The place is half buried, no windows on the back, only on the front. No view, only the building across the yard. Birds and kids in the sunny days… The studio is quite large, but filled with junk (boxes of books we published, remains of Ultralab‘s exhibitions, archives, furniture that doesn’t fit in our apartments). Not too shabby…We are 3 guys + an occasional intern. We sublet a corner to 2 other graphic designers, the only tolerable company.
“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things,” said Jean Cocteau. This quote comes to my mind to describe the work of Pascal Béjean – Olivier Körner – Nicolas Ledoux. Style is a rare quality today, one not usually associated with graphic communication. But the three principals are inspired practitioners whose special talent, it seems to me, is to clarify and inform, more than explain or demonstrate. The pleasure one experiences in front of their posters, brochures, packaging or identities is due to the fact that the object itself and its graphic content seem inextricably bound. You decipher the message with your fingers as much as with your eyes. Their studio, specializes in design projects that promote contemporary art and performing arts events. The partners put a premium on typographical excellence, but the visual codes of photography, fashion, and music often find their way into their graphic vocabulary. They are trained in a number of different disciplines: Pascal is a photographer, Olivier’s background is in telecommunication, while Nicolas is an architect.
The camera broke down right before my meeting with Milton Glaser.
FYD: Where did you find the office mascot of Super Mario?I don’t spend more time out there that the next Parisian. Too much work!
FYD: You set out to various studios in New York, photographing the likes of Matias Corea, Milton Glaser, and Paul Sahre. What prompted this adventure?
PB: I wanted to do more photographs, and needed a subject. Following the idea of Bulldozer, our early magazine about graphic design – founded by Frédéric Bortolotti, of making graphic design more visible,I started studio visits in 2008, asking designers I appreciate. When Elephant asked us to feature in the Paris issue, Logorama’s H5 asked me to use for their own section the shooting I made. I understood the magazine did not commission a photograph, so I proposed myself and shot 10 artists and designers in one month. The toughest studio was ours: Olivier and Nicolas (mostly him) giggled all session long, out of stress I suppose…
When I took a few days of vacation in NY, I decided to do the same. It is a nice way to meet people you couldn’t otherwise. Not as easily, anyway. Americans are very efficient, they need a reason to take an hour of their time. A photoshoot is a good one. Well, not for everyone. I’ve been kicked out of (…) when they understood it was not for a magazine.On the opposite, the camera broke down right before my meeting with Milton Glaser. I shamelessly used the iPhone. He was very cool about that.
Americans are very efficient, they need a reason to take an hour of their time.
FYD: You often shoot in black and white. What draws you to this medium?
PB: Before I shoot objects, I shoot lines and light. BW is more straight forward for that. I am not the photographer who will spend an afternoon shooting randomly wherever his steps lead him. I need a purpose. But if I see something fun in the street, I use my iPhone 4 with Hipstamatic. It’s lighter than the Blad! And cheaper, which was very handy in NY, where I made 100 rolls of 12 with the Blad, and 2000 images with my phone. I take it as it was a Polaroid. Limited, though spontaneous images.
FYD: You used your father’s old Yashica for years. Is this still your camera of choice?