Design Matters from the Archive: James Victore

“James Victore Inc., is an independent design studio hell bent on world domination.” This is the very first thing you read when you Google James Victore. And there you have this artist and designer in a nutshell. Playful. Hyperbolic. Humorous. Fierce. And maybe even a little ruthless. Whether it’s a skull sticking out a patriotic tongue, or the words “use a condom” scrawled over the silhouette of mating rabbits, Victore pushes his ideas into the world with moral fearlessness, and visual force. His work has won awards from many national and international design competitions, including an Emmy award for television animation, gold and silver medals from the New York Art Director’s Club, and the Grand Prix from the Czech Republic design biennial. He is the author of Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss? which he speaks to Debbie about in this 2010 interview.

Debbie talks to James Victore about his apprenticeship in graphic design, about the role of opinion in his work, and about his suspicions of surface beauty and polish. “I’m trying to get to a place that is even more clumsy. Less finished. Less perfect.”

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