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2006 2024
ECAL X HORGENGLARUS The Future is... Older

PRODUCT DESIGN

ECAL X HORGENGLARUS The Future is... Older

by Youssef Bassil, Meri Hozumi, Altamirano Castro Eduardo, Sofia Biondi, Gabriella Duck Garnham, Louis Ferraz, Justus Hilfenhaus, Clémentine Merhebi, Fanny Marrot, Lilian Onstenk, Aurelia Pleyer, Antonio Severi, Loïs Weber, Yichen Wu, Tom Jacquérioz

Who will we be? What will we need? How will we live? What will design offer? “Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%.” — World Health Organization Led by Tutor Sam Hecht and completed by first-year students of ECAL Master Product Design with input from the senior-lab, this project presents a range of objects designed for Horgenglarus that cater to the growing population of elderly users. The aim of these objects is to challenge the stereotypes associated with this frequently medicalised category, while leveraging Horgenglarus’s extensive expertise in wood-based craftsmanship.

BY HAND

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

BY HAND

with Friederike Daumiller

Even if it seems that digital is taking over analog, there's still an interest and need for us as humans to have a physical connection to our daily tools. So many designers swear by their drawing routine and real-life experimentation still plays a important role in our practices. Under the guidance of Friederike Daumiller students took the challenge to design their own interpretations of hand writing and hand drawing instruments always referring to their hands-on tests and experience.

Figure Libre

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Figure Libre

with Elric Petit

Figure libre is an industrial design project that empowers students to explore topics of their choice. This semester, guided by Elric Petit, students developed their personal projects inspired by articles from specialized newspapers or magazines. The objective is to create projects with the potential to seamlessly integrate in our contemporary society and its economy, leveraging their personal affinities and interests to enhance their work.

SLAP !

FINE ARTS

SLAP !

with Geoffrey Cottenceau, Gina Proenza

Whether it’s a parade, a particle accelerator or a dance ball, SLAP invites you to inhabit a space from a gravitational perspective. Positioned on the boundary between two and three dimensions, the works are subject to centrifugal laws and find themselves exchanging with one another to create fortuitous narratives, as if the continuous round of which they were a part of had suddenly come to a halt. The exhibition space becomes the site of a fundamentally social event - in terms of the works it hosts and the exhibition context - and reveals the social perspective that the works hold in rela- tion to each other. Like a boring chat with a friend of a friend, some pieces are overwhelmed by their conversations, while others lend themselves easily to them. You’ll have no hesitation in intercepting some of the phrases exchanged between the works, while having the opportunity to: reply/nego- tiate/argue with the social time-space that SLAP, as a real static meeting point, offers for an evening.

Much Faster / Much Slower

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Much Faster / Much Slower

with Alain Bellet

Fictional mobile apps based on the "Much Faster / Much Slower" theme, offering new ways of consulting, communicating, creating, playing, discovering and learning. Students in their 2nd year of Bachelor Media & Interaction Design designed a dedicated experience and graphic interface via interactive prototypes on Figma.

Fiction film workshop with Carmen Jaquier

FILM STUDIES

Fiction film workshop with Carmen Jaquier

with Carmen Jaquier

The 2023 fiction film workshop for 2nd year students was lead by swiss director Carmen Jaquier.

It's About Time

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

It's About Time

with Angelo Benedetto

Digital clocks with no temporal reference points, simple representations of the passage of time. Developed on the principle of screensavers, these projects are programmed to evolve graphically according to the time of day. Selection of projects created in the first-year Bachelor Media & Interaction Dynamic Display course with Angelo Benedetto, assisted by Sébastien Matos.

From A to B

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

From A to B

with Kylan Luginbühl

Video sequences realised during the 3D Graphics course led by Kylan Luginbühl. The videos interpret the From A to B theme, a direct exploration of the passage from one state to another. Projects realised during the 1st year Bachelor Media & Interaction Design.

