Art

Sex Issue: Type Tart Cards

About the project

Tart cards are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged.

Even if a police crackdown, the internet and the increasing use of mobile phones suggest their days are numbered, tart cards are still so pervasive they are now regarded as items of accidental art and have something of a cult following. Once on the periphery of design, tart cards have influenced the work of many mainstream artists such as Royal Academician Tom Phillips and Sex Pistols designer Ray and Nils Stevenson.

In conjunction with St Bride Library and Type, we asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every type and create their own graphic numbers. Along with a selection in the magazine, all 450 cards can be viewed here. They will also be on display at KK Outlet, London from 22nd to 29th June. Click here for the invite to the show.

In among this plethora of brilliant, witty graphic designs we would like to highlight the serious issue that lies at the heart of the world of tart cards – the plight of trafficked women in the sex industry. It is a subject touched eloquently on by Mike Dempsey of Studio Dempsey, who is a volunteer at the Helen Bamber Foundation which helps rebuild lives broken by human rights violations. While our exhibition is an ode to the graphic qualities of the tart card phenomena, Dempsey's design is a pertinent reminder of the sinister world that lies beneath every card.

Read Mike Dempsey's letter and design

 

Designers

a
ABAKE
APFEL
Addy, Kate
Adebiaye, Frank
Ahonen & Lamberg
Aiden, Jaspal
Ainslie, Barry
Al-Saleh, Kelly
Alexander, Jack
Amphlett, Ceri
b
BB Saunders
BCMH
Bancroft, Duncan (01 of 05)
Bancroft, Duncan (02 of 05)
Bancroft, Duncan (03 of 05)
Bancroft, Duncan (04 of 05)
Bancroft, Duncan (05 of 05)
Bar, Noma
Barnes, Eleanor (01 of 03)
Barnes, Eleanor (02 of 03)
Barnes, Eleanor (03 of 03)
Bell, Russell (01 of 04)
Bell, Russell (02 of 04)
Bell, Russell (03 of 04)
Bell, Russell (04 of 04)
Bentall, Jess
Bessaguet, Lea
Black and Ginger (01 of 03)
Black and Ginger (02 of 03)
Black and Ginger (03 of 03)
Boyce, Alasdair (01 of 02)
Boyce, Alasdair (02 of 02)
Brady, Rory
Bramley, Jessica (01 of 03)
Bramley, Jessica (02 of 03)
Bramley, Jessica (03 of 03)
Breakell, Emily (01 of 03)
Breakell, Emily (02 of 03)
Breakell, Emily (03 of 03)
Browning, Tom
Brulc, Andreja
Buckley, Paul
Build
Bunch
Burn Everything (01 of 02)
Burn Everything (02 of 02)
Burrill, Anthony (01 of 03)
Burrill, Anthony (02 of 03)
Burrill, Anthony (03 of 03)
c
CMJ
Cameron, Alex
Carter Wong
Carter, Sebastian
Cartlidge Levene (01 of 04)
Cartlidge Levene (02 of 04)
Cartlidge Levene (03 of 04)
Cartlidge Levene (04 of 04)
Castle, Sally
Chan, Nathan
Chelsea College (01 of 16)
Chelsea College (02 of 16)
Chelsea College (03 of 16)
Chelsea College (04 of 16)
Chelsea College (05 of 16)
Chelsea College (06 of 16)
Chelsea College (07 of 16)
Chelsea College (08 of 16)
Chelsea College (09 of 16)
Chelsea College (10 of 16)
Chelsea College (11 of 16)
Chelsea College (12 of 16)
Chelsea College (13 of 16)
Chelsea College (14 of 16)
Chelsea College (15 of 16)
Chelsea College (16 of 16)
Chen, Kun
Church, Jason (01 of 03)
Church, Jason (02 of 03)
Church, Jason (03 of 03)
Churchard, Liam
Clarke, Chris (01 of 02)
Clarke, Chris (02 of 02)
Clusta (01 of 02)
Clusta (02 of 02)
Comfort and Comma
Connare, Vincent (01 of 04)
Connare, Vincent (02 of 04)
Connare, Vincent (03 of 04)
Connare, Vincent (04 of 04)
Coombes, Richard
Cooper, Alex
Corporation Pop
Corvers, Diederik
Cottis, Matt
Cranston, Michael (1 of 3)
Cranston, Michael (2 of 3)
Cranston, Michael (3 of 3)
Cultural Operations
Currie, Paileen
d
DED (01 of 02)
DED (02 of 02)
Day, Matthew
Daya, Mital (01 of 03)
Daya, Mital (02 of 03)
Daya, Mital (03 of 03)
Design Conspiracy (01 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (02 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (03 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (04 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (05 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (06 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (07 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (08 of 09)
