Helene Silverman
Helene Silverman is a graphic designer and music video director who collaborated with They Might Be Giants in the late 80s. She directed the music video for "Purple Toupee", which was released in 1989. A still from the video is featured on the cover of the video compilation The Videos 1986-1989, released on VHS and Laserdisc. Silverman also created the cover art for the Don't Let's Start compilation and the Birdhouse In Your Soul EP. She is listed as a design consultant in the credits for Flood. Although it includes no design credit, the "Purple Toupee" promo CD also seems to take cues from the Don't Let's Start artwork.
The photograph used for the cover art of Don't Let's Start was one of several photos that Silverman took of her television as it was "dying" in 1988, causing it to display unusual, vibrant colors. Some additional shots from the same series can be found on her website.
In the 1980s, Silverman formed a design co-op called Hello Studio (unrelated to the Hello CD of the Month Club). Some of Silverman's other credits include art direction at Metropolis and Architectural Record magazines and extensive work with Red Hot Organization, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting AIDS. Her husband is cartoonist Gary Panter, who has worked with The Residents, an experimental band which had a strong influence on They Might Be Giants.
