Gallery: Win! Designers Duke It Out in 10 Creative Competitions
01creative-competitions-red-bull-3d-printed-trophy-2
Why should jocks get all the glory? Designers want to compete for the gold, too! Here's a round-up of 10 creative challenges that will test your creative chops. Designers can take the trial by wire and build a relentlessly destructive robot, make opponents quiver with fear at the sight of their amazing Jell-O sculptures, and show everyone there is more than meets the eye with amazing cosplay. Warm up your soldering iron, activate your MakerBot, and summon all of your creative juice to stomp the competition in these DIY duels. Photo: [Thingiverse](http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10516)
02creative-competitions-san-diego-comiccon-bumblee-costume-transformers-wired-design-2
__San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade__ [Project Runway for comic book fans — July 14, 2012](http://comic-con.org/cci/cci_masq.php) __The Goal:__ Truly devoted fans of pop culture strut in *Haute Couture* homages to their favorite characters at the [San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade](San Diego ComicCon Masquerade). Competitors spend months crafting exact replicas of their favorite costumes, sewing, molding, and 3-D printing elements until they look like they could single-handedly clean up Gotham City. Costumes at this fashion show can come from any area of pop culture, but they have to be entirely handmade or face banishment to Arkham Asylum. __The Prize:__ Free tickets to the next Comic-Con, thousands of dollars in cash, and an incalculable amount of geek cred. Photo: [Lionel Lum](http://www.flickr.com/photos/14427733@N07/3634495345/)
03creative-competitions-redbull-flutag-wired-design-2
__Red Bull Flugtag__ [An airshow for artists - Summer-Fall, dates vary by city](http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/#/index) __The Goal:__ Red Bull's [Flugtag Competition](http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/#/content/about-flugtag) invites the brave to build human-powered "airplanes" and "fly" them off a 30-foot ramp. In the competition's 21-year history there have been no Kitty Hawk moments. Everyone crashes, safely, in a well-designed spectacle. Would-be Wright Brothers are judged on their flight's distance, But the creativity and showmanship are what draw 90,000+ fans in 35 cities across the globe. __The Prize:__ Honor, mostly. Some cities offer flying lessons as the grand prize to truly give you wings. Photo: [Mr. Truffle](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrtruffle/2391432733/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
04creative-competition-combots-wired-design-2
__ComBots__ [Demolition derby with robots - April/October, San Mateo, CA](http://robogames.net/registration.php) __The Goal:__ What do you get if you combine the cute appearance of WALL-E with the homicidal tendencies of HAL 9000? [ComBots](http://combots.net/index.php). At this annual event, robots make art, play soccer, and most importantly, try to destroy each other. This spectacle of crushed steel and flying sparks is not to be missed and is open to anyone with a love of welding and wreckage. __The Prize:__ An [LED lit, laser cut medal](http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/roboawards) and the satisfaction of keeping SkyNet at bay for another year. Photo: [Combots](http://combots.net/pix.php)
05creative-competition-jello-mold-fish-gowan-studios-wired-design-2
__Jell-O Mold Competition__ [A cook off for hipster homemakers - Summer 2012, Brooklyn, NY](http://www.gowanusstudio.org/jello/workshop2011.html) __The Goal:__ [Gowanus Studios](http://www.gowanusstudio.org/jello/) in Brooklyn hosts an annual competition to find the world'd greatest sculptors who use Jell-O as their medium. This is a multi-faceted contest and requires designers to master aesthetics, flavor, and interactivity to win. Soy, beer, and bacon-flavored Jello-O get combined with Arduinos and 3-D printers to produce tasty scultptures that would make Bill Cosby and Bill Hewlett proud. __The Prize:__ A ribbon and the satisfaction of being the best in Bushwick. Photo: [Gowan Studio](http://gowanusstudio.org/jello/)
06competitive-competition-first-robotics-league-wired-design-2
__FIRST Robotics__ [Asimov would approve of this "Varsity sport for the mind" - Season runs May-April nationwide](http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc/registration) __The Goal:__ If ComBots are the football players of the robot world, entries in the [FIRST Robotics Competition](http://www.usfirst.org/) are the chess club. Far more cerebral, But no less competitive, these robots are designed and built by students to solve novel problems. [Will.i.am](http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/2012-first-championship-celebrates-science-technology-and-robots) kicked off the 2012 competition, But FIRST's major goal is "*to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."* The competition is for students only, but they are in need of [coaches/mentors](http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/coachesmentors) and [donations](http://www.usfirst.org/involved/donate). __The Prize:__ Nearly [$15 million dollars in scholarships](http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/scholarships) and a body guard robot that can keep bullies at bay. Photo: [Riley Found](http://www.flickr.com/photos/54450106@N08/6829109196/sizes/l/in/photostream/) If ComBots are the football players of the robot world, entries in the [FIRST Robotics Competition](http://www.usfirst.org/) are the chess club. Far more cerebral, But no less competitive, these robots are designed and built by students to solve novel problems. [Will.i.am](http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/2012-first-championship-celebrates-science-technology-and-robots) kicked off the 2012 competition, But FIRST's major goal is "*to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."