Johnny Selman’s BBCx365 Wins Two Cause/Affect Awards

For an entire year, Johnny Selman woke up at the crack of dawn, gulped down a cup of coffee, checked out the headline news, and went to work on his BBCx365 project. A project that earned him two AIGA SF cause/affect awards at last week’s awards ceremony and exhibit. Johnny was awarded Judges Choice and First Place in the Student category.

“Johnny’s work stood out to the judges not only because of the sheer volume of the project but because of the clever, simple thinking; something that we were really hoping to see in this competition. To be able to take any type of message and distill it down into one simple bold, memorable poster is a real art for a designer. He completely deserved his win and personally I’m looking forward to seeing where his career path takes him in the future,” said show judge, Rob Duncan, Dowling | Duncan, San Francisco.

BBCx365 is Johnny’s MFA thesis project. For 365 days he designed a poster based on a headline from each morning’s BBC news. The purpose of his project was to open the eyes of the American public to international current events not often covered in our “domesticated” news programing. Through the use of design Johnny created a more visually interesting vehicle for the news, hoping to compel his audience to further investigate the story, and eventually create a larger interest in world news.

[Left: Pakistan attack: 'Schoolboy' suicide bomber hits Mardan. Right: Germany marks 50 years since Berlin Wall.]

The BBCx365 project has gotten its own international attention, first noticed by the BBC, then by others including Design Observer, SF Weekly, and The Guardian UK. And the BBCx356 site was a news hub of it’s own. During the course of the project the site has received visitors from 106 countries including Germany, Australia, South Korea, France, Sweden, Portugal, and yes, the US.

Phil Hamlett, School of Graphic Design Graduate Director sees the need behind Johnny’s mission, “Today’s relentless news cycle has become a din of white noise, a reading experience of ever-diminishing returns. Johnny has used his design skills to bring poignant moments from that cacophony into focus — providing readers with a unique means by which to reflect upon the world around us.”

[Left: Libya protests: Reports of intense Benghazi violence. Right: Pakistan bombings: Taliban admits Shabqadar attacks.]

One of Johnny’s thesis study advisers on BBCx365 was Paula Scher of Pentagram NY. She is quoted on the BBCx365 blog with a bit of advice for designers: Be culturally literate, because if you don’t have an understanding of the world you live in, and the culture you live in, you’re not going to express anything to anybody else.

[Left: Casey Anthony not guilty of murder of daughter Caylee. Right: Pirates seize Danish children in Indian Ocean.]

The AIGA SF cause/affect competition is an international design competition that celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society. This year’s cause/affect judges were Rob Duncan, Dowling Duncan; Karina Himba, Cronin Design; Adam Reineck, IDEO; and Jason Schulte, Office. View the complete list of 2011 cause/affect winners.

Previous Academy of Art alumni who have received an AIGA SF cause/affect award include:

Quake Quiz: Mike Jeter (MFA 2009), Carl Bender (MFA 2009)

Joey’s Corner: Michael Osborne (MFA 2009), Sheri Kuniyuki (MFA 2009)

Whole: Katy Liao (MFA 2009)

R3 The End of Paper: Richard Perez (BFA 2009), Tom Sieu, Instructor

Impact Teen Drivers Campaign: Ed O’Brien (BFA 2003)

Rise of a New World: Shawn Hsu (MFA 2009), Phil Hamlett, Instructor

R3: Products Re-Imagined: Jeanette Karthaus, Tomohiro Kaji, Judy Hsu, Andrew Johnson, Cristian Butcovich, Kim Nelson, Chu Poh Tiong (all BFA 2007), and Emily Lemmer (MFA 2007)

Only Human: Tiffany Ricardo (MFA 2007)