Adrienne Bornstein

What is your story ? After a high school diploma in literature, I made a year of preparatory class at the Atelier de Sèvres. At that time, I wanted to become an illustrator. I also prepared the entrance exams of the ENSBA and the ENSAD in Paris, but I have unfortunately not been accepted. I finally entered the ESAG Penninghen, where I learned what graphic design really was, and I immediately liked it. Michel Bouvet and Étienne Robial were part of my teachers... They are the ones who gave me the desire to work in this field. In the last year, I met Pierre Sponchiado with whom I worked for my graduation project. Very quickly, we decided to build a creative studio together. Initially we worked at my parents in my teenage bedroom... but later, we moved into an office in Lamarck-Caulaincourt, and that until 2014. A year ago I have decided to be self-employed.

How was the transition between your work as a studio with Pierre Sponchiado and your current status of independent graphic designer ? First, I spend significantly more time on my projects, probably since my studio also became the place where I live. And it is true that my way of working is not at all the same: when you work as a duo, you make compromises, now that I am alone, I have no limits, I can wake up in the middle of the night to move forward on a project, I manage my ideas as I please... Today I choose my creative spirit rather than my career plan. I work every weekend, I take my computer on vacation, when I am not working I take pictures, I update my newsletter... I never stop, and I like it. The contact with my clients has also changed, our relationships seem easier now, more flexible. When you are alone, there is less pressure because you are no longer represent a studio but one person, professional meetings become more natural.

Can you tell us more about your work for the book 'Lille Respire' ? This project is a partnership with Ante Prima. This is an agency that make communication for architects and that is also associated with a Belgian publisher called AAM. The agency has a partnership with EDF, which annually organizes the Bas Carbone contest. This year there was a call for ideas about the transformation of the city of Lille in 2050, taking into account the global warming. My job was to gather these ideas into a book, as an exhibition catalog. It was a full of constraints project with a rather complicated content to adapt. From big formats, I had to collect a lot of information in order to transpose them into an editorial object. Despite the constraints, I could play with the form of the book... it was a really nice project to be undertaken.

Would you say that your practice is more experimental since you work alone ? It is precisely this aspect that interests me in the graphic designer profession. When we started working with Pierre, we had a lot of agency projects : we were given briefs, we were told what to say, how to move forward, how the public would perceive the project... I do not like this approach the advertising and communication agencies have, they devalue and underestimate the public concerned. I assume that there is great emotional part in an object : when something pleases us, this is not because we understand it immediately, but because we feel something for it. In mass communication, nobody pays attention to it, and we tend to forget this aspect as if it was reserved for the 'artistic' field. My projects are not connected to contemporary art or music, but that is not why I limit myself to an approximate communication. I do not judge a project in relation to its business sector, and I am trying to assert this 'emotional' side with my clients. Finally, to send a message, there are other options than putting the information in bold or in fluorescent color. Doing something discreet and elegant can scare clients but ultimately they are often convinced, and approve the result. This a real trust-based work with those with whom you collaborate. Interview conducted in January 2016 ©ktlg