PRATIQUE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE

PHOTOGRAPHY

PRATIQUE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE

with Nicolas Poillot

The "Commission & Photography" course aims to conceptualize and produce visual content for an editorial series, emphasizing applied photography and collaboration with an Art Director. It allows students to explore various photographic territories such as editorial, documentary, fashion, still life, and fiction. Objectives include understanding editorial commissions, conceptualizing and presenting ideas, as well as effectively collaborating with an Art Director. Students are required to produce a series of images while adhering to the given theme and constraints, while also developing preliminary research, a structured methodology, series architecture, and finding solutions to creative problems encountered. The theme involves each student selecting and photographing three personal objects that are particularly meaningful to them.

Photographic revelation

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic revelation

with Laurence Bonvin

Endurance In this course, the objectives are to allow students to experiment with new approaches or techniques regarding past, ongoing, or diploma projects. They also have the opportunity to revisit and refine subjects that have not met their satisfaction in terms of concept, form, technique, or execution. This experience aims to expand ideas, refine techniques, continue unfinished work while improving it, or build a more comprehensive body of images. Endurance lies at the heart of this process, whether it's persevering in completing a project, revisiting an idea until it's exhausted, or overcoming obstacles such as lack of time, self-confidence, or courage. This semester thus offers students the opportunity to confront their limits, surpass them, and achieve their best in their endeavors.

Type Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design

with Aurèle Sack

The second-year students had to develop the lower-case letters of two display fonts by hand.

Editorial Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Editorial Design

with Harry Bloch

During the editorial design course with Harry Bloch, the 1st year students developed, during the fall semester, an edition around a personal survey.

Visual Identity

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Visual Identity

with Adeline Mollard

During the visual identity course, the 1st year Graphic Design bachelors had to realize a communication project around a district where they live.

Type specimen

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type specimen

with Aurèle Sack

Type design displayed on a specimen.

Image Creation

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Image Creation

with Guy Meldem

In the course of the Image Creation course taught by Guy Meldem, third year students choose the subject they wish to work on. They develop their own technique and approach to image-making in preparation for their diploma project and their future professional practice.

Expression – Duboux

FOUNDATION YEAR

Expression – Duboux

by Alexandra Cupsa

Visual of the labels designed by Alexandra Cupsa as part of a competition organised by Constance and Jean Duboux for students in the ECAL Foundation Year.

TRANSLATION

GRAPHIC DESIGN

TRANSLATION

with Adeline Mollard

During the visual identity course, the 2nd year Graphic Design bachelors had to produce a communication project based on a translation. They had to define their own translation system and develop a visual language based on these rules.

Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Seduce, they said Based on projects developed around the theme of seduction, students develop a personal, in-depth project over the whole semester.

Editorial Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Editorial Design

with Diego Bontognali

In this half-semester project, students had to work on a daily newspaper article published on a predefined date and develop an editorial concept.

Fiction film workshop with Lionel Baier

FILM STUDIES

Fiction film workshop with Lionel Baier

with Lionel Baier

The 2023 fiction film workshop for 1st year students was lead by Lionel Baier.

Editorial Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Editorial Design

with Diego Bontognali

The semester project consists of two editions with identical content but different formats. Construct content from a news report, to produce two editions.

So, how can we live better?

GRAPHIC DESIGN

So, how can we live better?

with Nicole Udry

Beyond questions of functionality, comfort and individual or collective well-being, the built environment is capable of responding in a stimulating way to societal, energy and environmental challenges. Workplaces, homes, public spaces, interiors and streets are all driven by real statements of intent that motivate their design. The 2nd year Graphic Design students worked on a communication based on one of these principles (or others) and on the architectural creation that refers to it in order to promote it.

Self-Initiated Project - Fall 2023 - MAP2

PHOTOGRAPHY

Self-Initiated Project - Fall 2023 - MAP2

with Elisa Medde

This module assists the students to develop a long term project - touching upon all stages from the idea to the final presentation. Students will have the opportunity to take some of the ideas and project from the previous semesters, in order to explore them further, or engage in brand new ones. The outcome of the project could take any form - from book to performance, from physical exhibition to digital presentations. A strong emphasis will be on the research/concept and the impact, experience of the outcome.

