Best Art: Hillary's Prayer and More Design Picks

After you check out our Photo Editor's Favorites of 2008, check out the Society of Publication Designers' favorite art. The 43rd Publication Design Annual hit the mailboxes of art directors across the country this week, and sure enough, MoJo was amply represented. The SPD runs arguably the most prestigious juried competition for visual journalism in the world. Created by design firm Weapons of Choice, the book is a tour de force of design about design, not to mention eye candy to art junkies everywhere.

Mother Jones is represented by three Merit Award winners. Here's what they loved:

"The Hidden Half", a moving photo essay on women in contemporary Afghanistan by Lana Šlezi?.

Steve Brodner illustrates the Office of Special Counsel head Scott Bloch's ignoring of the whistleblowers his organization was supposed to protect in art for "Don't Whistle While You Work."

Andy Friedman imagines Hillary at the Last Supper, sitting at Jesus' right hand, in "Hillary's Prayer."

Mother Jones was also honored in the SPD's Spots competition:

Andrew Zbihlyj illustrated the sometimes positive effects of gentrification for "Go Forth and Gentrify."

If you're the type of person who likes their journalism smart, fearless, and visual, do I really need to remind you that you can have this kind of stuff delivered right to your door six times a year? Subscribe, if you haven't already; or give a gift subscription to a designer who needs some visual inspiration in 2009.

—Tim J Luddy