Design Conspiracy (09 of 09)
Dineen, Dan
Duckworth, Simon
Dyakova, Sonya
de Villeneuve, Daisy
e
EMMI
Edwards, Paul (01 of 03)
Edwards, Paul (02 of 03)
Edwards, Paul (03 of 03)
Eli, Maureen (01 of 04)
Eli, Maureen (02 of 04)
Eli, Maureen (03 of 04)
Eli, Maureen (04 of 04)
Ellison, Lara
Empty Creative I Bala
f
FL@33
FSNM (01 of 12)
FSNM (02 of 12)
FSNM (03 of 12)
FSNM (04 of 12)
FSNM (05 of 12)
FSNM (06 of 12)
FSNM (07 of 12)
FSNM (08 of 12)
FSNM (09 of 12)
FSNM (10 of 12)
FSNM (11 of 12)
FSNM (12 of 12)
Fairley, John (01 of 05)
Fairley, John (02 of 05)
Fairley, John (03 of 05)
Fairley, John (04 of 05)
Fairley, John (05 of 05)
Family
Farias, Rafael
Felton, Paul
Fletcher, Peter (01 of 02)
Fletcher, Peter (02 of 02)
Fold7 (01 of 09)
Fold7 (02 of 09)
Fold7 (03 of 09)
Fold7 (04 of 09)
Fold7 (05 of 09)
Fold7 (06 of 09)
Fold7 (07 of 09)
Fold7 (08 of 09)
Fold7 (09 of 09)
Form, Becky Johnson
Form, Joe Wassell Smith
Form, Maru Scatamacchia (01 of 02)
Form, Maru Scatamacchia (02 of 02)
Form, Nathan Dytor (01 of 02)
Form, Nathan Dytor (02 of 02)
Form, Will Martin
Fox, Shelley (01 of 02)
Fox, Shelley (02 of 02)
Fraser, Elizabeth (01 of 03)
Fraser, Elizabeth (02 of 03)
Fraser, Elizabeth (3 of 3)
g
Galapon, Melvin (01 of 02)
Galapon, Melvin (02 of 02)
Gallivan, Meredith
Gerlach, Verena (01 of 02)
Gerlach, Verena (02 of 02)
Giddings, Adrian
Gladwell, Dave
Gold, Jonathan
Goldring, Natasha
Goletzko, Paul
Grant, Charles
Gray, Sam
Graycine
Green, Rob
Greenwood, Nick
Gridneff, Rose
Gurung, Ashita
Gutierrez, Fernando
h
Hall, Pete
Hamburgerfonts
Hamer, James (01 of 03)
Hamer, James (02 of 03)
Hamer, James (03 of 03)
Hanson, Josh
Harowitz, Aaron
Hayes, Charlotte
Heaton, Tom
Heptonstall, Harry
Hill, Will
Hillier, Robert
Holt, Richard
Howard, Dean
Hughes, Rian
Huxford-Potts, William
i
Immigrant (01 of 12)
Immigrant (02 of 12)
Immigrant (03 of 12)
Immigrant (04 of 12)
Immigrant (05 of 12)
Immigrant (06 of 12)
Immigrant (07 of 12)
Immigrant (08 of 12)
Immigrant (09 of 12)
Immigrant (10 of 12)
Immigrant (11 of 12)
Immigrant (12 of 12)
Ingram, Sarah
j
Jakob-Poulsen, Mads
James, Steve (01 of 07)
James, Steve (02 of 07)
James, Steve (03 of 07)
James, Steve (04 of 07)
James, Steve (05 of 07)
James, Steve (06 of 07)
James, Steve (07 of 07)
Jardee, James
Jenkins, Paul
Jinks, Thomas
Juncadella, Pablo
k
Kasikov, Evelin (01 of 04)
Kasikov, Evelin (02 of 04)
Kasikov, Evelin (03 of 04)
Kasikov, Evelin (04 of 04)
Kegler, Kevin
KesselsKramer
King, Dave
Kratz, James
Kusters, Christian
l
Lambert, James
Leak, Jeff
Lee, Jack (01 of 03)
Lee, Jack (02 of 03)
Lee, Jack (03 of 03)
Leinster, Troy
Leslie, Jeremy (01 of 06)
Leslie, Jeremy (02 of 06)
Leslie, Jeremy (03 of 06)
Leslie, Jeremy (04 of 06)
Leslie, Jeremy (05 of 06)
Leslie, Jeremy (06 of 06)
Levis, Rebecca
Lonergan, Jemma (01 of 03)
Lonergan, Jemma (02 of 03)
Lonergan, Jemma (03 of 03)
Loxley, Simon
Luce, Emily
m
Machelski, Brian
Mannion, Una
Marriott, Ashton
Marriott, G (01 of 03)
Marriott, G (02 of 03)
Marriott, G (03 of 03)
Marriott, Soluita (01 of 02)
Marriott, Soluita (02 of 02)
Marsden, Ben
Marsden, Howard (01 of 03)
Marsden, Howard (02 of 03)
Marsden, Howard (03 of 03)
Marshall, Chris
Mather, Dan
Mather, Dan (01 of 03)
Mather, Dan (02 of 03)
Mather, Dan (03 of 03)
McArthur, Matt
Melton, Jon (01 of 07)
Melton, Jon (02 of 07)
Melton, Jon (03 of 07)
Melton, Jon (04 of 07)
Melton, Jon (05 of 07)
Melton, Jon (06 of 07)
Melton, Jon (07 of 07)
Mogollon (1 of 3)
Mogollon (2 of 3)
Mogollon (3 of 3)
Mortz, Roseanne
Mr.Smith (01 of 03)
Mr.Smith (02 of 03)
Mr.Smith (03 of 03)
Multistorey
n
NBStudio
Naasner, Albert
Next of Kin (01 of 08)
Next of Kin (02 of 08)
Next of Kin (03 of 08)
Next of Kin (04 of 08)
Next of Kin (05 of 08)
Next of Kin (06 of 08)
Next of Kin (07 of 08)
Next of Kin (08 of 08)
Numiko
o
ODD
OLeary-Smith, Sophie
Osbaldestin, David (01 of 04)
Osbaldestin, David (02 of 04)
Osbaldestin, David (03 of 04)
Osbaldestin, David (04 of 04)
p
P. Johnson A. Johnson (01 of 02)
P. Johnson A. Johnson (02 of 02)
Page 1230
Patel, Amit
