Graphisme en France Issue 30

Every year for the last thirty years, Graphisme en France, published by the Centre national des arts plastiques, has presented thinking, research, and viewpoints from various personalities, enabling the circulation of ideas, creations, and writings. Created by Marsha Emanuel in 1994, since that time this publication has allowed over fifty authors to write original texts, while providing thirty young designers the opportunity to design editorial projects that showcase their abilities. These projects tackle subjects that encourage thought, build history, and develop knowledge. With a print run of 10,000 copies, it is distributed for free in schools and cultural spaces throughout France. Since 2014, an English version of Graphisme en France has also been available online.

This thirtieth issue is the occasion to carefully examine a number of subjects which reflect contemporary issues in graphic design and typography that are firmly rooted in the present day. We wanted to revisit the notion of “graphic design of public utility,” which was very topical in 1994 when Graphisme en France was created. Olivier Huz, graphic designer, teacher, and author, shares his thoughts on how this concept continues to resonate today. Vivien Philizot, designer and associate professor at the University of Strasbourg, retraces the evolution of research over the last thirty years, a recurring theme in this publication to which numerous researchers have contributed in order to share their
work. Finally, we wished to tackle the question of artificial intelligence, ubiquitous in our current society, entrusting Étienne Mineur with the task of sharing his experiences with this new tool, notably through his exchanges with students in the many workshops he runs in various art schools.

The graphic design of this anniversary issue is by Louise Garric, who, also thirty years old, holds a degree in art history and who graduated from the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris in 2020. She designed this issue by adapting the page layout to each of the different contributions, selecting a color, and establishing unique links between text and image. The entire issue is composed using the typeface Pachinko, designed by Émilie Rigaud and distributed by the type foundry A Is for Fonts.

This thirtieth anniversary of Graphisme en France is also the occasion for the Centre national des arts plastiques to organize a number of events that, like the publication, aim to showcase and promote graphic design, and to bring together all of the actors in the field.