BHCC - Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

A Sussex-based graphic design expert has been given one of his industry's top international accolades for his contribution to an innovative Brighton art project.

Richard Wolfstrome, of Wolfstrome Design, won an award from the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) for the work he did on 41 Places - a unique initiative that involved publishing true stories in street locations across Brighton and Hove as part of Brighton Festival 2007.

Richard said: "I was really pleased to receive an award. These awards are special and unique as they are the only international design awards where entries are judged from a typographic viewpoint and are assessed against the current standards of design. The judges specifically look for typographic excellence across a wide range of disciplines and considered entries from 17 different countries."

William Shaw, author of 41 Places added: "This was a major public art project seen by over 100,000 people in three weeks. It had to grab people if it was going to be a success and Richard's design and deep understanding of the project were an integral part of why it worked so well. I'm thrilled he's receiving the recognition he deserves for his part in it."

Richard went on to explain that he has a passion for design in public spaces and the environment and has "a huge interest in bringing the written word on to the streets and landscape through typographic and design excellence".

He added: "Narratives like 41 Places reflect the space around them and engage with the reader by placing them within the story. In the future, I'd like to get involved with architects, developers and arts funders to look at ways we could implement similar schemes that are engaging, informative, beautiful, artistic and even functional."

While it was on show, the 41 Places project was described as a cross between a giant work of art scattered through the city and a treasure hunt of stories. The narratives were collected by William Shaw between September 2006 and April 2007 and installed by Richard Wolfstrome, John Easterby and Tom Snell.

Richard currently works for a range of clients including Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and Ivy Press. He has also just been appointed to the board of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) and British Design Innovation (South East) and on the steering committee for the South Coast Design Forum. Richard is also a student assessor for the ISTD student assessment awards.

You can still read the stories and see artworks at www.41places.org and learn more about Wolfstrome Design at www.wolfi.co.uk