Design Against Fur US Winners to be Announced May 2nd at the Vitra Store in NYC with Todd Oldham and Guest DJ Karim Rashid

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will announce the U.S. winners of the third annual Design Against Fur! competition, a worldwide student poster design contest sponsored by The Fur Free Alliance at The Vitra Store, 29 Ninth Avenue NYC, on Monday, May 2nd from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The competition is a forum for young art and design students worldwide to put their creative talents to work on behalf of animals by designing an innovative anti-fur poster. The HSUS hosts the competition in the United States. Contests have run concurrently in Canada, Europe, and the UK & Ireland. Fur Free Alliance members will view winning posters from these regional competitions this June, in London, and a Grand Prize winner will be selected from a pool of 12 posters.

Washington (PRWEB) April 30, 2005 -- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will announce the U.S. winners of the third annual Design Against Fur! competition, a worldwide student poster design contest sponsored by The Fur Free Alliance at The Vitra Store, 29 Ninth Avenue NYC, on Monday, May 2nd from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Please join the students, professors, judges and The HSUS to celebrate a competition that is dynamic and successful because of the talent and enthusiasm of the students.

The competition is a forum for young art and design students worldwide to put their creative talents to work on behalf of animals by designing an innovative anti-fur poster. The HSUS hosts the competition in the United States. Contests have run concurrently in Canada, Europe, and the UK & Ireland. Fur Free Alliance members will view winning posters from these regional competitions this June, in London, and a Grand Prize winner will be selected from a pool of 12 posters.

Design Against Fur! is open to all students enrolled in a recognized college or university during the winter of 2004 and the spring of 2005 who would like to design an innovative anti-fur poster. Prizes for the winning entries include $1000 for the United States winner, $500 for the runner up and $250 for third place. The top three U.S. entries are automatically entered into the international competition where they can win $5000 US and a trip to a European capital.

The message conveyed in this years poster was: "fur is cruel".

This years Judges... Todd Oldham, Benjamin Cho, Patrick McDonnell -- Mutts Cartoonist, Con Williamson & Michael Haje -- Lodge 212 NYC, Neil Powell -- Powell, NYC, Jeremy Postaer & Peter Nicholson -- J. Walter Thompson NYC, Dan Rollman -- Goodby Silverstein, San Francisco.

Commenting on the U.S. competition, internationally renowned fashion designer Todd Oldham praised the work of the contestants, finding that many of the designs have a really smart edge that communicates the message in a creative and unique style."

HSUS Director, Mutts cartoonist and DAF Judge, Patrick McDonnell states, "I am continually heartened to see the compassion and talent of our future designers. As they become integral to the fashion industry and join the ranks of Stella McCartney and Todd Oldham, we will hopefully see a new day where this ugly practice of killing animals for fashion ceases forever. Let's look forward to that day becoming a reality soon."

Conway Williamson and Michael Haje, Creative Directors and founding partners of Lodge 212, a New York based creative collective that develops creative product for advertising, design and film state: This show had a lot of great work in terms of design and ideas, with a number of simple yet powerful executions. We gravitated toward the entries that we thought featured the most original take on this topic. Ill never look at a fur coat the same again."

Dan Rollman, a full time copywriter at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, in San Francisco, commented that: I'm glad students are creating ads that promote a social cause instead of just a product. Hopefully they'll be inspired to continue using advertising as a social platform once they enter the professional world."

Winning posters will be available to view and download on May 2nd at: www.inFURmation.com

About The HSUS
The Humane Society of the United States is the nations largest animal protection organization with nearly 9 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives across the country. On the web at hsus.org.

About the Fur Free Alliance
The Fur Free Alliance (FFA) is an international consortium of animal protection groups. For further information please go to: www.inFURmation.com. The Design Against Fur competition information can be accessed at the FFA site.

Press RSVP: Think PR at 212-343-3920

# # #