E+K

What is the story of E+K ? KD: We met at Atelier de Sèvres. Then I went to the ENSAD in Paris and Élise to the EESAB in Rennes. Thereafter, we joined together in Rennes where we finished our studies. We can only work when we are together. Therefore, at the end of our program of studies, we directly created our studio. We cooperate on everything, and we work behind the same screen very often. It allows to take forward our projects more quickly. EG: We didn't look for internships, we started to work directly. For us it was make-or-break. We have learnt graphic design by working together, we have learnt this job together, it became a real habit. However our timetables differ because Kévin teaches at the EESAB in Rennes two days a week.

How was your studio built ? EG: We had already worked when we were students. The transition after diploma was quite flexible. At first, we began with small projects, but we always had something to work on. KD: We had already made various collaborations and produced books. During our studies, we led a project with one of our teachers, George Dupin, who has become one of our regular clients. It was a quite long project, three years working on a book. It allowed us to really start in the profession. Afterward we made a residence, I personally wrote an article in Graphisme en France which then brought us towards other projects. The context is particular because I have always taught. After my diploma in June, I have begun to teach in September at the ENSAD and at the University of Paris VIII. EG: It's been four years since we went out of the EESAB. What became specific about our studio, it is that we question print as much as web, the link from one to another. KD: We have several networks. Clients who spread the word, for whom we usually make collaborations with artists, books, and close by, we have some projects for institutions, websites or even applications. But our work is always connected to the artistic or cultural field.

Constantly between print and screen, it seems that you have a particular method of work. KD: We try most of the time to mix both areas. Even for web projects, we design everything with the same requirement as a print book. The idea is to consider each support with our knowledge of both media. EG: We just created a book for the artist Marie-Ange Guilleminot which will have a permanent installation at the Museum of Fashion. We decided to make a Braille book. Printing Braille is rather complicated, especially because we wanted to emboss pictures. This required that we develop a program. In our projects we try to mix different media each time; and with this project an application is born. What interests us the most is that in the same project, there is a printed part and a digital one, because that's where we really start to consider the issue of the support. We don't put an hard and fast boundary between the two media. KD: We don't have a mountain of clients and projects. It is rather the same clients with long-term projects, for one year for instance. We take time to work and to have a reflection on our work, to teach, to do workshops. The idea is not to hold one order after the other, it is always to stand back from the demands.

Has this idea of teaching always been a desire for you ? EG: It was immediately very natural for Kévin, but a little less for me. I am not a teacher. KD: I have always enjoyed teaching. What is particular to the issue of digital is that there are few teachers, few people who have the dual expertise print and digital. Thanks of that I had various demands quickly. I liked it and I decided to continue. EG: For the economy of the studio, it is important, because it allows us to select our projects. We can allow ourselves the luxury to choose. What might also interest us in the future would be making residences abroad, to leave for a year in order to make projects. KD: If a project doesn't bring us something, we refuse it. We prefer to select our projects and lead them really well, rather than to accumulate them to do more profit. The idea is not to have a secretary, multiple interns, premises… We prefer to be more relaxed to really achieve our projects, and devote the maximum of our time to finish them. Interview conducted in April 2015 ©ktlg