Wanderlust Design Competition Winners Announced! August 09, 2011

As we get out our white hankies and wave one last tearful bon-voyage to the MINI Countryman Wanderlust Competition, now is a great time to brainstorm ways to keep that wander-magic alive in our everyday comings and goings. You might watch a wander-movie, or listen to some wander-music for your daily dose of travel-hungry gusto. Or how about flipping through some adventure-inspired wander-imagery, submitted by MINI Space community members like yourself? You're in luck: MINI Space Design Competition #14 — The Wanderlust Edition — is a wrap and today we announce the winners, a selection of the Team's and the Community's favorite entries. Read on to see them all. Congratulations to those who are taking home prizes, and to everyone who entered — thanks for sharing your Wanderlust with us. Crashing surf, craggy bluffs, bright sunshine, and two friends gearing up to dive in headfirst are the simple but powerful ingredients that make Lifestyle, submitted by Sergio Olea of Buenos Aires, Argentina, our first prize winner. He'll take home a Leica X-1 camera, so he can continue to photograph those wild surf adventures, or wherever his future wanderlust takes him. We singled out Climbers, submitted by Jakub Polomski from Cieszyn, Poland, because we like the way the vibrant photo captures a relaxed moment in what was obviously an otherwise epic adventure. With their gear strapped on and traffic rushing by, these guys are clearly about to go do something awesome involving climbing. But what about the other details: are they old friends? have they just met? what kind of tasty snacks are stashed up in that backpack? The rest remains an intriguing mystery. We'll be awarding Jakub with the Elementum sports watch from Suunto, a serious timepiece that will accompany him from base camp to peak and back again on many climbs to come. MINI Space user freemind from Izmir, Turkey, takes third place with our only winning graphic design this time around. Her piece, Dissolution in Nature, caught our eye with its verdant palette, and the charmingly ecstatic grin lighting up its subject's face. Plus, that basket can only mean one thing: picnic. And everyone knows how we feel about picnics. Next time, freemind can tote her al fresco dining gear in her brand new Burton Travel Bag. Probably hypnotized by those blue, blue waters and that piercing stare, you as a community voted Smooth Talk With the Ocean, created by Rogério Mestrinho from Évora, Portugal into the top spot for the popular vote prize. "Wish you were here," this photo croons, in a deep and sultry timbre. So do we, Rogério, so do we. Meanwhile, Rogério will be making himself a pretty rocking beach-time playlist with the 100-song iTunes gift card he'll receive for winning. Now you're smooth talking. If you've been seized by a sudden surge of inspiration, don't just sit there and wait for it to pass! Gather your finest original photos, graphic designs and illustrations and jump to the competitions page to enter the latest MINI Space Design Competition, Optical Illusions in Real Life.