Highlights from the DSVC Dallas Show 2009

This past Saturday was the Dallas Society of Visual Communications 2009 Dallas Show; an award show for the design community. It was a wonderful event, full of amazing talent, good food, and lots of intriguing people.

The show was held at the Dallas Women’s Museum in Fair Park in Dallas. As we entered the museum, which was adorned with colorful lanterns to go with the Asian theme, you could feel the positive vibes. Very fung shui. Sushi, fried rice and green tea ice cream floats were served and enjoyed! Upon our arrival, we immediately grabbed a drink and made a b-line for the stairs to go and see all the work submitted for the show.

Overall, the work was very impressive. Dallas has a lot to be proud of. One of my favorites from the show were a series of posters submitted by Sullivan Perkins for the Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, TX. The poster (shown at the right), is for the play Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes which is running May 29th – June 27th. If you have never been to the Kitchen Dog theater, it is an amazing space. When you enter, there is an art studio space where local artist will have work on display for you to enjoy before the show. A place where the visual arts and performing arts come together in harmony. In my opinion. these posters really capture the energy of their organization very well, in addition to being inventive and eye catching. The poster series was awarded two awards for Poster Design.

As we continued to move through the show, I was especially intrigued by the range of photographers. One that immediately caught my eye was from James Russell and Ann Rutherford (shown above). When I initially looked at their display, I thought the images were from different photographers. Each told a different story, and drew you in to want to know more about the subjects. Russell+Rutherford won an Editorial Award for their photography series titled “Boxers” (not shown).

After viewing all the work upstairs, we came back downstairs to mingle. We met a immensely talented couple from Tulsa, OK – Jerilyn Arthur, with Walsh Branding, and Scott Raffe, with Raffe Photography. Together, they created a wonderful series of poster featuring photography from the Zoppe Italian Style circus. Raffe’s work, entitled “Circus-New Work,” is currently on display at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center from June 2-26, 2009. He sent me the image to the left as his “image of the month” for June. Jerilyn and Scott were awarded the Bronze Bulb for the “Circus Flora Poster Campaign” at the show.

Another stand out from the award show was Jeff Barfoot with Barfoot Worldwide. Jeff is a former president of the DSVC, and one of the most talented designers I have seen to date. He won judge’s choice for his piece entitled “Keep Things We Like From Going Away” (picture provided by Jeff). This piece was another one of my favorites. I really dig Jeff’s playful yet modern illustration style. In all honesty, I feel lucky that Jeff is from the Dallas area and I have had the opportunity to meet  him. He is truly an amazing talent and a noteworthy trendsetter in the design community.

At the end of the evening, when the crowd broke, and the work came down, we met the lady who brought the show together – Rhonda Camp Warren of Color Box Design. Rhonda’s husband engineered the hangings for the paper lanterns, and Rhonda created the theme and design for the show. Business is booming for Rhonda and Color Box Design.  She is planning to purchase the house across the street from her home to expand her freelance business in the White Rock area.

To close, I would like to thank everyone who keeps the DSVC going. It is an amazing organization that I am proud to be a member of. I cannot wait for September when we start all over again!