EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Exhibit Design Awards honor the world’s best trade show exhibit designs. The most coveted design award in the industry, the competition draws domestic and international entrants from countries such as Turkey, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Trade show exhibit designs debuting between Dec. 1, 2006, and Dec. 1, 2008, are eligible for the 2009 competition. Final deadline is 12 December 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

The annual Skyscraper Competition, organized by eVolo, has become an important architectural prize with high media attention. The 2009 edition invites architects, engineers and designers to continue exploring on new dieas and concepts for vertical density.

Skyscrapers have been springing up in fast-developing countries without careful consideration of the urban fabric, environmental effects and quality of life. The 2009 competition calls for innovative designs for the historical and social context, the existing urban fabric, the human scale and the environment.

All students, architects, engineers and designers are invited to participate. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. Participants must register by 12 January 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

The GE Edison Award is an annual program sponsored by GE, and that recognizes excellence and quality in professional lighting designs that employ significant use of GE light sources (lamps and/or LEDs).

Entries are judged on the following criteria: functional excellence; architectural compatibility; effective use of state-of-the-art lighting products and techniques; appropriate color, form and texture revelation; energy effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Winning projects receive Awards of Excellence, Awards of Merit, Awards for Excellence in Environmental Design and/or an Award for Residential Design. The GE Edison Award Winner is selected from among the Awards of Excellence.

The GE Edison Award competition is open to all professional designers, architects, engineers, and consultants (except GE employees) who have made significant use of GE lamps in the submitted project. Only installations completed between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008 may be submitted. Entries must be received by GE (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on 12 January 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

In this conceptual design competition, The Design Institution welcome all designers around the world to create products that reflect new ideas for the beach, sea, terrace or swimming pool spaces, involving aspects such as comfort, pleasure, recreation, cleaning, environment protection, etc. The focus is on furniture, accessory or any other item to be used within a beach, sea, swimming pool or terrace spaces.

The competition participant may create a generic design, that is, applicable almost to every context, or, if desired, consider a more specific context, such as: type of beach (sand, stones, among others), whether (warm, hot, rainy, snowy, among others), type of sea (with or without waves, transparent water, cold or hot water, among others), location of pool or terrace (natural environment, indoors or outdoors, etc.) type of pool (indoors or outdoors, covered/heated swimming pool, etc.).

This competition is for design students and for professionals from all design branches, and the contest can be entered as an individual or as a group. First prize is $3,000 USD. Deadline is 2 March 2009. Visit the site to register and to learn more.

This competition, now in its 16th year, celebrates exceptional examples of contemporary American design featuring fabulous Italian ceramic tiles. In order to select from a large pool of outstanding installations, an international jury looks at the overall design of the space as well as how the tiles meet their functional and technical requirements.

As you scroll through this new website dedicated to the competition, you’ll find detailed competition rules; a downloadable submission form; answers to frequently asked questions and a historical look at the award-winning projects from the past 15 years. Hopefully, the new site will inspire you to submit project(s)! The North American architects and designers that have won in the past have ranged from star architects like Bernard Tschumi, Stanley Tigerman and Laurinda Spears to young up-and-comers.

Deadline is 6 February 2009. Visit the new site to learn more.

The Going with the Grain Challenge is to design an original and compelling object that can be made from a single sheet of FSC-certified plywood measuring 4-feet x 8-feet x 1-inch. Entries should be functional designs that reveal the beauty of the wood.

Eligible entries are limited to one sheet of plywood. All are welcome to enter, including furniture designers and manufacturers, architects and industrial designers. But, you must be a member of Design 21: Social Design Network to enter this contest. This Challenge is co-hosted by The Nature Conservancy and FSC-US who are working together to increase consumer awareness of and demand for FSC products.

Application for this competition closes 26 January 2009. Learn more about free membership at Design 21 and other guidelines at Design Green Now.

Each year a distinguished jury will award a $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation of a strategy that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.

