Slick work from Lyon-based studio Catalogue

Date
9 December 2014

Lyon-based studio Catalogue make the sort of no-nonsense, pared back graphic design that shows that being experimental and forward-thinking needn’t be at the cost of being super slick. Working across projects including identity design, web design and signage, they frequently take on commissions for equally experimental clients – one of which caught our eye in the form of this identity for Saint-Étienne-based musique concrète Festival des Musiques Innovatrices.

Catalogue’s Gaspard Ollagnon, who worked with Clément Le Tulle-Neyret on the project, tells us that the simple blue and white look they settled on was a deliberate move away from the identities for previous years of the festival, where imagery or photography took centre stage. “The decision was taken to conceive a one colour, typography-based identity,” he explains. “We tried to translate experimental concepts, audio streams and DIY treatments directly into typography.” The idea was that the simple, impactful look took “a little effort” to read – just as the musique concrète of the festival (experimental music created from mixing various recorded sounds, without the usual structure or melody of most music) takes a little effort to understand.

Across the Catalogue site are numerous projects with the same considered ethos, united by a careful approach to colour and typography, and we were also drawn to the lovely button-based look for the Inter-Action Mode fashion and design show. It takes primary colours and button shapes and arranges them into numerous formats to create different colours and patterns; forming a sweet, simple look that cleverly eschews trying to be too “fashion.”

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Catalogue: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices identity

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Catalogue: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices identity

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Catalogue: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices identity

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Catalogue: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices identity

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Catalogue: Festival des Musiques Innovatrices identity

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Catalogue: Interaction Mode identity

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Catalogue: Interaction Mode identity

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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