Venus febriculosa is a blog dedicated to books and book design with an emphasis on the twentieth century and concentrated primariliy on the works of Vladimir Nabokov. Following on the heels of our successful Book Cover Design Contest #1 in which we challenged readers to generate compelling visuals for Vladimir Nabokov’s legendary 1955 novel LOLITA, this time we turn for inspiration to Umberto Eco’s "postmodern" 1980 novel THE NAME OF THE ROSE. One submission per entrant. Copyrights of all entries shall remain the property of the artists. This contest is open to anyone 18 years or older anywhere in the world. There's no entry fee.

The Full frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality. The Full frame Documentary Film Festival is pleased to announce its first-ever poster contest, to be produced for the 13th annual festival occurring April 8-11, 2010 in Downtown Durham North Carolina. One design will be chosen to be printed in a limited edition run to be sold at the festival. The winning designer will receive a special “Artist” Priority Pass (a $500 value) for the 2010 festival as well as hotel accommodations for the duration of the festival. The winning poster design will be chosen by a jury comprised of Full frame staff and special jurors. Contest is open to anyone worldwide and has no entry fee.

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival is pleased to announce an open call to British Columbia artists to create the poster for "VLAFF 8", which will take place from September 2-12, 2010. We are looking for an image that represents Latin American Cinema in an interesting, relevant and eye-catching way, and in a way that avoids stereotypes and clichés. In addition to the poster, the winning artwork may be featured on other VLAFF promotional materials including transit shelter ads, t-shirts and print media. So instead of idling away the winter with dreams of the warm, Latin American sun, put your creativity to work and design our poster! The contest is open to all British Columbia artists. There is a limit of three entries per person. An internal jury will select the winning design. Entries will be evaluated based on appeal, content and marketability.

Totally independent, the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards, now in it’s second year, is the only concept of its kind dedicated exclusively to design. Judged by a highly influential panel of top international journalists from the design, hospitality and lifestyle sectors, the judges will recognise and reward both ’restaurants and bars’ and their ’designers’ for design excellence. With free online entry and a wide variety of categories, applicants and their projects receive extensive exposure, raising their profile for the duration of the competition and beyond. Culminating in a unique and innovative awards ceremony, the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards’ winners, including the best designed restaurant and the best designed bar, will be announced and presented with their award at a stunning central London location in June 2010. These awards are open to UK projects (the only exceptions are restaurant and bar entries made into the international category) launched or renovated between the 1st January and 31st December 2009.

VoteForArt.com is a new startup backed by the large apparel company MV Sport, which is among the largest marketers of licensed apparel. They are the holder of hundreds of collegiate licenses and are a licensee of Minor League baseball, the US Olympics, the PGA. Vote For Art hosts graphic design contests at major universities, where the winning design based on votes from the public is sold at the University bookstore. We’ve just completed a contest for Purdue University and we’re presently hosting a contest for Arizona State University. The Men’s NCAA basketball season is upon us and the Sun Devils are looking for a cool, never-before-seen design for their basketball fans. The winning design will be printed on t-shirts and sold in the "The College Store" and the winning designer will earn $500 and 2% of the winning t-shirts online store sales. The contest has only a few rules. The design can not contain more than 5 colors. There should be no mention of any other university in the design. There should be no crewd and profane images. The contest is open to anyone worldwide. The contest has no entry fee.

Enter the most prestigious contest for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Any Illustration first printed or produced within the last twelve months prior to the deadline is eligible. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. Illustration Competition Categories/Fees, these categories are judged by the illustration jury and will appear in the Illustration Annual: Advertising: $35 single entry/$70 series - Books: $35 single entry/$70 series - Editorial: $35 single entry/$70 series - For Sale: $35 single entry/$70 series - Institutional: $35 single entry/$70 series - Motion/Animation: $80 single entry/$160 series - Self-Promotion: $35 single entry/$70 series - Unpublished: $35 single entry/$70 series. Entries must be registered no later than Midnight (Pacific Time Zone), January 8, 2010. Entries registered after that date require a late fee of $10 per entry. No entries may be registered after January 22, 2010.

Enter “365: AIGA Annual Design Competition 31” to take your place in design history! Your work could be shown in a traveling exhibition, published at designarchives.aiga.org and archived for posterity at the Denver Art Museum. If your work is selected, countless future designers and potential clients will have access to your creative legacy. Work in all media that has been designed, produced and used in the marketplace between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year is eligible. School projects are not eligible. Entry fee from $30 to $70.

Jíbaro: Shrunken Heads is the second edition of our Custom Paper Toyz contest, hosted by ALittleBeat Magazine & MostWantedPaper (design & multimedia collective) and powered by Carhartt Streetwear. A contest in which participants have to customize a Paper Toy from a template. Anyone can participate regardless of age, gender or place of residence. Each participant can submit up to 2 proposals. The technique is free, you do what you want with your Paper Toy, add elements, sticking textures, creating a group of several Toyz. Total freedom. The contest will have an only winner, who's prize will be: 500 € in cash and a subscription for life to A Little Beat Magazine. The winner will be determined through an online exhibition and voting in our website. The outcome will be public on March 5, 2010 in a closing party in Valencia (Spain).

The Art Directors Club and Nissan North America today announced a partnership to launch the inaugural ADC-Nissan Student Brief Competition. Students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate level programs in advertising, graphic design, photography, illustration and new media are eligible to enter. Participants will develop a creative campaign or concepts for the US market that make the Nissan cube part of the target audience's life, using channels and communications vehicles they feel most appropriate to the target's lifestyle and what the model represents. Entry Fees: $35.00 each. Ten plus student entries, submitted as a group, decreases the entry fee to $25.00, per piece.

The Summit International Awards (SIA), being one of the world’s most prestigious industry recognition organizations, is now open for submissions in its 2010 Summit Creative Award (SCA), recognizing and honoring advertising, design and web creation for contestants with billings under $30 million. Throughout its sixteen-year history, the SIA has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of creative and communication excellence. Using rigorous evaluative criteria, it is the only competition rewarding those firms truly deserving of top recognition for creativity. All work submitted must have been completed within the last two calendar years, 2008 and 2009, up through the final deadline. Entries may not have been previously entered in the competition. Winning entries receive the coveted Best of Show, Gold, Silver or Bronze awards. Judges select Best of Show from among Gold winning entries. Fee from $25 (Student Submissions) to $135 (Campaign Entries).