Business Name

Hopefully, you already have a business name that you can use. However, it may be used by another business in Canada. You will need to do some checking to make sure it is unique in this regard. If not, you will need to come up with a variation of your business name or a new business name. There are some tools online that you can use for free if you are struggling to come up with a name. You can check online to see if a business name you like is already incorporated in Canada or not.

If you don’t already have a business name, it can be fun to come up with one. Take your time though to make sure you love it. The idea is for your business to be around for a very long time, and you don’t want to come to resent that business name. Try to think of something that is relative to the design business as well as to who you are. Think about name branding and a logo that will work well with that business name.

Obtain a Business Number

In order to obtain a business number, there are forms that need to be filled out. They can be completed online. Federal incorporation cost $200 and there is an online book that outlines all of the requirements for you. Provincial incorporation needs to be done locally and the cost will vary based on location. All of the provincial options can be done online too, just make sure you fill out the forms for the right location.
If your business is located in Quebec, you will need to get a NEQ. This is the same thing but the number will be specific to that area only. If your business will be located in Quebec as well as another part of Canada then you may need to apply for both.

GST/HST Account

If you anticipate your design business grossing more than $30,000 per year, you will need to set up a GST/HST account. This is required so that you can complete the proper filing for your taxes at the end of the year. If you aren’t sure if your revenue will be that high or not, it is best to get the account set up.
There is no penalty if your revenue is less. However, if your revenue is higher and you didn’t set it up then you will have a financial penalty imposed. Incorporating in Canada for your design business is recommended, and it isn’t difficult. It will separate the shareholders from the business from a legal point of view. It will also help with reducing the tax liability of the business.

My Provence Festival is an online creative art competition, open to all, and run by Bouches-du-Rhône Tourisme (France) between December 15, 2012 and February 10, 2013.

This year the theme of the competition is “Mingling with the crowd”, and the creation submissions are divided in two categories : Photography and Graphic Creation.

Join in and win an artist’s residency in Provence this year!

To read more visit the My Provence Festival Website

With more than 10 years of experience, Vitor Shalom is the mastermind behind BLOW Mag and permanent photographer of the magazine. Based in São Paulo, he works for both national and international markets of advertisement and fashion.

Vitor has spent 2 years in Milan (Italy), where he worked for several magazines and huge brands such as Flair Magazine, Wit Magazine, Macro Bijoux, Francesco Scognamiglio, Mauro Demestria, Cherry Blossom Scandinavia, Demiam Jeans, Instituto Marangoni, among others.

On the European season, he also photographed in Switzerland, Portugal and Turkey, where he’s represented by the agency Workshot (www.workshot.com.tr). In Brazil, made a photo-essay with the world’s number one top model, Gisele Bündchen, on a campaign for Grendene. Also, photographed for magazines such as Vogue, VIP, Status and Playboy and campaigns for brands like Coca-Cola, Kuat (a Brazilian soda) and Sorriso (a Brazilian toothpaste).

To read more about Vitor and see further works visit www.vitorshalomphotography.com.

Dustin Edward Arnold began his career as a freelance art director working alongside Douglas Little crafting the visual world of the luxury home fragrance line DL&Co. Dustin founded his own consultancy Dustin Edward Arnold Studio specializing in prestige and beauty brands. Splitting his time between Los Angeles and New York he created campaigns, imagery, packaging and branding for some of the industries most sought after clients including Issey Miyake, Harry Winston, Vertu, Bang&Olufsen, Shiseido, Nike Japan, and Apple.

Dustin was featured as an Art Director’s Club “Young Gun” (top global talent under 30) and was selected by Computer Arts UK as “The 10 best designers you don’t know about (yet)”. In 2008 he received the Young Alumni Innovator award from Art Center College of Design for his unorthodox approach to image-making and brand building and later that same year was selected as one of Print Magazine’s Top New Visual Artists. His work has garnished awards from The One Show, I.D. Magazine, Applied Arts, Type Directors Club of NY, Graphic Design USA, Print, Graphis, Communication Arts AIGA, and The Art Directors Club of NY. Dustin studied graphic design at Art Center College of Design where he later taught Communication Design 1 to advertising and graphic design students while maintaining his studio’s clientele.

To read more about Dustin and see more of his works visit agencies.dustin-edward-arnold.com.

If you enjoy browsing through excellent work from other designers and illustrators, here are three great examples for you.

Bloodroot

Illustration created by digital artist and illustrator Wojciech Pijecki. He is a self-taught, passionate illustrator with high executive precision, who presents a wide variety of styles using master photo-manipulation techniques.
find more on synectic.pl

watergate

This bird illustration is made by Frank Höhne. It’s a part from an artwork series for berlin´s watergate-club.
find more on frankhoehne.de

Madre Teresa

Ramón Nuñez is a Venezuelan illustrator and designer. He created this illustration as part of the “Iconos Universales” series – leading figures from world history.
find more on www.ramonn90.ven.bz

The premiere international event in Italy on Computer Graphics, Interactive Techniques, Digital Cinema, 2D/3D Animation, Gaming and VFX. The Conference will take place in Turin, from the 16th to the 19th October 2012.

TOM WUJEC Autodesk Fellow, Author, Singularity University Professor, Visual thinking guru will be a keynote speaker at VIEW 2012!

Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the world’s leader in 2D & 3D design technology. As a recognized thought-leader and award-winning innovator, Tom works with the Fortune 500 to foster innovation practices at all stages, from strategic and business planning to the design and implementation of digital design tools.
Tom has brought several software applications to market including Alias Maya and Autodesk SketchBook Pro and is a pioneer of business visualization the emerging practice of using images, sketches and data-driven infographics to help teams make better sense of their work.
Tom is also the author of three books on creative thinking and editor of Imagine, Design, Create: a visually rich coffee table book that explores the impact of technology on design. He speaks internationally on a variety of topics relating to design, creativity and technology. He has worked as a creative director, writer and animator, has designed dozens of museum exhibits, and was part of a team that won an Academy Award for its software contribution to the film industry.

VIEW Conference has also launched a contest for developer, the VIEW Award Game (first prize: 2000€, deadline 15th September) for further informations, specifications and entry form visit the following link: viewconference.it/view-award-game

Find more about the VIEW Conference on viewconference.it

Total Prize Amount: € 170,000

Sections: painting, sculpture & installation, photographic art, video art & performance, virtual art

Deadline: November 8, 2012

Collective exhibition of 110 finalist artists: March 2013 – Venice Arsenale

The 7th International Arte Laguna Prize, based in Venice, Italy and dedicated to contemporary visual art, is open to artists with no limits of age or nationality, offering a finalists collective exhibition at Venice Arsenale, artist in residence programs, personal and collective exhibitions, participation in international festivals, publication in the official catalogue and a network of opportunities:

5 Cash Prizes of € 7,000: for winning artists, one for each section

4 Art Residencies: Technymon ARTresidency – Mumbai or Chicago; Glass School Abate Zanetti – Venice; Art Stays – Slovenia; iaab – Basel

1 Business for Art: development of an art project with the winner of the virtual art section, in collaboration with FOPEgioelli

2 Collective Exhibitions: Open, International Exhibitions of Sculptures and Installations of Venice; exhibition of a selection of Under25 artists at the Romanian Cultural Institute of Venice.

21 Personal Exhibitions in International Art Galleries: Arte Laguna Prize has created a network of international galleries to introduce the artists to the market of Contemporary Art. Each gallery will select an artist to organize a personal exhibition.

Prize Curator:
Igor Zanti (Italy, Art Critic)

Judging Panel:
Umberto Angelini (Italy, Director of Festival Uovo)
Gabriella Belli (Italy, Director of Musei Civici of Venice)
Adam Budak (United States, Curatorr of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of Washington)
Cecilia Freschini (China, Founder of Lab-Yit)
Mario Gerosa (Italy, Editor-in-chief of AD, Digital Art Curator)
Lina Lazaar (Great Britain, Expert in International Contemporary Art for Sotheby’s)
Kanchi Mehta (Founder and Chief Curator of Chameleon Art Projects & and India Editor for Flash Art)
Sabine Schaschl (Switzerland, Director and Curator of Kunsthaus Basel)
Felix Schöber (Germany, Independent Curator)
Claudia Zanfi (Italy, Art Historian and Cultural Manager)

Find more about the Arte Laguna Prize on www.artelagunaprize.com.

It’s been just 3 years – but it’s already more then a successful story. STROKE is the first art fair in the world that focuses on urban art and all it’s various forms and styles. But it’s not enough just to be a trendy art fair, the more important: beside being a unique platform for young artists and upcoming galleries STROKE is also a more then necessary “grass root revolution” in the art market. With a minimum participation fee from just 150 EUR for artist groups and 250 EUR for galleries – STROKE is probably the most affordable art fair on this planet.

Founder Marco Schwalbe has his own gallery INTOXICATED DEMONS and says “Even after more then 5 years of running my gallery, i couldn’t afford to pay thousands of euros to join a classic art fair. That’s why we started STROKE”. The success speaks for itself. The sixth STROKE in Munich attracted more then 13.000 visitors in just three days.

The next focus is Berlin, where the art fair will take place from september 13 to 16th. More Infos on our website: www.urbanartfair.org

Images (without the first):
KNZ Clan = Italy

Low Bros = Germany

Monsta = France

Robert Proch = Poland

Photographers Anna Viktoria Pröbstle / Intoxicated Demons
All photos: STROKE URBAN ART FAIR / Munich 2012

Informations sent by Kevin Lüdicke – Thanks!

The London Design Festival’s concept was to create an annual event that would promote the city’s creativity.

This year the tenth festival is already organized. The first Festival launched in March 2003, with a huge show of support from design, education, government and London organizations.

Read more about on the London Design Festival website

Dots surprises and inspires. Instantly! We’ve created Dots for real art lovers and for anyone in need of a powerful dose of amazing creativity.

The first issue of Dots offers a wide variety of articles and interview, all with their own story to tell. Meet ‘creative inventor’ Theodore Watson, and travel with us to Africa, to see how Western artist influence villages with colorful graffiti through Wide Open Walls. Discover the visual spectacles of video-mappers MrBeam, and visit the new world of the Dutch Maritime Museum, ‘hello world of interactive paintings’. The most interesting
projects and inspiring exhibitions can be found in regular features like Dotspot and The World of Art. This first issue features more information about the makers of the magazine in Behind The Dot.

Swoosh, swipe and tab, and explore the experience DOTS Digital Art Magazine can offer you on the iPad.

DOTS Digital Art Magazine puts contemporary art in the spotlight using an innovative and interactive approach. Art of the world, for the world. Dots Digital Art Magazine epitomizes innovation, surprise, enthusiasm and creativity, and will guide you along these lines through the amazing world of contemporary art. Preferably with an uber-hip, innovative redesign. This makes Dots a unique magazine. Dots is written in English and will be published four times a year.

A preview of Dots can be found on the website: dotsmagazine.com