St Brides and Plus type festival launch 'tart cards' competition

St Bride to launch a competition sexing up typefaces – by designing a 'tart card' for the typeface of your choice. The competition raises funds for St Bride Library." />

The Plus International Festival of typography has joined forces with London typography museum St Bride to launch a competition sexing up typefaces – by designing a 'tart card' for the typeface of your choice. The competition raises funds for St Bride Library.

Inspired by the cards advertising prostitutes that are prevalent in inner-London phone boxes, the competition invites graphic designers to create cards advertising the pleasures of a particular font. These can be as lurid and seductive as you choose.

"Step in to any Central London call box and you can contemplate up to eighty cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged either in luxury apartments, fully-equipped chambers or the privacy of your own hotel room," explain the competition's organizers. "So pervasive are these things, and so curious is their typography, images and copy writing they are now regarded as bona fide items of accidental art and have something of a cult following.

"Once on the periphery of design, the cards have influenced the work of many mainstream artists including Royal Academician Tom Philips and Sex Pistols designers, Ray and Nils Stevenson," they continue. "Perhaps they can inspire you too?"

Cards must be A6 size (105-x-148mm), but other than that the brief is largely open. Cards can be landscape or portrait, illustrated, type-based, photographic or a mix of all three, single-or full-colour, handmade or machine-created. The design must be on one side only, with your signature and the date on the other side.

All entries will be displayed at the Plus International Festival, which takes place in Birmingham in November. The top three will win prizes; all entries will then be auctioned off in aid of St Bride Library.

The deadline for entries is October 30, 2008 (for individuals) and December 15 (for universities). Entries must be submitted in hard-copy only, to: Type LLP, 1st Floor The Toll House, The Bond, 180-82 Fazeley Street, Birmingham, B5 5SE.