BBCX365 100 Days of News Hits San Francisco's Mission District with 100 Posters

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Dec 17, 2010, 05:01 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Color printer runs out of ink. Wife's car hit, driver flees scene. Mission breaks the bank. Those were the headlines in Johnny Selman's life this week while he tirelessly prepared last night's BBCX365 street art event on San Francisco's Valencia Street. (Thankfully his wife wasn't injured.)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101217/NE19665 )

Selman, an Academy of Art University graphic design graduate student who has undertaken the task of designing a poster a day for a year from a headline he pulls from the BBC News, brought his message to the streets of his neighborhood last night.

With the hopes of starting a local dialog about global news events, Selman set out to create a gallery exhibition for the community. He walked Valencia Street for weeks asking store-owners if they'd let him put his posters in their windows, ultimately scoring 22 prime store fronts including Mission Bicycle, Borderlands, Slingshot and Encantada. And, despite the rain, the crowds came out to walk, look and talk -- exactly what Selman was hoping for.

Selman's BBCX365 poster project is his master's thesis project. His goal is to use design to draw attention to world events that people might not otherwise be aware of, and thus begin to drive people to seek out international news on a regular basis. "I like to pick stories that might go amiss, underneath the radar, but also at the same time try to vary it enough to keep it interesting," he told a reporter from his hometown paper the Martinsville Bulletin.

Since it's inception on September 8th, BBCX365 has been getting attention worldwide: The Guardian UK published several of Selman's posters, he was interviewed by a South African radio station, and featured on the Design Institute of Australia's website. And, now through the creation of this home base event, Selman has begun to do what he set out to do -- get his local community talking. He recently got the attention of the renowned design blog Design Observer. "I knew what I wanted to accomplish with this project but I really didn't know if it would take off. The fact that people are drawn to the idea is indication that people are interested in learning more, and the attention BBCX365 has been getting is proof that design can be used to engage people. I can't wait to see how this turns out on day 365," said Selman.

About the Academy of Art University, San Francisco

Academy of Art University, the largest private art and design university in the United States, is educating students for the art and design jobs of the 21st Century. Established in 1929, the Academy's output based model provides open admissions to all students, and imposes a rigorous curriculum that requires students to produce a portfolio of work that demonstrates a mastery of their field in order to graduate. Faculty members are professionals from the existing marketplace, which provides students with an understanding of what it takes to succeed in today's business environment. The Academy's hands-on curriculum produces graduates who possess great artistic and design portfolios, and equally important, the ability to work immediately upon graduation. With more than 16,000 students, the school offers accredited AA, BA, BFA, MA, M.Arch and MFA programs in 16 different majors, as well as continuing art education and online degree programs in most majors. The Academy is an accredited member of WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges), NASAD, Council for Interior Design Accreditation (BFA-IAD) and NAAB (M.Arch).

For more information, visit www.academyart.edu or call 1-800-544-2787.

SOURCE Academy of Art University