Recently in SPOTS Category

See SPOTS. Win.

See SPOTS. Win.

Every art director knows that sometimes the best work you can do in a day is to assign just the right illustrator for that possibly-impossible-to-describe assignment and getting back the perfect solution. "Spot" illustrations may be small in size, but they play an enormous role in the world of editorial design. Measuring no more than 5 x 6 inches, a spot much catch readers' eyes, draw them into a story, and convey complex ideas--often while competing with other visual elements on the page.

SPD is the only organization to honor these hard-working little gems with its annual SPOTS Competition. Chaired this year by Criswell Lappin of Fahrenheit 212 and Matthew Lenning of MAT: Design Company, the SPOTS Competition for the work of 2010 will be judged by a group of outstanding art directors and illustrators who all champion illustration on a daily basis. Read more here about the jury, the books, the party and the glory of winning.

Click here for the entry forms (pdf download) and here for more info, and we'll see your best little gems by March 30th!
SPOTS (Light) Party Recap

SPOTS (Light) Party Recap

On behalf of SPD and this year's SPOTS co-chairs Criswell Lappin and Matthew Lenning, we would like to congratulate our recent Gold & Silver winners that were celebrated last week with drinks courtesy of our friends at Grolsch. The night was filled with lots of toasts, laughs, and everyone's favorite: cards exchanging and a few personal updates about happenings in the industry. A peek at some folks who attended can be viewed here. A list of the winners, after the jump.

*VERY special thanks to SPD's diligent volunteers, Lauren Heffron & Adri Ramdeane for their hard work!
MORE
Preview the SPOTS Medal Finalists

Preview the SPOTS Medal Finalists

Tuesday night we're celebrating the winners of the 2009 SPD SPOTS competition with a fab party -- if you still need to rsvp, you should do that here -- and announcing the winners of the SPOTS Gold and Silver Medal awards. Take a look at the finalists after the jump...
MORE
SPOTS(light) PARTY!

SPOTS(light) PARTY!

Please join us on Tuesday, September 28th as we celebrate our recent SPOTS winners and hand out some hardware! We'll fête the winners from May's competition, announce the Gold and Silver Award winners, and celebrate those little illustrations that say so much, so wonderfully. RSVP after the jump to see who's winning the Gold and Silver Awards, have a few drinks courtesy of our friends at Grolsch, and catch up with your favorite people in the worlds where ADs and Illustrators collide! … MORE
Catch SPOTS Fever

Catch SPOTS Fever

Have you got SPOTS? We do.

"Spot" illustrations may be small in size, but they play an enormous role in the world of publication design. Measuring no more than 5 x 6 inches, a spot much catch readers' eyes, draw them into a story, and convey complex ideas--often while competing with other visual elements on the page. Every art director knows that sometimes, the most genius work you can do in a day is assigning just the right illustrator for just the right, possibly-impossible-to-describe assignment and getting back the perfect solution.

The Society of Publication Designers is the only organization to honor these hard-working little gems with its annual SPOTS Competition. Chaired this year by Matthew Lenning, Design Director at Bon Appétit, and Don Morris, Principal at Don Morris Design, SPOTS will be judged by a panel of leading publication art directors and commercial illustrators, and the winning entries will be featured in a special, self-contained book and sent to SPD members and winning illustrators for FREE, as well as featured in the PUB 44 Design Annual, and archived in a special gallery on this very site, linking to the winning illustrator's websites.

Click here for the entry forms and more info, including some FAQs and answers, and send in your best work by April 30th!

Huge thanks to Yuko Shimizu for the illustration on the Call, and above!

« February 2011