In association with CEA, Core77 is proud to announce the launch of this year's Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2009, challenging designers to create the next generation of greener gadgets. Once again, finalists will be JUDGED LIVE at the Greener Gadgets Conference, this year slated for February 27th in New York City. Prize money is $3000 for 1st Place, $1000 each for 2nd and 3rd Places.

We were thrilled with the response from last year's competition, and in addition to the prize money, winners, finalists, and several notables received an incredible amount of press from magazines and websites around the world. Since this year's competition will also incorporate public online voting during the 2-week period before the conference, top designs will be receive unprecedented media attention. This is an amazing chance to use design to contribute positively, so we encourage all designers to get in the game!

Deadline is January 15th. Here's what you need to get started:

Overview This year's Greener Gadgets Conference will take place on February 27, 2009 in New York City. As part of the event, Greener Gadgets has once again partnered with Core77 to generate outstanding design innovations for greener electronics. This design competition challenges established design firms, emerging designers, and design students to come up with new and innovative solutions to address the issues of energy, carbon footprint, health and toxicity, new materials, product lifecycle, and social development. The top 50 entries will be published on the web for voting and commenting, and top finalists will be showcased live at the Greener Gadgets Conference for judging by an expert panel. Awards will be given out at the end of the conference program, and winners will be showcased on Core77.com, GreenerGadgets.com, CE.org, and Inhabitat.com.

Design Brief We invite designers to explore the concept of "Greener Gadgets." Designs should seek to minimize the environmental impact of consumer electronic devices at any stage in the product lifecycle. Areas of sustainability to consider include:

1. Energy 2. Materials / Lifecycle / Recycling 3. Social & Educational Development

Participants are encouraged to consider their designs as part of the entire product ecosystem, and should think as holistically as possible. Designers may choose to focus their entries on a particular area of human enterprise (learning, playing, communicating, etc.), or a particular context (work, home, school, etc.), a particular material, or a specific device. Entries may also seek to create new paradigms for products and services.

Ultimately, we are looking for "great gadgets" of the greener kind.

Click on for more details. Submission Details Create three jpeg images, 1024 x 768, at 72 dpi The set of images must tell the story of the design at three scales: - 1 image showing context - 1 image showing object - 1 image showing details, exploded view, etc.

Write a description Make it short - maximum 200 words. You can include text in the composition of your images, but you should send a description of your project separately as well.

Send in your work Attach your 3 image files and 1 text file to an e-mail and send them to: GreenerGadgets [at] core77 [dot] com. You must include your registration number in the subject line of the email.

Prizes Grand Prize: US$3,000 Second Prize: US$1,000 Third Prize: US$1,000

Judging Entries will be pre-judged by representatives from Core77 and Greener Gadgets. A set of 50 Semi-Finalists will be showcased at the Core77.com and GreenerGadgets.com websites for voting and commenting. A set of 10 Finalists will then be selected by the judges for final judging LIVE on stage at the Greener Gadgets Conference on February 27, 2009 in New York City. (Finalists are not required to be in attendance.) Winner and runners up will be determined at the event though a combination of on-stage judging panelists and live audience votes.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: innovation, clarity of design, originality, form and presentation.

Important Dates December 3: Competition opens; registrations and submissions January 15 Midnight EST: Entry Deadline (competition closes) February 1 - 20: Semi-Finalists showcased in online gallery for voting and commenting February 27: Finalists showcased at Greener Gadgets Conference. Winner and Runners Up selected Groups and Multiple Entries

You many enter the competition as a group. One member should fill out the registration, and all group members' names should be at the start of your descriptive paragraph. If you would like to submit more than one design, register a second time to obtain a second registration number, and include that number with your second entry.

Publicity All winners may be required to participate in press initiatives including the following:

* Names and winning concepts to be incorporated in all PR outreach and press materials surrounding the Greener Gadgets competition. * Winner and Runners Up will each be required to submit a headshot and bio for press use.

Originality All submissions must be work that is original from the designer and not in production. (Projects that have been previously published or exhibited may also be submitted.) IMAGES SUBMITTED MUST NOT CONTAIN PREVIOUSLY COPYRIGHTED ARTWORK. Do not copy-and-paste elements from other sources. Submissions with such elements will be disqualified.

Rights Intellectual property rights will remain with the designer, although Core77, Greener Gadgets, and CEA retain the nonexclusive right to publish or display any competition entry in any format, exhibition or publication.

Eligibility This competition is open to all designers, students and enthusiasts worldwide. Employees of Core77, Greener Gadgets, or CEA are not eligible to participate. Questions

Please contact GreenerGadgets [at] core77 [dot] com with questions about the competition.

About Greener Gadgets Greener Gadgets, now in its second year, is a one-day conference scheduled for February 27, 2009 and featuring key representatives from some of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world, innovators from academic thinktanks, members of startups focused on renewable energy, and some of the leading minds in the word of sustainable design and business. For more information, visit www.greenergadgets.com