contests

Milliners, start your engines! Chapeau master Stephen Jones has teamed with British Vogue and Talenthouse on a design contest that’s tops. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Create a one-of-a-kind, spectacular hat and then submit a photograph or illustration of it to the contest website. The winning design will be featured in the V&A exhibition “Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones,” which opens at New York’s Bard Graduate Center on September 15. In addition to the honor of having his or her hat displayed alongside toppers ranging from a twelfth-century Egyptian fez to dyed and feathered creations by Philip Treacy in the New York show, the winner will receive a two-week internship with Jones in London, tickets to the opening night party for “Hats,” and a signed copy of the exhibition catalogue. “Hats really can be anything and made from anything—just look at Elsa Schiaparelli’s shoe hat,” says Jones, who will select the winner. “This is a great opportunity for designers of all kinds to make something spectacular. Hats are the exclamation mark of an outfit, let’s hope we get some strong statements!” Put on your thinking cap, because Thursday is the last day to enter. The winner will be announced on August 26.

Back in May, you might recall, the American Institute of Architects continued their celebration of finally having seen an Architect Barbie brought to market after years of failed attempts by its members. At their annual conference, this year in New Orleans, the AIA hosted not just a workshop for 7 to 9 year old girls to both play with the new doll and to hear from a practicing female architect, but they also announced a contest to design Architect Barbie’s Dream House, seeing as its an association filled with people who do such a thing for a living, and if one Barbie should have an insanely well-designed house, it’s this one. The turnaround for getting designs in for the contest was quick, there isn’t really a prize to speak of, and Mattel has no plans to build the winning design, but the AIA still managed to get in close to 30 submissions. Now they’re asking the internet to vote on a winner from the five finalists. Voting runs until August 1st, and the winner will be announced the day after. It takes mere seconds to vote, and you don’t have to be an AIA member, so browse the finalists and chime in with your selection. If you want our opinion, we’re vying for Entry #30658049 because it has a hole outside of the exterior bathroom wall so that a giraffe can poke its head in. That seems vitally important.

David Byrne is among our favorite design-minded, art-loving, musical multitaskers, and UnBeige HQ is home to the bulk of his discography (have you discovered the myriad joys of Uh-Oh, his 1992 solo album, for example?). So we’re particularly pleased to relay the glad tidings that our friends at New York cultural center Exit Art are preparing to raffle a bicycle bedazzled by Byrne. Underneath all those sparkles is a Biomega Copenhagen Bike, the first internationally available shaft-driven bicycle. The integrated transmission makes it durable and easy to maintain, leaving the rider free to focus on more important things, such as keeping the frame all a-shimmer and finding new, subtle ways to tell the world that this bike was encrusted with tiny crystals by David Byrne. Ready to win this thing? Simply point your browser here and purchase a raffle ticket, available through Thursday at noon for $20 each or $100 for six. In addition to the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you’re supporting Exit Art’s swell programming (Autotopia, for example), a ticket will get you an invitation to the party at which the raffle drawing will take place, but as Richard Nixon once said, “You do not have to be present to win.”

Because the design world has been so vocal online for the lo these many years in regard to spec work (chiefly, of course, being against it), our anti-spec senses will likely now be forever heightened. So we’re not entirely sure what to do with the “Design for Paul McCartney” contest, which has just launched and will be running until September. In one sense, as it simply calls for “graphic art inspired by his critically acclaimed solo albums,” it’s a seemingly innocuous way to interact with fans and give the winners some nice prizes (which includes records, posters, tickets to shows, $1000 for the grand champion, etc.). On the other hand, the contest is helping launch a new tech start-up called Talenthouse, the top 10 winners will be displayed at Saatchi & Saatchi‘s online gallery (and if they wind up selling prints, is that $1000 prize such a great deal?), and, most obviously, used to help sell McCartney’s concert tickets and albums. So are we thinking too much into this? Or is it just your usual branded contest, like a Super Bowl commercial-making competition where, if you win, you get $1,000 for making a stellar ketchup ad, but the company in turn makes loads of money that dwarf the piddly sum they paid you? We don’t have the answer. Whatever the case, if entering this sort of thing gets you going, well there’s the link above. If it’s the sort of thing that gets you fired up, well we apologize for ruining your morning.

We told you the National Capital Planning Commission was quick, and not that we needed it, but now we have the proof to back that up. Just two short weeks ago, the NCPC announced its finalists to redesign the President’s Park South, the open area directly south of the White House. The competition aimed to make the area, now a bit bland, more warm and inviting, even if it did include “beautify[ing] the security components,” which is short for “where the heavily armed guards stationed there hang out.” Unlike many design competitions where the wait between shortlist and winner can take eons, just a few short days later and the NCPC has announced that New York-based Rogers Marvel Architects has landed the commission (pdf). You can see their submission on this page and here’s a description from the announcement of Marvel’s plans for the space:

Rogers Marvel’s design defines the edge of the Ellipse by adding a seating wall with integrated pedestrian lighting, while subtly raising the grade of the Ellipse. This establishes a security feature, reinforces the Ellipse as an event space, and minimizes the visual appearance of adjacent parking. This bold, elegant move allows for a larger, unobstructed interior public area. The design culminates in a new E Street terrace that joins the enhanced space of the Ellipse with the White House South Lawn. The terrace provides another prominent space for public gathering. Should threat conditions change in the future, this design could also accommodate re-opening E Street, NW without requiring significant changes.

