In New York a couple of weeks ago I popped in to MoMa (well I queued up for ages and then fought my way in) where there is a small but nonetheless worthwhile show of George Lois’s famous Esquire covers. On a light table sat this transparency - a working mock-up of one of the most famous magazine covers of all time.

Hat-Trick Design was nominated for its Lest We Forget stamp in Graphic Design,
one of only two nominations in graphics categories this year

While an unprecedented six Golds were handed out at last night’s D&AD awards, the Graphic Design section produced just two nominations and no pencils. We asked former D&AD President, Michael Johnson, and Sean Perkins of North why they think graphics was so under-represented (last year seven Silvers and four nominations were awarded in the section) and what D&AD – and indeed the wider design community – should do to change this situation in the future…

Earlier this evening a record six Black Pencils were handed out in an unprecedented act of judicial generosity at D&AD’s 2008 Awards. Apple scooped two (making it the biggest single winner of the coveted Gold Award to date, with six since 1999) and it was a very good year for advertising categories, with The Partners’ Grand Tour initiative for The National Gallery picking up a Gold; and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Projector Inc. also winning for online campaigns (no Graphics awards though, of which more here and here). Oh and that Gorilla made a brief appearance as well…

Hot and Cold issue three (boxed)

Hot & Cold is a collaborative art zine project created by Californian artists Chris Duncan and Griffin McPartland. Each issue invites up to 20 artists – with more joining as word spreads – to participate in creating this hand crafted, limited edition zine. A new exhibition of their collected work has just opened in London…

The May issue of Creative Review (above) features 100 pages of work selected for this year’s Annual. The very best of those make up our Best In Book section: details of the winners here…

Lam Hung’s Peace of Mind poster for a Zen Buddhist centre, Hong Kong, 2001

The V&A’s current flagship exhibition has a very clear, chronological layout, which is a little surprising considering its slightly clumsy title. The show itself begins in Shenzhen – the site of the first McDonald’s in China – and, perhaps more significantly, the birthplace of contemporary Chinese graphic design. Throughout the exhibition, China’s lust for iconic style and mischievous trends is depicted via a dazzling array of poster designs, illustrations, animations and quirky films: many of which frequently reference, on the one hand, the Buddhist way of life and, distinctly on the other, the visual potency of Maoist China.