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.

Introducing the newest design showcase from HOW magazine: the HOW Poster Design Awards! There are no categories, and it doesn’t matter if your poster was created for yourself, for work or just for fun…we want to see what you can do! So take this wide-open media and run with it—then make sure you submit your work to us by December 1!

10 winners will be featured on the HOW website, get $150 worth of HOW books and receive a 1 year subscription to HOW magazine. You will also receive a graphic to post on your website announcing your winning status. Work must have been created between July 1, 2007 and Dec.1, 2008. Each entry is $25. All entries must be submitted online no later than December 1, 2008. Entries submitted after Dec. 1 require a late fee of $10 per entry. Entries will not be accepted after December 15, 2008.

Visit the 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.

The Earth Awards is a global search for future-crucial design solutions that will improve our collective social, cultural, economic and ecological quality of life. Submissions will be accepted in multiple categories; product design, architecture, fashion, food, alternative energy, and more.

Submissions must be achievable, scalable, practical, collaborative, inclusive, original and energy-reducing. All finalists will be flown to New York City for an Awards Ceremony Gala on December 8, 2008, where the first prize winner will be announced. The winner will receive a monetary prize, and all finalists will receive the opportunity to pitch their ideas to industry leaders including venture capitalists, industrialists, and Fortune 500 business leaders.

Deadline is 14 November 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Join the hottest furniture designers around when you enter the HotSeat 3 chair design competition, presented by OFS and Metropolis. Finalists will be awarded a trip to Santa Monica to present their designs at the OFS Santa Monica Showroom opening on 5 February 2009.

Design criteria? Incorporate wood in materials usage, environmentally conscious, technilogically relevant, sustainable, progressive, accessible and aesthetically pleasing. Deadinle is 26 December 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

Check this out, textile designers - for only $5.00 USD, you can receive a demonstration video (download only) about machine wrapped cording and support a worthy cause simultaneously. This multi-media workbook was developed especially for Fiberarts for a Cause (FFAC) by Linda Matthews. 100% of the $5 purchase price goes to the American Cancer Society through FFAC.

You will need to have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed on your desktop in order to view the video. Visit Matthews’ site to learn more.

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.

Entering its sixth year, The Accolade is an international, non-traditional, virtual venue. Awards go to those videographers who produce fresh, standout entertainment, animation and compelling documentaries. The Accolade is a showcase for cinematic gems and unique voices.

The Accolade recognizes videographers, large and small, who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity. Undiscovered and first-time videographers are often recognized. Additionally, annually, a special award is given to a filmmaker, television producer or videographer who makes a significant contribution to social change or a humanitarian effort.

The entry fee is $50 per entry per category, with 83 available categories. Deadline is 14 November 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

WHERE IS HEAVEN ON EARTH? When that question was put to 82 world-renowned photographers of National Geographic, their answers came back as varied and surprising as life itself. Visions of Paradise (Oct. 21, 2008; $35) features 155 spectacular images divided into three themes - land, water and air. Enriched by the photographers’ own recollections, each image is a compelling reflection of what is most divine in the world—and an inspiration for us to protect our beautiful and threatened planet.

Now, National Geographic invites the general public to submit images that best represent their unique vision of heaven on Earth to the Visions of Paradise Photography Contest, October 21-December 21, 2008. Each week 20 Editor’s Picks will be selected from all qualified entries and posted on the site, where viewers can vote on their favorites. At the end of the submission process, Editor’s Picks will also be judged by an expert panel of photographers and art directors, who will select a final list of 20 official winners. The winning photographs will be posted on the site and
each winner will receive a customized copy of Visions of Paradise with their winning photograph as the cover image.

To enter and for complete official rules, go to the National Geographic “My Vision” site.

Every animated short entered into this contest will receive personal comments from international animation experts. They will review films, make comments and select award winners.

This is just one of a new series where, each quarter, AniMazing Spotlight will present two awards for “Excellence in Animation.” The “Best Naimated Short” will be selected from the eight Quarterly Winners at a final awards ceremony at the world-renowned Egytian Theatre in Hollywood, CA on 8 November 2009.

The AniMazing Spotlight contests are open to undiscovered and/or rarely-seen short animation (no more than 12 minutes long)…no age limits, no school requirements, any production year, any animation format, even professionals in the animation industry, who are testing out the independent world, are eligible. In other words, anyone is eligible, as long as the short, or shorts, have never been seen by a wide audience, or received any major award, prior to AniMazing Spotlight.

Fees are charged. Deadline for the awards are as follows: 29 Dec 2008; 30 March 2009; 29 June 2009; 30 August 2009 and final awards 30 August 2009. Visit the site to learn more.