The Next Great Graphic Designer

The participants of Bravo’s show “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”

Last week, I received a recycled toothbrush in the mail. It’s a brilliant idea, really — made from recycled yogurt cups, with “mail back” packaging — and it was designed by a real dentist (as well as the leading industrial design firm Continuum.) I actually gave this to my dentist just a few days ago, suggesting he hand these out instead of those landfill-inducing Reach variants, and noting with irony the design credit. In exchange, I gave him my word that if I start performing dental hygiene in my studio, he’ll be the first to know.

But tonight at 10pm, on Bravo, another design challenge will pull focus, when the contestants on Bravo’s “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” — fourteen aspiring artists who compete for a $100,000 cash prize and a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum — are asked to design a book jacket for Penguin Books. The winning design will be unveiled tonight and published by Pengiuin tomorrow, begging just a few questions, among them: Is book jacket design best evaluated by art critics and gallery owners? Does the fear of nationally televised elimination and its ensuing perp walk of shame result in really excellent book jacket design? Are artists good designers? And finally: was it this easy for the dentist to get client approval for that toothbrush?

We hope our readers will weigh in with their opinions about “Judging A Book by Its Cover” here on Design Observer.

The judges of of Bravo’s show “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” debate the contestant’s art

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Text of email press release, posted without change:

From: [email protected]

Subject: Penguin Books and Bravo’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist

Date: June 23, 2010 9:12:03 AM EDT
To: [email protected]

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2010

PENGUIN BOOKS TO PUBLISH THE WINNING COVER ART FROM UPCOMING CHALLENGE ON BRAVO’S NEW SERIES, “WORK OF ART: THE NEXT GREAT ARTIST”

“The Book Challenge,” episode three of the new creative series on Bravo, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist,” will air on Wednesday, June 23rd. In this episode the twelve remaining artists are challenged to design the cover for a Penguin Book. The winning design will be unveiled that evening, and on the following day, June 24th, Penguin Books will publish the title featuring the winning design.

“Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” debuted on June 9th and can be seen Wednesday nights at 10pm on Bravo. The exciting series assembles fourteen of the art world’s most talented, up-and-coming artists in New York where they compete for a solo show at the prestigious Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. In each of the show’s ten episodes the contestants are faced with the challenge of creating unique pieces in a variety of mediums such as paint, sculpture, photography, collage and industrial design.

“We were really excited to get the opportunity from Bravo to participate in this very creative competition show,” said Kathryn Court, President and Publisher of Penguin Books. Several Penguin staffers actually got to participate in the episode and Kathryn Court had the opportunity to address the contestants. “This year we’re celebrating Penguin Books 75th Anniversary (visit www.penguinbooks75.com for details), and this seemed a perfect way to showcase what Penguin does best — publish great books with great covers. The cover featuring the winning design captures the spirit of Penguin — classic yet cutting edge.”

The winner of the new book will be published on June 24th and will be available wherever books are sold.

For more information, contact: Maureen Donnelly, 212-366-2272

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By Jessica Helfand

Jessica Helfand, a founding editor of Design Observer, is an award-winning graphic designer and writer and a former contributing editor and columnist for Print, Communications Arts and Eye magazines. A member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and a recent laureate of the Art Director’s Hall of Fame, Helfand received her B.A. and her M.F.A. from Yale University where she has taught since 1994.