Trait de caractère

Ella Paleni – Trait de caractère

The place of the graphic designer in the age of technological advances: today’s world is in constant technological evolution, which raises questions about the place and role of the graphic designer. In this graduation project, I set out to explore this issue by adopting a resolutely manual and artisanal approach. I created a book from A to Z, using traditional manufacturing techniques, from the elaboration of the paper to the final binding. By moving away from the omnipresent process of digitalisation, I sought to express a need to return to the very essence of the graphic design profession. This project highlights the advantages of an artisanal approach in an increasingly digital world. It encourages reflection on the specific skills that graphic designers can bring to the table.

Diploma project (2023) by Ella Paleni

Know-how
Craftsmanship, Imagemaking
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Projects related to Craftsmanship

ECAL X MHL – ECAL After Schmid

BA PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL X MHL – ECAL After Schmid

with Philippe Jarrigeon

Drawing inspiration from the 19th-century archives of photographer André Schmid, second-year Bachelor’s students collaborated with the Lausanne History Museum to create an inspiring dialogue between the past and the present. For most of the students, his name was unfamiliar. Discovering his work, preserved in the collections of the Lausanne History Museum, opened up a field of exploration that was both historical and artistic. Through André Schmid’s images, a foundational chapter in Swiss photography was revealed to them. Through an immersion in the archives, they were invited to engage in a dialogue with this pioneering practice—not to cite or reproduce it, but to reimagine it, question it, and interpret it, thereby creating a tension between the origins of photography and its most contemporary developments.

Contextual Design – BA2 S2 2026

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Contextual Design – BA2 S2 2026

with Adeline Mollard

  Genius Loci, or the spirit of the place, refers to the unique identity or essence of a location. In architecture, this principle suggests that the specific characteristics of a place should be reflected and extended in a design. In the case of the second-year graphic design students, they have applied this principle to communication projects focused on promoting or extending the identity of a particular place through design. Their work likely explores how to visually capture and communicate the essence of a space, using graphic design elements that resonate with the architectural features or history of the place.    

Louis Roh – Les chemins perdus

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Louis Roh – Les chemins perdus

with Guy Meldem, Diego Bontognali

Millennia ago, humankind discovered electricity and never stopped exploiting and reinventing it, unconcerned, considering this resource to be infinite. This book, Les Chemins Perdus, opens up new horizons, between dream and fiction, through realistic and poetic notions. What if all the lights went out? It stimulates the imagination and offers readers light, childlike speculation. Interest in illustration, storytelling and printing techniques brings this graphic tale to life. This journey of colours and images appeals to a multi-generational audience, tapping into the potential of children’s books in these tense and confusing times.

Dynamic Identity - 2026

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Dynamic Identity - 2026

with Angelo Benedetto

First-year students designed visual identities for fictional museums. As part of the Dynamic Display course led by Angelo Benedetto, this project led them to create graphic universes that that express the character of each imaginary exhibition site.

Image Creation - Mirrored Motifs (ECAL × Chillon) - BA1 2025-2026

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Image Creation - Mirrored Motifs (ECAL × Chillon) - BA1 2025-2026

with Guy Meldem

As part of the ECAL x Chillon exhibition, which will take place at the eponymous castle, the students of the Bachelor in Graphic Design have created patterns inspired by the castle’s features. Under the supervision of Guy Meldem, they developed a variety of graphic systems. These patterns will be printed as hangings in the armory hall of Chillon Castle.

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