Self-Initiated Project - Fall 2023 - MAP1

PHOTOGRAPHY

Self-Initiated Project - Fall 2023 - MAP1

with Milo Keller

The course is a platform for the development of personal projects that arise from the desire and curiosity of each student. The basic concept of the work must be relevant to the field of contemporary photographic images. Each project can take a different form depending on the specificities, contents and inclinations of each participant. From books to multimedia installations, from performance to CGI, group discussions will articulate a plural vision of photography’s applications today.

Applied Photography - Fall 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY

Applied Photography - Fall 2023

with Charles Negre

STILL LIFE PAPER - This course focuses on the ability to answer a commission within its own artistic practice and leading the students through a better understanding of studio photography, challenges of constructed images and their processes. This applied photography course has an emphasis on still life photography, our aim is to sharpen the students sensitivity to photographing and interpreting objects. For this semester, the group of students will develop their own printed magazine focusing on the practice of still life.

Photobook - Fall 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photobook - Fall 2023

with Bruno Ceschel

The module introduces students to the history of photobooks and artists’ books prompting them to study different strategies and approaches to contemporary book-making. That will lead to students individually working on a publication that will be presented at evaluations in January 2023. Students will have the opportunity to create a new body of work in relation to the book form, learning about editing, sequencing and designing.

MAP Books 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY

MAP Books 2023

with Bruno Ceschel

These publications are special editions produced within the framework of the Master in Photography at ECAL in 2023 for Bruno Ceschell's Photobook class. This curated selection was later showcased at Offprint during Paris Photo, providing a prestigious platform to exhibit and share the emerging talent in the field of photography.

Image creation

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Image creation

with Guy Meldem

During the Image Creation course with Guy Meldem, the students had to develop a two-color teaching manual, with the aim of teaching a particular skill. Each project takes the form of a 16-page booklet with two different types of printing.

Ecal x Reitzel silo

FOUNDATION YEAR

Ecal x Reitzel silo

by Dunand Clea

Reitzel wished to make the surface area of its silo available to young artists for free expression and creativity. To this end, a competition was held and student Cléa Dunand's project was selected, transforming the industrial silo into an artistic canvas. Production of the paintings: Yoanys Andino Diaz and his team

Workshop Photographic chamber

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop Photographic chamber

with Matthieu Gafsou

The workshop week 4x5 is both an introduction to the 4x5 technical camera and a way to kickstart a photographic project. Students experience the process of analog shooting, from development to large format printing. This intense week is highly technical, but also focused on developing a photographic language, allowing for a better understanding of the fundamental workings of photography.

Sara De Brito Faustino – Toute petite et vilaine

PHOTOGRAPHY

Sara De Brito Faustino – Toute petite et vilaine

by Sara De Brito Faustino

“This project presents the home as a place where uncanniness and vernacular commonness exist side by side. Being an intimate space, a home should be a restful and secure place. However, mine has been the scene of some painful events. Today, I see this house as threatening. Uncomfortable and dysfunctional, it bears the scars of the past. In my photographs, I revisit those memories and reclaim my body. My tiny dioramas express my young self’s ideals opposed to the wounds I currently bear. Constructing, deconstructing, objects become bodies, whereas my being feels deformed and petrified. Toute petite et vilaine (“Tiny and Ugly”) creates an antagonistic tension between appealing visuals and disturbing details.“

Céline Witzke – From Fabric to Glass: Capturing the Movement of Textiles in Experimental Glassmaking

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Céline Witzke – From Fabric to Glass: Capturing the Movement of Textiles in Experimental Glassmaking

by Céline Witzke

This project draws inspiration from the world of fashion, specifically the organic movements, volumes and textures found in textiles, and explores how these elements unintentionally create soft forms. In collaboration with Swiss glass manufacturer Niesenglass, a collection of multipurpose glass objects has been created, showcasing craftsmanship in a new light.

