James Victore is a renowned American art director, designer, and author. He created a monograph Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?. The Museum of Modern Art showcased his work in the year 2010 and 2012. Victore won several accolades for his unique contribution to graphic designing.
Born in 1962, James Victore grew up in upstate New York. At the age of nineteen he moved to New York City. As he reached his early 20s, he had already dropped out of two different colleges. However, he began apprenticeship under the supervision of Paul Bacon, a noted book-jacket designer. Bacon’s teachings rendered Victore capable to aspire to become a graphic designer. Eventually, he took charge of his own education and career and strove to make his name as an independent designer and artist.
In 1990, Victore established his own design studio located in Brooklyn, James Victore Inc. His early works included a poster he designed for Columbus Day in 1992, called “Celebrate Columbus”. The interesting thing about the poster is that it depicted Christopher Columbus in a negative light. Over five thousand copies of the poster were distributed and hung around the city. He was a rebellious artist at heart and when he saw police removing these posters from the streets, it filled Victore with thrill.
Moreover, Victore’s artwork has been showcased at various museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Some of his works are placed in the permanent collections of the Palais du Louvre in Paris. Other museums and libraries that exhibited his posters include the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Design Museum in Zurich and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. His solo exhibition occurred at DDD Gallery, Osaka titled “James Victore: Post No Bills” in 1997. In Czech Republic, Moravian Gallery and Fronta Gallery mounted his major retrospectives. Numerous leading clients sought his consultation on designs, such as TIME magazine, Bobbi Brown cosmetics, The School of Visual Arts in New York City, Moët & Chandon, The New York Times and more.
Based on twenty-five years of his survey on designs, Victore created his first monograph, titled Victore, or Who Died and Made You Boss? It was designed by Paul Sahre, introduced by Michael Bierut and published by Abrams, in 2010. The following year, in collaboration with Ross MacDonald he produced a satirical parody book, entitled In and Out with Dick and Jane: A Loving Parody. Currently, he holds the position of a full-time senior professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He also delivered lectures on the subject of graphic designing at several art institutes, colleges and seminars around the globe. According to Victore, graphic designing primarily centers on experiences and stories and involves using one’s hands and not just the head. He is of the view that the best design possesses a gut-wrenching effect which means that it surprises or shocks its audience.
In honor of James Victore’s contribution to the art he was presented multifarious accolades over the decades. In 1992, he received an Emmy Award for television animation. In addition to that he was awarded Gold and Bronze medals by the Broadcast Designers Association. The Czech Republic, presented him the Grand Prix in 1994. The New York Art Director’s Club conferred on him the Gold and Silver medals. Helsinki Julistebiennale gave him the World’s Best Environmental Poster award, in 1997.