Winning the Buckminster Fuller Challenge will require more than a great stand-alone innovation. If for example, your solution emphasizes a new design, material, process, service, tool, technology, or any combination, it is essential that it be part of an integrated strategy dealing with key social, economic, environmental, and cultural issues.

Entries must present a bold, visionary, tangible initiative that is focused on a well-defined need of critical importance. They should be regionally specific yet globally applicable, and backed up by a solid plan and the capability to move the solution forward. They want the winning solution to be what Fuller called a ‘trimtab’ – a catalyst inserted into a failing system at the right time and place that accelerates the transition to an equitable and sustainable future.

You must be over age 18, able to submit the entry in English, have a current and valid ID, and be available to be contacted by phone or email at any point in the evaluation process. A discounted entry fee of $50 is available for students, academics (employees at a university or research institution), people entering on behalf of a registered non-profit, and financially contributing members of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. Deadline is 7 November 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

I.D. is now accepting entries into the 2009 Annual Design Review. Winners will appear in the July/August 2009 issue of I.D. Beginning this year, the Annual Design Review will also feature a new category for Student Work, replacing the Student Design Review. Students should now enter the competition using the standard Annual Design Review entry form.

Since 1954, the Annual Design Review has recognized the best in product, furniture, graphic, and environment design, from the iconic to the obscure. Throughout the years, this annual showcase has chronicled the evolution of design, and highlighted its impact on our material and visual culture. Each year, the featured work is chosen by a jury of leading practitioners, who, along with I.D.’s editorial team, focus the abundance of submissions into a clear survey of the state of design. The resulting overview is published in the July/August issue of I.D. magazine - the Annual Design Review issue.

Deadline is 1 December 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Photo: Belkin Cable Dome, Kenneth Mori, principal designer; Dale Honda, senior mechanical engineer, 2008 Design Distinction Award.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today opened entries for the 2009 Mark of Excellence Awards, presented by CEA’s TechHome Division to honor outstanding achievement in custom home electronics products, services and installation. Winners will be announced at an awards dinner on Friday, March 13, 2009 at the Rosen Centre Hotel, during the tenth annual Electronic House Expo (EHX) Spring 2009, which returns to the Orange County Convention center in Orlando, Florida, March 10-14.

Award entries will be accepted until November 14, 2008, and will be reviewed by a panel of industry experts and submitted in two categories: Supplier and Systems Integrators. New sub-categories this year include Best Software Application, Best Universal Design Home and Best Community Home of the Year.

“We look forward to receiving this year’s entries for the most innovative products in custom home electronics,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of conferences and events, CEA. “We are continually impressed by the quality of product submissions as our Mark of Excellence Awards program becomes more popular every year.”

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The heritage of tea is laden with ritual and meaning that dates back thousands of years and spans the globe. The Japanese heat the tetsubin, a cast iron pot, over a portable charcoal brazier in the art of chanoyo, the tea ceremony. The Russian samovar earns its charm from its function: It keeps water, and a pot of tea concentrate, hot for hours, drawing people together in communal relaxation and conversation. At its best, the modern tea kettle translates this heritage into an icon of contemporary life, with form that functions at all levels.

The functions of a kettle are manifold. First, it must hold a dangerous substance-boiling water. It must operate safely and reliably. It must communicate its status instantly. When well designed, it elevates the experience of preparing, sharing, and consuming tea. No small task.

The intriguing balance between functionality and meaning inherent to this quintessential icon of the home has inspired World Kitchen to choose the tea kettle as a vehicle for design education, experience and expression. Thus, they are sponsoring this Tea Kettle Design Competition, with the endorsement of the Industrial Designers Society of America.

They have structured the competition to offer an inspiring opportunity to delve into cultural meaning through three fundamental materials. And they plan to reward the best designs at the International Home + Housewares Show ® in March 2009 with $5,000 each.

Deadline is Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at 5 pm Eastern Standard Time/US. Visit the site to learn more.