Shan Yu Kuan – BASUANN

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Shan Yu Kuan – BASUANN

by Shan Yu Kuan

BASUANN draws inspiration from the image of traditional Asian rattan/bamboo chairs. Its name echoes the pronunciation of the Taiwanese meaning “tie with cords”. Comprised of seven pieces of spiral ducts, BASUANN is assembled using mortise and tenon joints to connect the sitting part with the legs part. It is further reinforced by cords that securely bind the stool together. BASUANN seamlessly blends contemporary furniture design with the evocative imagery of Asian traditional craftsmanship, showcasing the aesthetic of minimalistic design.

Image creation

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Image creation

with Guy Meldem

During the Image Creation course with Guy Meldem, the students had to develop a publishing project based on comics. Each project takes the form of a 16-page booklet with two different types of printing.

Charitini Gkritzali – Topology of a Body

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Charitini Gkritzali – Topology of a Body

by Charitini Gkritzali

Deriving inspiration from 20th century orthopaedic braces, Topology of a Body is a series of body jewellery items that closely conform to the human anatomy and resemble the body’s structural elements. Each piece is composed by solid geometrical shapes and organic curves that are created with silver or steel wire. The thickness of the wire is altered in a dynamic rhythm, highlighting the morphology of the body. The metal structure, which is carefully designed to envelop the human figure, ultimately takes on a sculptural form. Just like orthopaedic braces, the pieces of jewellery are designed to allow the body to move, yet seem to keep it in a constant state of immobility. This paradox eventually raises a question: do these objects enable or restrain the body’s movements?

The secret life of objects

GRAPHIC DESIGN

The secret life of objects

with Adeline Mollard

During the visual identity course, the students had to choose an object that could perform a specific function. Once they had deciphered all the facets of the object, they were asked to come up with a visual identity concept to present the object and show it in a graphic way that best defined it.

So how can we live better

GRAPHIC DESIGN

So how can we live better

with Nicole Udry

Beyond questions of functionality, comfort and individual or collective well-being, the built environment is able to respond in a stimulating way to societal, energy and environmental challenges. The work space, the living space, the public space, the interior space, the street, are carried by real statements of intent that motivate their forms, following certain principles such as climate transition, densification, ecology and energy transition.... The 2nd year Graphic Design students worked on the production of a communication based on one of these principles (or others) and on the architectural realization which refers to it in order to promote it.

Information Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Information Design

with Angelo Benedetto

During the information design course the students have been asked to design a cartographic poster based on a film in the road movie genre, in a direct or abstract representation.

Editorial Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Editorial Design

with Diego Bontognali

During this editorial design course, the students had to research and compile texts around a theme, based on a selection of texts and songs.  The idea was to produce two editions with identical content but different formats.

Marine Col – ROPY

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Marine Col – ROPY

by Marine Col

Ropy is a seriously playful stool that plays with the past. Designed in a single, light stroke, this object draws its charm from the reuse of materials. Old naval ropes from the port of Lausanne, their colours tarnished by time, serve as raw material and become precious material once the object has been made.

Type specimen

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type specimen

with Aurèle Sack

Type design displayed on a specimen.

Collector

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Collector

with Adeline Mollard

During the visual identity course with Adeline Mollard, the students had to develop an identity project promoting a collection chosen by them. Each project includes the design of a catalogue contextualising and presenting the collection, together with the design of a triptych of posters.

Type Specimen

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Specimen

with Robert Huber

Type design displayed on a specimen.

Anaïs Sulmoni – IVORIA

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Anaïs Sulmoni – IVORIA

by Anaïs Sulmoni

Once prized and valued by craftspeople, bone is now perceived as dirty and worthless. Yet, it is still widely used by cosmetics and food industries. It has appealed to me for many years because of its similarity to ivory and because of its living aspect, even though it represents death. Drawing on the abundance of this organic waste, I set out to recreate the prestige of ivory. I discovered the potential of bone as glue and powder, applied to different supports: solid wood, wood shavings and fabrics. The research book and models highlight bone, which presents new aesthetic and structural possibilities and acts as the first step towards reconciliation with this precious material.

