Being a fearless designer can be hard these days. But James Victore believes with simple ink on paper we can change the hearts and minds of the public. So the designer has the responsibilty to have creative courage in spite of the circumstances.

Houston AIGA had the pleasure of hosting Victore at Sundance theaters. In the design world, he’s a celebrity. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he’s written books, and has a regular column for Entrepreneur Magazine, not counting the speaking engagements, workshops around the country and countless commercial work. As a speaker, he loves to inspire others to trust their instincts and embrace the fear of being different.

Victore shared a series of posters his studio created for the New York city probation department. After viewing the probation offices, Victore believed the clients needed inspiration when they stepped off the elevator into the drab room. Influenced by the motivational office posters of the past, he created his own take on them with bold imagery and whimsical hand drawn sayings. (Below left is an original poster, on the right, one of the new ones.)

Another example Victore shared was a series of covers for the Do Book Company. Simple and striking, they show “less is more”. Victore spoke of the trust that was needed between him and his client to allow him to create these striking covers. The Do Company gave Victore creative control which allowed him to explore different design options to arrive at the best solution. Victore trusted his client to listen to his ideas and follow through with production. Without this trust, the memorable Do Book series designs could not have been created. (See below.)