So you think you can design logos. No, that’s not the title of a new reality competition show (unfortunately), it’s our way of taunting you to enter the Brands of the World logo awards contest. What’s in it for you? Fame and fortune, of course. “As part of a large network of sites that generate more than five million visitors monthly, we can reach many employers and clients,” says Ivan Raszl, editor of Brands of the World and the brains behind the logo lauding initiative. “So participating in the logo awards can convert to employment offers or freelance work.” Plus there’s an iPad 2 up for grabs. It’s as easy as registering here, uploading the best work you’ve created so far this year, and then waiting for judges including Armin Vit (UnderConsideration) and Calvin Lee (Mayhem Studios) to deem you worthy of one of the gold, silver, or bronze awards. (An entry fee of $19 per logo is required.) All submissions must have been created by the designer or firm submitting the work between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011, which is also the last day to enter.

Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art issued a call for photos that highlighted a detail of a single work of art from its permanent collection, setting off an epidemic of close-looking (who knew Edouard Vuillard‘s canvases were so mesmerizing in extreme zoom?). Having yielded hundreds of submissions—and a gorgeous Tumblr—the “Get Closer” contest has concluded with the announcement this week of five winning entries, including this intriguing close-up taken by Ruth Rogers. We like the elementary school science bookishness of it, teasing the viewer as to its appropriately scaled identity. Is it a colonial textile? The braid of one of Ghirlandaio‘s girls? A intricate rendering of wheat? Nope, it’s the tightly wrapped torso of the Mask of Osiris mummy (305–30 B.C.), acquired by the Met in 1944 from one Mrs. Goddard DuBois. “I can sense the artisan’s hand in this work,” wrote Rogers in her entry. “Look how perfect this wrapping is, thousands of years later. The time, the effort, still projects through time and space.”

Are you a handbag designer in search of your big break? Looking for a way to get your line of sparkly headbands to an audience beyond that of Etsy.com? Is your haute hat line ready for its close-up? Then Henri Bendel wants to meet you. The Limited Brands-owned specialty store has added an online twist to its legendary “Open See” designer casting call (the likes of Anna Sui and Todd Oldham first got their designs into the store this way). Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Submit a sketch of a handbag, hair accessory, scarf, hat, small leather good, or piece of jewelry, and Bendel’s buyers will have a look. A word to Project Runway fans: don’t bother submitting apparel concepts. The store stopped carrying clothing and shoes a couple years ago. The Online Open See is open through July 21.

If you’ve spent any time in Washington DC, particularly in the section of DC where everyone visiting will spend the majority of their time, you’ve no doubt realized that the area immediately surrounding the White House isn’t especially inviting. Sure, crossing south from the White House to head over to the center of the National Mall you’ll pass some trees and some various other pieces of greenery, but it’s mostly just grass. Lots and lots of grass. Take that walk in the summer, without nearly a tree in sight and you’ll feel like you’re in a desert (one with lots of humidity and tourists). However, the National Capital Planning Commission is eager to try and remedy that issue, at least out to Constitution Ave and still leaving The Ellipse treeless, so of course not to block the President’s view of the Washington Monument. The organization has picked five finalists for the President’s Park South Design Competition. There’s Roger Marvel Architects, Hood Design Studio, and the firm you’ve likely come to expect whenever it comes to high-profile landscape design competitions, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. The five finalists’ plans will be on display at the White House Visitor Center until Monday, followed by a public meeting to address the plans at the NCPC’s headquarters on Tuesday. And as it appears that the government is itching to move forward with this, they’ll announce the winner on Thursday the 30th. For those who can’t make it to DC, you can weigh in on each plan through the competition’s site. Our money is on Van Valkenburgh for the win, considering lately he’s seemed like both a darling of the presidential set, the governmental set, and well, again, high-profile landscape architecture competitions in general.

Just last week, we were at a show where there were three contestants on stage. We kept looking at one of them, wondering just how we knew her. From some other comedy show? A designer at some firm who had stopped by this writer’s office sometime? Only last night did we realize, “Oh yeah, she was the woman who won the Museum of Science and Industry‘s ‘Month at the Museum‘ contest last year.” We’re embarrassed to admit that, given that both the Chicago museum and Kate McGroarty (that’s her name) received international attention for the project, wherein she spent a month living and working in the MSI. And given all of that attention, we knew it was just a matter of time before the museum relaunched it, for another taste of a very media-friendly project. Sure enough, like some sort of cosmic kismet, just this week they’ve announced ‘Month at the Museum 2: Science Never Sleeps.” If you enjoyed last year’s run, or want to give it another go, you’ll find some details below:

Even before Kate moved out last November, people asked if we’d do it again. After the experience with Kate, the answer is…absolutely. One person couldn’t possibly do it all, and some new elements will make the month even more of an adventure.

MSI once again is seeking someone to take on this amazing assignment: spend a Month at the MuseumTM to live and breathe science 24/7 for 30 days. From Oct. 19 to Nov. 17, 2011, this person’s mission will be to experience all the fun and education that fits in this historic 14-acre building, living here full-time and reporting his or her findings to the outside world.

Sure, it’s a commitment. But if you are chosen and then successfully complete Month at the Museum 2, you’ll walk away with a prize of $10,000, a package of tech gadgets, and new knowledge and experiences that may just transform you.