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.
Studio project (2025) with Nicole Udry
1/11
Exposition, catalogue d'exposition
Par David Zwicker
Broadsheet newspaper
Par Mattias Koskinen
1/11
1/11
Édition
Par Darina Komm
Posters & publication
Par Léa Verboux
1/7
1/12
Édition
Par Amélie Matthey
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Nicolas Poillot
By conceptualizing and producing visual content as part of an editorial series, students will explore the concept of applied photography in a practical, creative, and professional manner, working closely with Art Director Nicolas Poillot.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
with Guy Meldem
Third-year students had to produce an edition over half a semester, discovering as their subject an event that appeared in the newspaper on the date of the first lesson.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
with Jonathan Hares
Third-year students had to produce an edition over half a semester, discovering as their subject an event that appeared in the newspaper on the date of the first lesson.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
with Gilles Gavillet
Through the lens of visual identity, this project explores issues related to graphic language and art direction. Each stage of the project examines a different aspect of visual identity development: research, concept, visual language, design, and communication.
BA GRAPHIC DESIGN
by Leandra Adler, Cansu Celen, Layana Comte, Anaïs Dermont, Camille Genoud, Eve Gremaud, Eloïse Guillod, Mathis Harmant, Marie Hintzy, Matteo Lucca, Maxime Manera, Gaëtan Mauclair, Mathys Mauron, Emma Morisseau, Sara Pedersoli, Lucie Pittet, Hélène Prongué, Leonardo Mariucci, Alice Refachinho, Justine Renevey, Gaspard Schlatter, Laura Simons, Vu Toni Thien Duc, Maïa Yassin, Jonas Zesiger
In November 2025, 27 ECAL students took part in Work and Turn, a workshop led by Geoff Han exploring the theme of labor and the often overlooked work that sustains the school. Located in a former IRIL knitwear factory in the industrial area of Renens, ECAL occupies a vast building whose daily functioning depends on many visible and invisible forms of labor. Over five days, students worked in small teams to produce a collective 96-page pocket-sized publication. Each pair created an 8-page photographic visual essay focusing on a specific aspect of labor at ECAL. Rather than relying on traditional portraits, the projects explored more poetic and indirect ways of documenting traces of work through spaces, gestures, materials, and infrastructures. The entire publication was manually printed on an offset press by the students themselves, in either black or red and black. The printing process was a central part of the workshop: participants prepared the plates, set up the press, and ran the prints. This hands-on production process echoed the theme of labor explored throughout the publication.
