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Work / Graphic Design

Paris-based Adrien Menard’s portfolio experiments with letterforms and composition

Words by Rebecca Fulleylove, Thursday 03 September 2015

The eclectic array of work in French graphic designer Adrien Menard’s portfolio is a sight to behold. Beautifully set typography sits imposingly on slabs of grey and copper clay, a cleverly shattered poster advertises a short film and an exhibition identity plays with the representation of music. It’s clear Adrien’s passion is in letterforms as many of his projects seem to use a custom type or are thoughtfully composed around it. This attention to detail manifests itself throughout his projects and it’s this finish that elevates the Paris-based designer’s work.

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_6 — Adrien Menard: Orium

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_7 — Adrien Menard: Orium

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_4 — Adrien Menard: Plan M

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_3 — Adrien Menard: Plan M

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_1 — Adrien Menard: Keller

Adrien_menard_itsnicethat_8 — Adrien Menard: Des armoiries aux logotypes

www.adrienmenard.fr

Most Recent

Maddie Williams works with majority repurposed materials in her renewable textiles practice 25 September 2018
Paloma Proudfoot's debut UK exhibition - The Detachable Head Serves as a Cup - is as intriguing as its title 25 September 2018
Studio Tillack Knöll’s ultimate goal is to communicate, rather than just design for design’s sake 25 September 2018
Adrian Kay Wong and Printed Goods visually interpret being twins for their collaborative poster 25 September 2018
Multimedia artist Eilen Itzel Mena explores the survival of Afro-diasporic people 24 September 2018
David Robert Elliott's photographs of young runners examine aspiration and self-worth 24 September 2018

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Jyni Ong — 25 September 2018
Work / Graphic Design Pedro Ajo graphically translates Brazillian pixação into a publication

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Lucy Bourton — 24 September 2018
Work / Graphic Design New work by Hezin O explores the techniques of print, both physically and conceptually

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Work / Graphic Design Jackson Green’s design work explores the chasm that exists between statement and intent

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Jyni Ong — 25 September 2018
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Ahead of experiencing RCA alumni Paloma Proudfoot’s exhibition at the Cob Gallery we were sent an essay by the artist. Written as if hurriedly spoken, there was an urgency, a palpable energy and a visceral quality to her words. They called into question inspirations as an artist, the messy often haphazard approach to shows, how through widening our view and not shackling ourselves with a sense of how a project might be approached we can open up its possibilities. Her words, like her ceramics hit an inner point — then twist and turn us from within, calling into question our response to objects; their ability to evoke memories and the potentially heavy-hitting responses.

Laura Isabella — 25 September 2018
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Jyni Ong — 25 September 2018
Media Partnership / Dropbox: Monthly Poster Adrian Kay Wong and Printed Goods visually interpret being twins for their collaborative poster

Despite the fact that artist Adrian Kay Wong lives in Los Angeles and Raffy and George – who make up design studio Printed Goods – live in Bristol, the group have got a lot in common. Firstly, both have a similar approach to work regardless of their differing practices. They both appreciate strong geometric presence in their creative endeavours, working logistically by also limiting themselves to a carefully selected colour palette. It doesn’t matter about the eight hour time difference: this lot are very much in the same place.

It's Nice That — 25 September 2018
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Ruby Boddington — 24 September 2018

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Jyni Ong — 24 September 2018
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Without a doubt, Unseen Amsterdam is a highlight for any photography fanatic’s annual calendar. Whether you’re an iPhone snapper, a master of the disposable at festivals, or a fully-fledged “photophile” who never leaves home without your Hasselblad in tow, Unseen Amsterdam is sure to fit the bill. Exclusively focusing on what’s new in the photographic world, the three-day event provides a channel for up-and-coming talent to showcase their work.

Ruby Boddington — 21 September 2018
Work / Graphic Design Jackson Green’s design work explores the chasm that exists between statement and intent

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Jyni Ong — 21 September 2018
Work / Publication Why Materials Matter: Seetal Solanki's accessible proposal for the future of materials, designed by Our Place

“Materials exist everywhere and make up our world, everything is made of something,” outlines founder and director of Ma-tt-er – and former It’s Nice That One to Watch – Seetal Solanki. A research design studio that explores the past, present and future of materials, last night (20 September) Seetal launched Ma-tt-er’s first book, Why Materials Matter, which questions what it means to live in a material world, and how materials of the past and present hold the keys to our future.

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Regulars / Friday Mixtape Friday Mixtape: Animator Steve Smith takes us from Kate Bush to Oneohtrix Point Never

Los Angeles-based animator Steve Smith has ridiculously high skills in building animated shorts that combine both the very weird and the very wonderful.

