatekeepers during production. The errors aren’t big ones but they do point out that someone didn’t take the time to be more precise in the editing of the images.

In this case, an ad for the Audi A5 dashboard looks elegant and sporty except for one little detail.
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If you look closely between the 5 and 6 on the tachometer (left dial) you’ll see that the image has the rpm markers missing.

Yes, it’s just a little detail but car fans will immediately notice the omission.

This would be OK for the general public but to a car fan it’s a definite no-no.
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Was it really worth it?
Large businesses and companies spend a great deal of ad money to get the word out on their products; the ads cost a princely sum to produce.

Scarlett Johansson has represented Moët beverages for several years and this photo is one of the many she posed for in the Moët magazine ads.

But if you consider that Moët probably spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to have this ad produced, you may have said to yourself, “I could have done that…and probably a lot cheaper too.”
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This ad is about as “cut and paste” as you can get and we don’t mean that in a good way.

The balloons were shot separately in a studio (note the double highlights on many of them), while Ms. Johansson was photographed on a couch during another photo session.

The background (out of focus) was used as the backdrop for this image. Drop out the green screen behind the balloons and Ms. Johansson, do a few layers and voila, you have a composite image.

There’s nothing wrong, inherently with the concept, but considering the cost of this ad we think that Moët received the short end of the stick when the contract was signed with this ad agency.

Sweat the little stuff, again…
Sometimes it’s cost effective to use an old graphic for an event that happens annually. All you have to do is to change the year or date and you’re done.

Not so fast, bud. You have to be careful that you’ve changed all the important graphics in the image to make sure none of the old dates are still present. Can you spot the error in this image?
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The year “09” appears correct but if you look at its reflection you can see that it says “08” from the previous year’s ad.

You can see the enlarged ad here and the actual mistake here.

Graphic design school
Talent can help you attain a career in graphic design; graphic design schools help you to master the techniques of using various elements to produce professional graphics.

If you are a graphic designer, continued education classes are available at your graphic design college. These courses can bring you up to speed on the latest software and hardware applications.

If you are planning to attend a graphic design school, speak to your school counselor about the various career training options available to you in this fast-moving industry.

Next time…
Not everything that is a “mistake” is a mistake. In some cases graphic designers and art directors break the rules to make a point or draw attention to the subject at hand.

Stay tuned for examples in next week’s article on Graphic design mistakes and blunders.

Got art?
It’s time to clean out your desk because the old sketches or long forgotten brainstorm images you created for fun may be good candidates for an art competition.

You may be a professional in the graphics industry, an artist or just someone who likes to draw and create images, but whatever your station in life the More Glory Contest is seeking your best work.

The More Glory Contest sponsors state:

“Each of us has artwork laying around at home - like university, freelance or spare time stuff - that we are really proud of but may have never gotten the chance to present to anyone.

“Just choose your favorite / best / craziest / most innovative work that you have done so far and submit it. Done.”

What to submit
This is an open ended contest with no specific theme. The only request is to submit your best and brightest work.

You may send in any of your works in virtually any category of media such as:

* Photos
* Graphics
* Illustrations
* Installations
* Videos
* Animations
* Ads

Prizes
Every idea that Jovoto decides to license will receive £50 (80 USD) and a free flight for the winner to New York or Berlin and a night out with the crew of Jovoto.

General contest rules

* This is an open contest and anyone may participate
* If your piece was a joint creation please list the others as co-authors
* You need the rights to publish your work if they have been ….previously published elsewhere
* All participants need to have a registered account on Jovoto

Contest links and other information
There are no entry fees for this contest. The deadline for entries is March 10, 2011.

Follow these links for more contest information:
Official website
Registration site

Graphic design school and talent
If you are thinking about entering the More Glory contest, you probably have a good grasp of graphic design principles and layout.

But you can always improve your talents by taking a few classes at a graphic design school to learn more about the wonderful world of design.

Speak with a graphic design college representative and find out what sort of classes and educational opportunities are available to you.

Get a scholarship for your education
The EDSF (Electronic Document Scholarship Foundation) recognizes the need for talented industry professionals in document and image management for businesses, government and public record keeping.

If you are a full-time student and majoring in graphic communications or document management, the EDSF Scholarship Program award may help defray part of your college education costs.

Who is eligible for this scholarship?
You must be a full-time student who is committed to seeking a career in document management or an associated major such as graphic communications.

To be fully eligible for consideration of the EDSF scholarship you must meet all of the following criteria:

* Have an interest in pursuing a career in document management or graphic communications
* Have an overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale
* Be registered as a full-time student at an accredited university or college as of fall 2011 ….semester

Scholarships are based upon the student’s performance in a combination with the following:

* Scholastic excellence
* Quality of application essay
* Participation in school activities
* Community service
* Honors and organizational affiliations
* Education goals
* Academic and professional recommendations

Other information and scholarship links
Students who also major in graphic design, web design, illustration, information technology and other associated disciplines also qualify for this scholarship.

