Friday 19 June 2009

Tart Cards exhibition

In conjunction with St Bride Library and Type, Wallpaper magazine asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every type and create their own graphic numbers. Along with a selection in the magazine, all 450 cards can be viewed here. They will also be on display at KK Outlet, London from 22nd to 29th June. Click here for the invite to the show.

Above is my contribution. Collegues, Kelly Al-Saleh and Pieter Stander's cards can also be found on the Wallpaper website by searching their names.

Unfortunately the 'ethical designer' had to rear his patronising head through the contribution of Mike Dempsey in the form of an 'alternative' tart card. View his card and letter on the Wallpaper website.

The 'Tart Card' project was never about the issue of prostitution or sex trafficking – it was supposed to be about type and graphics.

The ethical designer is the moody son of a society that can't trust people to make their own minds up about issues without being hectored and berated if we seem to stray away from the illiberal and right-on centre-ground.

What has always excited me about graphic design is the very opposite of the ethical designer – the place we occupy between an idea and the people that idea is aimed – we are mediators of other peoples ideas, if we try and set ourselves up as judge and jury, with respect to the content of the idea, we are killing that which is at the heart of the role of the graphic designer.

I for one am comfortable dealing with difficult ideas. Furthermore, I trust people to be able to deal with them too.


For further discussion on this issue see: eye magazine's blog