Lucy Bourton — 21 September 2018
Work / Art Tom Galle’s internet-based practice captures your attention in a few seconds, scrolling through your feed

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Jyni Ong — 21 September 2018
Features / Art “Fear and desire for connection and the blocks to it”: artist Martine Syms on her exhibition Grand Calme

“Where do I begin?” laughs American artist Martine Syms down a transatlantic phone line. She’s currently in New York, working on an upcoming exhibition, but we’re connected to talk about her latest solo show Grand Calme which recently opened at London gallery Sadie Coles HQ.

Bryony Stone — 20 September 2018
Work / Film Iggy Ldn captures beauty, power and pain in his short film, Velvet

How do you tell a story about knife crime without falling into tropes that demonise young people? It’s a challenge in the current social context, where the image of knife crime hinges on one-dimensional caricatures of young black men. See a news report about tragedy and you might hear the name “gang”, young men in hoodies, or worse, a moral panic about music like “UK Drill” at the heart of all violence in London. So what about the real stories? It’s a challenge that filmmaker Iggy Ldn has taken, to show the beauty of life beyond reductive headlines. His exquisite short film Velvet encompasses all the beauty and joy of life in abundance. The short takes us through a liberated, urgent, dance, showing hypnotising and powerful rising forms as Michael Junior Onafowokan body’s moves in times with music provided by Father and Kwabs. Iggy’s previous work is testament to taking a breath and reimagining visions of blackness — his stand out short film Black Boys Don’t Cry was a critically acclaimed look at the delicacy of black masculinity.

Kieran Yates — 20 September 2018
Sponsored / Exhibition Art Bank Taiwan joins London Design Biennale this week, exploring cultural identity through political and social commentary

Art Bank Taiwan will join the London Design Biennale for its final week this week at Somerset House. The exhibition will interpret the Biennial theme “Emotional States” in an exhibition titled Invisible Calls. The work will showcase contemporary work by acclaimed artists Cheng-Chang Wu and Che-Yu Hsu who both explore Taiwanese cultural identity through social and political commentary through an ‘invisible call’ to action.

Kieran Yates — 20 September 2018
Work / Illustration Tiziana Jill Beck explores the identity of anonymous travellers through masks

Paris-based artist, Tiziana Jill Beck is fascinated by the role masks play in society. Her practice blends contemporary concerns with the kind of energy that emanated from the kind of drawings that sat on the wall of prehistoric caves, only to be found millenia on. Tiziana’s work draws from daily observations as well as folk art, art history and literature which she transforms intuitively into new compositions to bring about unexpected surprises and new meanings.

Jyni Ong — 20 September 2018

Work / Publication The new issue of Indoek brings America's oldest city to life

St. Augustine is America’s oldest city. Tucked away on the northeastern tip of Florida, St. Augustine is more specifically the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the contiguous United States. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, a Spanish conquistador, willed it into being back in 1565. 452 years on, and surf-mad publication Indoek have celebrated all that’s good about St. Augustine with the second issue of its city-specific magazine. We now want to go to St. Augustine.

Josh Baines — 20 September 2018
Work / Animation Master of plasticine Kate Isobel Scott is back with a new animation

Anyone who has watched a stop-motion animation by Kate Isobel Scott will know she’s got a steady pair of hands and the utmost patience for plasticine. Her shorts are usually all made of moulded blobs of the material morphed into wide-eyed characters wibbling and wobbling through sets that also makes by hand. A process which takes time and a ridiculous attention to detail, Kate’s animated skill was recently picked up by New York-based street brand Knickerbocker to create a short focusing on a 1950s New York street scene with a skateboarder.

Lucy Bourton — 20 September 2018
Work / Graphic Design Johannes Schnatmann understands himself as an author as much as a graphic designer

For Berlin-based graphic and type designer Johannes Schnatmann, the internet is his main inspiration. Working alongside commercial projects, the designer has created his own publication Tempus Futurum which explores the idea of a utopian design process. Featuring over 20 contributions from designers, including It’s Nice That favourites Pouya Ahmadi and Jonathan Castro, each creative dissects the personal concept of Utopia following the publication’s premise that utopian design is impossible. Speaking to It’s Nice That Johannes explains how, “there should be no limit or point of restraint in a design process. Design is limitless”. For instance, “the design of a chair continues to prove that it is limitless. It’s design is still explored and reinvented. It is refused a point of utopia”.

Jyni Ong — 20 September 2018
Work / Film Filmmaker Samona Olanipekun explores innocence and loss in his love letter to the immigrant experience, Kindred

Samona Olanipekun talks to It’s Nice That about the thinking behind his short film Kindred, an eight minute dream-like journey into what it means to be a subject of a shifting cultural identity. “I really wanted to put across this idea of a collective journey. My parents moved to the UK in the 80s for education and to give us the best possible opportunity in life. For me, making this film was a way to explore what that meant”, explains Samona. The short is commissioned by the Barbican as part of their season titled The Art of Change; Samona was given the theme “Globalisation” to explore. “When I came across the brief I had already had a few ideas that revolved around the migration of people” he says. “In recent years I’ve had a huge fascination on the migration of people and the risks people take to venture into the unknown or the conditions that force people to take that risk.”