* The competition is for students only, but they are in need of [coaches/mentors](http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/coachesmentors) and [donations](http://www.usfirst.org/involved/donate). Photo: [Riley Found](http://www.flickr.com/photos/54450106@N08/6829109196/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
07wired-design-threadless-threadcakes-wired-design-2
__ThreadCakes__ [A bake off for the aesthetically inclined - Summer 2012](http://threadcakes.com/) __The Goal:__ [Threadless](http://www.threadless.com/) crowdsources T-shirt designs and prints them. [Threadcakes](http://www.threadcakes.com/) takes those winning designs and encourages people to bake them in cake form. This approach to creative confections has inspired hundreds of amateur pastry chefs to push the limits of fondant and gum paste. There are prizes for those who win, But as a consolation, failure has never tasted so sweet. __The Prize:__ [Cash, Threadless gift certificates](http://threadcakes.com/prizes), and the satisfaction of eating art. Photo: [Threadcakes](http://threadcakes.com/) & [Threadless](http://www.threadless.com/product/2985/Work_of_the_Genius?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=gg_aff&utm_campaign=k210012)
08adafruit-lego-2
__Cuusoo__ [An ongoing contest to find the next Lego design star - Accepting entries year round](http://lego.cuusoo.com/) __The Goal:__ For designers who are tired of simply assembling *Star Wars*-branded Lego kits, there is a new hope. [Cuusoo](http://lego.cuusoo.com/) is an initiative from the Danish toymaker that allows anyone to submit a design for a new Lego set. If the proposed set gets 10,000 votes on the site it is evaluated by Lego for production. Sign up today and vote for the [AdaFruit kit](http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/17491), which would bring the first Lego 3-D printer and laser cutter into existence! __The Prize:__ Pixelated, plastic immortality. Be the only "kid" on your block who has their Lego creation sold across the world. Photo: [AdaFruit](http://adafruit.com/lego)
09creative-competitions-24-hours-of-lemons-wired-design-2
__24 Hours of Lemons__ [Competition motto: Auto racing "Isn't just for rich idiots. It's for all idiots" - Season runs February-December in multiple cities](http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/pricesandrules.aspx) __The Goal:__ [24 Hours of Lemons](http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/) is the Weird Al version of the world's oldest and most prestigious auto race, [Le Mans](http://www.lemans.org/en/). It is an endurance race that lasts 24 hours, But the cars can cost no more than $500. Hijinks are more important than high performance in this race and extra credit is given to those who festively trick out their car. The tagline for this tongue-in-cheek event is "Where Halloween meets Gasoline" and requires equal parts creativity, endurance, repair skills, and a horrid sense of humor. __The Prize:__ There is no "prize" for winning, But if contestants think a car cost more than $500 they can vote to have it crushed. Photo: [Telstar Logistics](http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/7016921819/sizes/l/in/photostream/)
10screen-shot-2012-05-27-at-9-30-50-am-2
__Ice Alaska__ [Extreme ice carving world championship - February-March 2013, Fairbanks, AK](http://www.icealaska.com/event-schedule.html) __The Goal:__ Freezing temperatures, two-ton blocks of ice, and chainsaws sound like a recipe for a horrible 911 call, but are actually the key ingredients in <Ice Alaska>, the world's preeminent ice-carving competition. Teams from all over the world compete for a month in front of 45,000 spectators to see who is the master of ice art. Competitors have to carve carefully, consider the elements, and not lose any fingers in order to create a winning piece. __The Prize:__ A cool [$19,000](http://www.icealaska.com/artists/rules-a-guidelines.html#a5) in prize money. Photo: [Ice Alaska](http://www.icealaska.com/visitor-information.html)
11creative-competitions-instructables-wired-design
__Instructables__ [An ongoing set of contests to test DIY mettle](http://www.instructables.com/contest/) __The Goal:__ [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/index), the leading DIY how-to site, runs about a dozen competitions at a time. There is a wide variety of options with traditional fare like cake decorating and more exotic contests like the "[Spy Challenge](http://www.instructables.com/contest/spy2012/)," where designers can attempt to produce a gadget worthy of James Bond. Prizes are awarded to winners, but everyone gets to benefit by seeing exactly how the winning designs were constructed. __The Prize:__ Prizes vary by competition, but currently include night [vision goggles](http://www.instructables.com/contest/spy2012/?show=PRIZES) and [a table saw](http://www.instructables.com/contest/woodworking2012/?show=PRIZES), But we don't recommend using them together. Image: [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/contest/cake2012/)