There are no entry fees for applying to this scholarship. Applications must be postmarked by May 2, 2011.

According to the EDSF your application must include the following items:

* Part 1 - General Information Page
* Part 2 - Cover Letter
* Part 3 - Essays (two essay responses)
* Part 4 - Activities
* Part 5 - College Transcript *
* Part 6 - Recommendation Letters *

* Your college transcript and recommendation letters may be mailed separately.

Submit all application materials to:

EDSF
1845 Precinct Line Road
Suite 212
Hurst, TX 76054
United States

Follow these links for further information:

Official website
PDF application form

Graphic design school and scholarships
If you currently attend a graphic design college or are planning to enroll, be sure to take advantage of the many scholarship programs that are available to students seeking financial assistance for their education.

Some graphic design schools offer scholarships, loan programs, and grants, so be sure to ask your graphic design college representative about these options.

Learn from the mistakes
Graphic design schools can teach you the proper design principles needed to become a proficient graphic designer, but sometimes mistakes are the defining things that help you to learn what works and what doesn’t.

In the next few articles we will show you the mistakes of others. The comforting part is they are not your mistakes.

The “funny” side is these errors were made by the professionals, which gives us all comfort that even the best of us can make mistakes.

In the following graphics we’ll provide a short commentary on what went wrong and what we can learn from these missteps.

We want to give a big thanks to all the members of the website psdisasters.com for providing all of the leads.

Size really does matter
A good rule of thumb when assembling composite images is to be aware of the proper size perspectives of different objects as they relate to one another. In the case of this Onkyo sound system ad, something has gone awry.
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There are lots of interesting elements in the background of this ad: musicians, singers and a miniature elephant.

It is understood that the various people and animals represent the clarity of the sound system, but the tiny elephant and other disproportional elements makes the ad look cheap.
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Physiology 101
If you took biology, anatomy or physiology classes in high school or college, you’ll remember a great many graphics and illustrations of the human body and how it works.

When it comes to human anatomy, the structure and “rightness” of what a typical body looks like is second nature to most of us. In this ad, the model strikes an elegant pose. But something is wrong…
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The dress the model is wearing is draped a certain way so that her legs appear to be disjointed from her body. Is it a bad camera angle or a Photoshop mistake? Only the art director knows.
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One, two, three, four…
Although graphic design is primarily about images, graphics and layout, the need to be accurate in numbers is also very important. In this poster for a fighting exhibition, the contenders look ready and willing to fight.

But does one competitor have an unfair advantage in the scheduled bout?
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If you look closely at the opponent on the left, he is striking a pose with his fists. But the odd thing about the pose is the number of knuckles showing through his boxing glove. It appears this man has six fingers!

In reality, this is just an example where a little Photoshop magic could have helped. The extra “knuckle” showing is actually his palm appearing through an opening in the glove.

The other fighter also shows the opening, but it doesn’t appear like a finger as in the case of the fighter, Bonnar.
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Graphic design school and principles of design
Layout, perspective, color and design are some of the important elements you’ll learn at graphic design college. These graphic design principles will help you to create and produce images of professional quality.

The attention to detail, making sure all the graphics are presented properly, and ensuring that your piece is free of mistakes is up to you.

Next time…
In part two of “Photoshop mistakes and blunders” we’ll show you more examples of how little details can make the difference between a great design and an unintentionally funny one.

It’s really surreal
Surrealism, most notably represented by the works of Dali and Magritte, can warp your senses and delight you at the same time. Its main tool is to use juxtaposition with objects, people or perspectives.

The Hugo Create 20: Surreal Appeal contest wants to see new concepts in surreal art by including its widely recognized icon, the Hugo Man bottle, into your creation.

Hugo Boss states:

“…the brief for the newest Hugo Create challenge is to create a design inspired by the least limited of the artistic genres, surrealism. Interpret it in a progressive Hugo way.

“What should surrealists be doing today? Should you be twisting the minds of Dali and Miró? Or should you revolutionize surreal to make it really real? Show how surrealism should work today, and include the Hugo Man bottle in your design.”

General contest rules

* Anyone 18 years or older may enter this contest
* All submissions must be in digital form and uploaded
* Files should be no larger than 500kb
* Image files should be in JPG format
* Image designs should be at least A4 or larger and 300 dpi
* You may submit up to 5 pieces

Prizes
10 winners will be selected for this contest. An announcement of the winners will be released in the early part of April 2011.

* Each winner will receive a cash award of $500.
* One overall winner will be featured in the Hugo Create blog
* The overall winner will be featured in the prestigious magazine, i-D
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Contest links and information
There is no entry fee associated with this contest. The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2011.

Official contest site
Contest theme and guidelines
Contest gallery
Submission upload site
Design tool kit (zip file)
Online design generator