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Just announced this week, however, is a project that probably has more going for it than most: “Design Times Square: The Urban Forest Project” will see in the glitzy hub of Midtown the installation of a collection of banners designed by 175 artists and designers drawn from all over the world.

For this public display, organized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts [AIGA], the Times Square Alliance and the Worldstudio Foundation, the artists were given a simple enough assignment: design a banner based on the form, the idea or the characteristics of a tree.

The results? Well, there are more designers than artists involved in the project, and some of the banners are therefore predictable enough. But there are quite a few that are unusual—and a number that are rather remarkable.

Among the more provocative designs are by Tamar Cohen, Radovan Jenko and Lawrence Weiner (no surprise that his work stands out for its originality).

Other works worth looking out for are by the 18 by students of Manhattan’s High School of Art & Design, who have benefited from an AIGA mentoring program that couples students with professional designers.

Another admirable aspect of the project is that once they are taken down, the banners will be recycled into tote bags that will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to scholarship and mentoring programs that benefit students of the visual arts. So get ready to bid.

The banners will be on display on street poles throughout Times Square on Aug, 17 and will stay on view until October.