Variants of Modernism in France: Graphic Design History

France’s Postwar Graphic Design

  • Post-war graphic design retained character of 1930s.
  • ‘Gauloises’ cigarettes redesigned by Marcel Jacno in 1936, refined in 1947 with a less stylized winged helmet and bold Roman type; widely recognized in the 1960s.

Marcel Jacno

  • Produced influential typefaces like Film typeface (1934) and Jacno typeface (1950).

Painted Posters

  • Painted posters flourished after WWII.
  • Carlu and Jean Colin remained active; Cassandre focused on painting and theatre design.
  • Younger artists like Bernard Villemot, Raymond Savignac, and Andre Francois created more cartoon-like designs.

Raymond Savignac

  • Savignac aimed for ‘A single image for a single idea’ with ‘a visual Scandal’.
  • Famous depiction: ‘Monsavon’ poster (1949) for soap with milk.

Charles Loupot

  • Most significant survivor from pre-war period.
  • Geometricized ‘Nicolas’ wine firm symbol in 1950.
  • Developed the logo for ‘St. Raphael’, making it more angular.

Pierre Faucheux

  • Key figure in graphic extravagance in France after WWII, particularly in book bindings and text pages for book clubs.
  • Worked for ‘Club Francaise du Livre’ from 1946.
  • Illustrated books with graphic material from the period of the book’s first publication.
  • Designed nearly 500 books, treating the book as a total design space.

Robert Massin

  • Follower of Pierre Faucheux.
  • Reworked ‘Exercises de Style’ in 1962.
  • Exploited photo-typesetting possibilities in the 1960s.
  • Collaborated with photographer Henry Cohen for Ionesco’s ‘La Cantatrice Chauve’ (1964), using high-contrast images and distinct typefaces to represent characters and tone.

Club Francais du Disque

  • Launched in the early 1950s following the success of book clubs.
  • Record sleeves were visually striking and practical, printed in black and one or two flat colors.
  • Standardized format influenced the design of related items like paperback books.
  • Jacques Darche designed convincing sleeve designs.

Photography

  • Photography recognized for symbolic quality.
  • Magazines like ‘Paris Match’ and ‘Life’ reconstructed events in sequences of photographs.

Peter Knapp

  • Transformed women’s weekly magazines, following American examples.
  • Became art director of publicity studio at ‘Galeries Lafayette’ in 1959.
  • Employed a large staff at ‘Elle’, including designers, retouchers, and photographers.
  • Photographed models against white or black backgrounds to emphasize outlines.

Jean Widmer

  • Successor to Knapp at ‘Galeries Lafayette’.
  • Art-edited ‘Jardin des Modes’.
  • Used pictograms in design.