Last year I happened upon a Web site called Layer Tennis put together by Coudal Partners , a Chicago graphic design firm. I came into the graphic design spectacle right at the end of the season and loved every minute of it. Today was the first match and I have to say it was pretty fun to watch.

For those who don’t know: Layer Tennis is a live graphic design event where two graphic designers battle, each layering their design over the top of the last. There are ten rounds with each designer sending the volley back to each other.

Each designer gets one of two advantages. Either they get the first volley, which can be thought out in advance, or they get the last, which can not be countered.

The first match was between Jeffrey Kalmikoff (his site has a great postmortem of the whole match) and Brendan Dawes . Commentary for the match was provided by John Gruber .

I’ve included the first two images from the match to catch your interest, but I suggest you check out the Layer Tennis site for play by play coverage. The evolution of the designs will make more sense and there are a few interactive volleys that require the use of your mouse.

The winner was supposed to be announced today but I haven’t seen anything about it on the site yet.  I’ll let you know here at I’m Designer as soon as I find out.

Also, check out next Friday’s match at 2 p.m. Chicago time for a really fun and creative experience.

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