100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers

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Some People Can’t Surf: The Graphic Design of Art Chantry

Art Chantry

Some designers, especially those who have been working for a

number of years, have the opportunity to publish their collected

work in a monograph. In 2001, Chronicle books published

Some People Can’t Surf: The Graphic Design of Art Chantry, an

excellent introduction to Chantry’s work written by Julie Lasky.

“I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of that book. It is a terrific piece

of self-promotion, obviously. I think I can safely say that up until

that book I didn’t ever get any work out of self-promotion or

magazine articles or anything like that. In fact, just the opposite

is true. In the late ‘80s sometime, I was featured in

CA

[Communication Arts] and didn’t work for nine months after that.

Nothing. It did nothing.”

Chantry notes, however, that in the design world, the monograph

can also be the kiss of death for a career. Many of his colleagues

advised him against doing it. He sees the monograph as a sort

of stabilizer that demonstrates both the core and limits of a

designer’s capabilities. On the flip side, it can also create the

perception that no one can afford to hire you anymore, that you

are unavailable, or, at worst, dead. Thankfully, however, Chantry

has proved this is not always the case. Chantry’s other efforts at

self-promotion come primarily from collaborations with clients

who want to advertise their own capabilities using Chantry’s

work. This collaboration generally results in showpieces and

collectable posters.

Because so much of Chantry’s work has been on ephemeral

objects, like posters and flyers, a book like

Some People Can’t

Surf preserves a vital piece of the history of the graphic design

of ‘80s and ‘90s punk culture, so much of which is repeated

and copied in contemporary underground (and mainstream)

music culture. For every piece in the book, Chantry insists that

there are ten that he didn’t include—so vast is the backlog of his

work. “I have enough for probably five more volumes,” he notes.

Publishing a monograph is not an option for every designer, but

in the event that one has the opportunity to do so, it provides an

important showpiece for prospective clients—however ambivalent

the designer may feel about it.

Designer: Art Chantry

Let someone publish your work

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Folio: Art Chantry

Designer: Chuck Pennington

Copywriter: Palmer Petterson

Photography: Don Mason (posters), Chuck Pennington (

Art Chantry)

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Chapter 1 Self-Promotion 19

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