Inès Aznar – Fragmented bathroom

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Inès Aznar – Fragmented bathroom

with Stephane Halmai-Voisard, Christian Spiess, Carolien Niebling

My project focuses on the exploration of sanitary facilities, specifically their spatial layout, use and form. In the context of refurbishment, my project aims to transform the bathroom into an independent, self-contained unit. This fundamental shift provides the framework for a new typology: the fragmented bathroom.

Hugo Duport – Rails

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Hugo Duport – Rails

with Stephane Halmai-Voisard, Christian Spiess, Carolien Niebling

I met a professional frame artisan who specialises in custom-made frames. During our conversations, she mentioned the lack of innovative designs in the frame options available in her catalogue and the changing preferences of her customers. This inspired me to design new frames. My project involves creating frames with a range of five different styles for various types of frames: wall-mounted, placed on tabletops, or free-standing. What is more, these frames can be combined in different ways, offering exciting possibilities and fresh visual aesthetics. By expanding the range of frame options, my project allows framers to offer a wider selection and provide greater customisation to customers looking for unique frames with a modern design.

Elina Crespi – Metamorphoses

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Elina Crespi – Metamorphoses

by Elina Crespi

Metamorphoses is a video game installation that lets you develop your world by exploring its different dimensions. It is an organic machine that represents a harmony of opposites, a duality between machine and human. There is a balance to be found: should the machine adapt to the human or the human to the machine? Human to human? Machine to machine? By participating in Metamorphoses, players are invited to create connections by plugging in a jack cable to solve enigmas. They actively engage in the narrative and interact with the environment. The organic machine embodies a duality by making natural and technological elements coexist in an interactive and changing environment, thereby prompting introspection about our own world.

Lily Rose Hold – Dotto

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Lily Rose Hold – Dotto

by Lily Rose Hold

Dotto is a digital puzzle game that draws inspiration from classic dot-to-dot games. It combines connecting dots with the satisfaction of creating vector graphics. As you navigate through the collection of puzzles, you embark on a journey of discovery. Each connected dot unveils a part of the underlying artwork, gradually bringing it to life with every connection. A blend of satisfying gameplay and the celebration of vector Illustration, Dotto offers an experience for puzzle enthusiasts and those who love graphic illustration alike.

Julien Caulet – Groove Électrique : l’Odyssée

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Julien Caulet – Groove Électrique : l’Odyssée

by Julien Caulet

My project is a tool that allows a musician, in this case Iya Ko, to offer their community a privileged role in the process of organising a concert. By using Instagram in unconventional ways, Groove Electric: The Odyssey presents a narrative in the form of an interactive series that invites the audience to participate in the concert’s implementation process until the day of the performance. This project is aimed at artists who want to strengthen and expand their community. The goal is to create an original platform that enables the artist to develop new “human” connections with their audience while promoting their work. This closeness should nourish both the artist and the community, which will play a central role in the creative process of certain projects.

Gwendoline Albasini – Dear Kingdom

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gwendoline Albasini – Dear Kingdom

by Gwendoline Albasini

Dear Kingdom is a story told through storytelling. A fictional figure embodies the princess trapped in her role, the horse who frees her and the witch who casts a spell. These archetypes confront intimate questions about the female gender and seek to dismantle collective ideals. The dream castle, once we look beyond its ramparts, vanishes into thin air. The video immerses the viewer in a world as majestic as it is oppressive. The soundtrack consists of singing and violin. The sounds can be both powerful and frail, revealing the beauty of the disparities. “Dear Kingdom is an appeal to the projections of a social and personal ideal. In this message there is a desire to share my path in this imposing, theatrical and fanciful universe.“

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