Xavier Monney’s slick and unique three-dimensional manipulations of type

Xavier Monney is the 23 year old designer from Lausanne, Switzerland whose work caught our eye due to his refreshing but incredibly impressive manipulations of type. Xavier combines animation and typography to create three dimensional experiments, often incorporating some form of optical illusion. “I guess what’s most important is the perspective,” explains Xavier when asked how he manages to retain such high levels of legibility within animated text. He also considers the animation’s speed, colour and texture: “a simple change can create a completely different atmosphere.”

Xavier’s Swiss roots are clearly reflected in his type heavy, bold monochrome designs which are a nod to the country’s design history and International Typographic Style. Currently undertaking an apprenticeship at Moser Design as well as studying graphic design at Eracom – both in Lausanne – Xavier developed his experimental style after quickly becoming disillusioned with graphic design as a job. As a way to to find an aesthetic and process that he could identify with, Xavier turned to websites such as Tumblr where he was introduced to the early 2010s cyber-culture, “vaporwave.” This combined with his discovery of designers such as Felix Pfäffli, Erich Brechbühl and Josh Schaub, who all contributed to the “poster scene” in Lucerne (another Swiss city) encouraged Xavier to start incorporating illustration into his work.

His experiments with three dimensional software arose due to a desire to add depth and texture to his practice, something which can clearly be seen in his current portfolio. His animations consider depth of field and perspective and treat type as an illustrative object to be manipulated. More recently, Xavier has begun experimenting with augmented reality as a way to incorporate yet another dimension to his work. “I’m pretty sure AR could be a great tool – it’s pretty new to graphic design and this is why I think it’s fun. It’s a whole new universe and everything has to be invented,” Xavier told us.