Atelier 25

What is the story of your studio? CT: We met at the ENSAD in Strasbourg. After graduation, we both worked in different agencies (Agence VU, Atelier Des Signes, Éditions Xavier Barral). Thereafter, we designed our first edition together, the monograph of Iris Levasseur, and decided to found our own studio CM: At first, it was not always easy… but we never got discouraged. Quickly we had the chance to work with the CNAP for ‘Graphisme en France’, then with Sèvres - Cité de la céramique. Then we collaborated with two national theatre scenes, L'Agora and La Filature. At the end, everything came quite naturally.

How do you display your signature on the variety of media you work on? How do you integrate your manual design practice into your projects? CT: We don’t want to get stuck in a particular approach or questioning... We adapt according to the project and our ideas, without necessarily thinking of an overall perspective at the beginning of the creation phase. The experimentation and the diversity of the projects we are working on help us to move forward. CM: It is true that we like to say that everything is possible on every project: drawing, typography, illustration... without getting stuck in a particular system or signature. We make a pretty consistent work, but we like to constantly enrich our projets with new ideas.

Do you think there is a lack of a design culture in France? CT: Yes, we do! We lost count of the number of times we were told ‘It is a small project, there is not much to do…’ while each request requires time to think and to design. It is also our role as designers to change mentalities and make people aware of our practice. CM: Indeed, we noticed it with some clients… but also with our close circle who can still ask us if we are the writers of the book we actually designed... There is still a real teaching work to do on graphic design with many audiences.

What was your most significant project? What would you dream to work on? CM: We really like projects spreading out over several years. This is often an opportunity for us to go further. With La Filature, we had the chance to work on a large panel of formats: booklets, posters, signage... Each time new playgrounds. CT: We have a lot of ideas and desires. We would like to initiate our own projects and stop putting them off until later… this will be one of our resolutions for this year! Interview conducted in March 2018 ©ktlg