Patel, Sheetal (01 of 05)
Patel, Sheetal (02 of 05)
Patel, Sheetal (03 of 05)
Patel, Sheetal (04 of 05)
Patel, Sheetal (05 of 05)
Patel, Watson (01 of 05)
Patel, Watson (02 of 05)
Patel, Watson (03 of 05)
Patel, Watson (04 of 05)
Patel, Watson (05 of 05)
Plummer, Jackie
Porchez, Jean François
Prior, Mike (01 of 02)
Prior, Mike (02 of 02)
Pritchard, Meirion (01 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (02 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (03 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (04 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (05 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (06 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (07 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (08 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (09 of 10)
Pritchard, Meirion (10 of 10)
q
Quarmby, Edward
r
Read, Edward (01 of 03)
Read, Edward (02 of 03)
Read, Edward (03 of 03)
Reid, James
Robinson, Nigel
Robson, Oliver
Roerade, Jay
Rotar, Ajda (01 of 02)
Rotar, Ajda (02 of 02)
Rynehart, Duncan
s
Samutrvrch, Ploy
Sanders, Andrew
Schweidler, Rob (01 of 02)
Schweidler, Rob (02 of 02)
Scott, Darren
Sepulveda, Manuel (01 of 02)
Sepulveda, Manuel (02 of 02)
Si Scott
Siddons, Jack
Small Japanese Soldier (01 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (02 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (03 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (04 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (05 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (06 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (07 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (08 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (09 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (10 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (11 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (12 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (13 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (14 of 15)
Small Japanese Soldier (15 of 15)
Smith, Andy
Source Creative
Southward, William (01 of 06)
Southward, William (02 of 06)
Southward, William (03 of 06)
Southward, William (04 of 06)
Southward, William (05 of 06)
Southward, William (06 of 06)
Spin
Stallard, P
Stander, Pieter
Stereographic (01 of 02)
Stereographic (02 of 02)
Stile, Andrea
Storey, Laurie
Stosskopf, Loran
Studio Makgill (01 of 02)
Studio Makgill (02 of 02)
Studio Number One
Suggett, Ele
Supercool (01 of 07)
Supercool (02 of 07)
Supercool (03 of 07)
Supercool (04 of 07)
Supercool (05 of 07)
Supercool (06 of 07)
Supercool (07 of 07)
Sutton, Andrew
Svensson, Oskar
t
Tariq, Aliya
Teacake Design
Thewling, Den
This is Colt
Thomas, Morgan
Thorpe, Emma (01 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (02 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (03 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (04 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (05 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (06 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (07 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (08 of 09)
Thorpe, Emma (09 of 09)
Townsend, Mark
Two Lobes One Brain
Tym, Ryan
u
Uberbaby (01 of 05)
Uberbaby (02 of 05)
Uberbaby (03 of 05)
Uberbaby (04 of 05)
Uberbaby (05 of 05)
Untitled (01 of 02)
Untitled (02 of 02)
v
Value And Service (01 of 07)
Value And Service (02 of 07)
Value And Service (03 of 07)
Value And Service (04 of 07)
Value And Service (05 of 07)
Value And Service (06 of 07)
Value And Service (07 of 07)
Vanderson, Michael
Veh-von, Jochum
w
Waddington, Ben
Wardle, Martin
Webb and Webb (01 of 02)
Webb and Webb (02 of 02)
Whitmore, Louise
Why Not Associates (01 of 03)
Why Not Associates (02 of 03)
Why Not Associates (03 of 03)
Whyman, Lucy (01 of 02)
Whyman, Lucy (02 of 02)
Wigglesworth, Oliver
Willker, Karlsson
Wingfield, Miles (01 of 02)
Wingfield, Miles (02 of 02)
Wright, Ian
y
Yacht Associates
Yang, Saeyoung (01 of 02)
Yang, Saeyoung (02 of 02)
Yeo, Jesvin (01 of 04)
Yeo, Jesvin (02 of 04)
Yeo, Jesvin (03 of 04)
Yeo, Jesvin (04 of 04)