SlowArt Productions is announcing an open call for all artists to send in their submissions to its eighteenth annual Emerging Artists contest. Works produced in painting, photography, graphics, digital art, drawing, and sculpture are eligible for the competition.

The Awards
- Grand Prize: $1000 cash
- Publication Awards: One artist will be awarded a two-page layout in the 2010 edition of Direct Art magazine and two artists will receive a one page display.
- Gallery Exhibition: The artist winners will have their exhibits on display at the Limner Gallery, March 5-27, 2010.
- Internet Exhibition: Artist winners will be featured on the Limner Gallery website.

Submission Guidelines
According to the contest sponsors:

“Artwork submitted may be represented either by digital image files, prints up to 8.5″ x 11″ in size, or 35mm slides. Prints may be any format, photographic, laser, ink jet are all acceptable.

“Each slide or print must be numbered and labeled with artists name, title of work, media, and dimensions of work. List the same information on the entry form image list.

“Digital image files may be submitted on PC platform CD, DVD or 100mb Zip disc, TIF or JPG format are acceptable. No files larger than 15MB please. Include a reference sheet with prints representing the images on the disc. Next to each print write the artist, title, media, dimensions and file name. Write the file name on the corresponding entry form image list

“Self-Addressed-Stamped-Envelope (SASE) must be included with sufficient postage for the return of materials. Artists outside the US may include international reply coupons instead of stamps, or may add return postage cost to their entry fee at a rate of $1.00US per ounce of mail. Ensure that your materials fit easily inside your return envelope and you have enough postage, review the SASE postage rate sheet for details.”

The History of Direct Art Magazine
Direct Art magazine was founded in 1996 and serves as an alternative to mainstream fine art magazines.

The direction of the magazine is to showcase new talent from around the world that would otherwise be excluded from exposure by the more established art publications.

Limner Art Gallery
Limner Gallery was founded in 1987 and displayed alternative art that was often controversial and intriguing. Today it is located at Hudson, NY and serves as a trendy location for fine art and antique aficionados to visit and enjoy the exhibits.

For a complete list of guidelines, click here. There is a $35 entry fee for up to four slides, prints, or digital images. The contest deadline is November 30, 2009.

Cell phones have become a common sight in today’s world. Everyone from the very young to senior citizens use this electronic marvel to communicate, send text messages, and take pictures.

In 1983, the emergence of a truly portable cell phone cost the consumer $3,500 or the equivalent of $7,538 in 2009 dollars! Today, a cell phone can be free of charge with a the commitment of a one or two year contract with a wireless cell phone provider.

Cell phones have come a long way since 1983 and the quest for new innovative designs are a high priority for many cell phone manufactures. Fujitsu Limited is one of these companies and is announcing its Fujitsu Mobile Phone Design Award Contest. Professionals, amateurs, and students from graphic design schools, graphic design colleges, or other institutions of learning are eligible to enter this competition.

Fujitsu is running the event in partnership with the Japan Design Association, a non-profit organization to “help solve… [21^st century societal] problems with the power of design and to promote the building of a beautiful and emotionally rich cyclical society.”

There are two categories for this contest. The official website states:

• Practical Category: Mobile Phones for 2001

A chance to let your dreams blossom - we are looking for inspirational designs. Winning designs in this category may be commercialized.
Design requirements: the design must show that the mobile phone is keyboard equipped, operable with one hand, and utilizes an LCD screen of 3″ or larger.

• Dream Category: Mobile Phones of the Future

Futuristic mobile phone designs that reflect your free and uninhibited imagination - we are interested in futuristic designs illustrating cutting-edge technologies as well as interface designs that open up new ways of use, which in turn can inspire new design ideas for Fujitsu’s line of mobile phones.

The Design PhD Conference is a collaborative event between ImaginationLancaster at Lancaster University and the School of Design’s Centre for Design Research at Northumbria University. The conference offers an opportunity for PhD students, Masters students, recent graduates and businesses to meet, exchange knowledge and ideas, and learn about the latest developments in design thinking, methods and research projects.