Kieran Yates — 19 September 2018
Work / Publication Beyond Heaven is a visual history of early Chicago house music

“The graphic elements — from typography to illustration, to the use of printing process with those gradients — all add up to a varied but distinctive aesthetic that visually represents this culture.” Brandon Johnson is talking about flyers. More specifically he’s talking about flyers for house nights. Even more specifically, he’s talking about the flyers that make up his wonderful new publication Beyond Heaven: Chicago House Party Flyers From 1983-1989, a 96-page collection of visual ephemera from one of the most significant periods in the history of nightlife and club culture.

Josh Baines — 19 September 2018
Work / Animation Dinner For Few is an allegorical animation depicting our society that benefits a select few

Dinner For Few is a ten minute CG-animated film depicting a sociopolitical allegory of our society. Directed by Emmy award-winning animation artist Nassos Vakalis, the animation is now available for online viewing on Vimeo. Following a narrative of a grand dinner hosted by gluttonous characters taking their fill of everything and anything in the surroundings, the film offers a nontraditional CG aesthetic using flat graphics and dark outlines as opposed to 3-dimensional realism, providing an appropriately harsh lens to the story of self-indulgence.

Jyni Ong — 19 September 2018

Work / Publication Grace Ahlbom’s publication Dreaming is Heavy Metal investigates new printing methods

Imaginative and diverse, artist-cum-photographer Grace Albohm has a self-proclaimed propensity to “romanticise the handwork, labour-intensive and traditional printing of photography,” she says. From curiously found fanzine images brought into the darkroom and made into cyanotypes, to shining a torch through pin-holes cut from cardboard, hers is a practice that opens up the oft-abandoned darkroom and turns it into a place of delightful happenings, and magic.

Laura Isabella — 19 September 2018
Work / Illustration Anna Gille’s evocative illustrations dissolve the barrier between the natural and the artificial

Berlin-based illustrator Anna Gille brings out the beauty of the natural environment through her illustration series Window (VPPB). The illustrator has been producing images of various landscapes for the past three years forming the basis of her Windows series, working from a large archive of digital photography featuring different kinds of landscapes including parks, gardens, nature reserves and zoos. She collects such photos alongside screenshots of digital simulations and computer game graphics, widening her archive to encompass a broad range of real and artificial topographic documentation.

Jyni Ong — 19 September 2018
Work / Photography Photographer Thurstan Redding’s project Castle Village portrays an optimistic and joyful view of old age

A retirement village in Berkhamsted might not be the first place you would imagine to find fashion photographer Thurstan Redding — who has shot for the likes of British Vogue, Arena Homme +, i-D, Dazed and Love — but it was here, in Castle Village, that one of his most unique projects thus far took shape.

Laura Isabella — 18 September 2018
Work / Publication Jay Cover and Brad Holdgrafer visually tackle the concept of walls through "playschool politics"

Walls, a recent children’s book made by illustrator Jay Cover and art director Brad Holdgrafer, is a literal depiction of the political situation in both the US and the UK, a metaphorical exploration of the concept of a wall, and a “playful look at the problem” for the kids it’s aimed at and the parents reading to them, too. It started as a pet project between the two, over Skype and e-mail the book, which combines a rhyming poem by Brad and Jay’s illustrations, was a cathartic exercise initially, until Princeton Architectural Press got in touch and saw its cultural and visual worth.

Lucy Bourton — 18 September 2018
Work / Graphic Design Emily Schofield’s graphic design practice balances function with irrationality and expression

London-based graphic designer Emily Schofield realised that her interests in fiction, contemporary culture, art and politics didn’t have to exist separately from her design practice. Her beautifully, crisp portfolio of work spans print, digital design and art direction demonstrating a delicate balance between creative expression and logical functionality. Speaking to It’s Nice That, Emily explains that in her creative process, “I need to be able to express something with my designs but when you become too focused on style and expression you often lose the bigger picture,” she says. “I only find meaning in my work when I see its larger role in society — whether that’s functionality, or an ability to provoke reaction, or simply to communicate a message”.

Jyni Ong — 18 September 2018
Work / Illustration Dairy drinks and cigarettes meet in Lucas Reis' illustrative evocations of Japan

When Lucas Reis was a kid growing up in Brazil, he had a Japanese friend. That friend was Lucas’ link to a country that has gone on to fascinate him ever since. The illustrator — who is also a creative at Mother — absorbed as much as he could from his playground pal. “As my taste began to develop in music, art, and design, I was always very aware of what was happening in Japan,” he tells It’s Nice That. “I tried to really understand what such a different mindset to my own could produce.”

Josh Baines — 18 September 2018

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