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.

The world of materials is developing swiftly and becoming increasingly complex. Designers have known for a long time that the success of a product and its design also depends on the right choice of materials. Pioneering materials can provide functional, aesthetic and production-related impulses. At the same time, engineers and developers are inspired by design requirements to develop new materials and technologies.

To highlight this interrelation, to demonstrate the importance of materials for industrial design-oriented applications and to establish a platform for designers, material manufacturers, developers, engineers and producers for a get-together, MunichExpo has been organizing the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award for six years. The main focal point of this award is on aerospace, automotive, engineering, sports and technical consumer goods.

For the first time, the Student Award career grant, which has been endowed since 2005 by MunichExpo Veranstaltungs GmbH, comes with prize money of 1,500 Euro. Students from the fields of design, engineering sciences, mechanical engineering, natural sciences or all other fields of study that incorporate topics such as material development, material applications or process engineering are invited to participate.

Regular deadline is 31 May 2009 for both the regular and student categories. Visit the site to learn more about the entry categories and guidelines.