ImaginationLancaster is a creative research lab at Lancaster University that investigates emerging issues, technologies and practices to advance knowledge and develop solutions that contribute to the common good. We offer a PhD programme and MA courses in Design: Management and Policy and Sustainability, Innovation and Design. Both courses prepare students for roles in the fast changing, multifaceted and interdisciplinary world of design in modern society.

The School of Design in Northumbria University, with more than 1200 students and almost 100 staff, has an international reputation for innovation and real world creativity. Northumbria University’s international reputation in practice-based design education and its links to alumni such as Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple, complements the internationally recognised practice-based design research emphasis of Imagination.

Keynote speaker is Alastair Fuad-Luke, and the theme for the event is “Sustainability, Innovation and Design.” PhD students are invited to submit an A2 poster representing the key elements of their doctoral research in relation to the conference theme. Deadline is the 30th of March. For details, guidelines and other information, visit the site.

The “Third Maier S. Coop. Design Competition,” an international competition for the design of vehicle interiors organised by the company Maier S. Coop with the collaboration of Mondragon, the Innovation and Financial Promotion Department of the Bizkaia Regional Government and Eide (the Basque Association of Industrial Designers), has become a major Design Competition, with substantial prize money and extensive media coverage.

The Competition Organizing Committee encourages designers, engineers, students, amateurs and professionals alike, to take part in this year’s competition, presenting their creative and innovative proposals for vehicle interiors.

The aim of the competition is to award prizes for projects consisting of ideas for new products, focusing on vehicle interiors, more specifically for doors, with innovations affecting their opening and closing lifetime and other uses. These new product ideas should be geared to facilitating user operation, simplifying the currently-existing systems, including new features, improving driver and passenger safety, modernizing the appearance of the vehicle interior using new decoration techniques or including environmental improvements.

There are two prizes: First Prize: Award and 6000 Euros; Second Prize: Award and 3000 Euros. Any natural person or legal entity may take part in the competition. The deadline for presentation of Projects is 30 April 2009. Visit the site to learn more

ADI-FAD plays a leading role in the field of industrial design in Catalonia and in Spain. Its status as a pioneering body has been favored by a series of positive circumstances, the long history of industrial activity in Catalonia, and the tradition of the decorative arts. Its continued development is ensured in the support generated by over forty years’ experience in activities, representation and membership, and its presence on both the national and international stages.

The objective of the Delta Awards is to encourage public recognition of the products that stand out for their innovation, the conceptual originality shown in their design, for their environmental value and popularity among the public, as well as their formal production and manufacturing quality, through selecting award-winning designs.

Products by Spanish and foreign designers, produced and distributed by Spanish or foreign companies, and that reach production no later than 1 April 2009 may be entered for the 2009 ADI-FAD Delta prizes. Only products marketed in Spain in the period between the last two competitions and the present may be entered. Products entered in previous editions may not be entered again. Versions of non-original products will not be accepted when, in the duly advised opinion of the Jury, there are clear signs of plagiarism.

The registration fee is 120 Euro for each product entered, 100 Euro for ADI members. Further fees are required for the next progressive entry level. Deadline for first entry phase is 15 March 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

Design Lab is an annual global design competition open to undergraduate and graduate industrial design students who are invited to present innovative ideas for household appliances of the future. Electrolux Design Lab 2009 invites undergraduate and graduate industrial design students around the world to create home appliances that will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes, and do dishes over the next nine decades.

The design ideas should address key consumer insights such as being adaptive to time and space, provide learning and allow for individualization. Registration is free and applicants must accept the competition conditions. The Design Lab has a First Prize of 5,000 Euro and a six-month paid internship at one of Electrolux’s global design centers. Second prize: 3,000 Euro. Third prize: 2,000 Euro. All cash prize awards include VAT.

Applicant registration and submissions will be accepted through May 31, 2009. Visit the site to learn more about the guidelines, judges and more.