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2008 2025
Parasonic: Transmission of fugitive aural practices

FINE ARTS

Parasonic: Transmission of fugitive aural practices

with Stéphane Kropf, Thibault Walter, Lucas Erin, Gina Proenza, Joël Vacheron

Parasonic is a research project on the social and racial constructions of aural practices, based on a critique of a regime of thinking and listening to sound that is over-represented in the arts, and which aims to create spaces for the transmission of fugitive aural practices.

The Picture-Writer. Warja Lavater, Graphic Designer and Illustrator

The Picture-Writer. Warja Lavater, Graphic Designer and Illustrator

with Jonas Berthod, Davide Fornari

This project investigates the work of the graphic designer and artist, Warja Lavater, an internationally recognised Swiss graphic designer, illustrator, bookmaker, filmmaker and artist.

Photographic revelation

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic revelation

with Laurence Bonvin

Process The notion of Process, in the context of this course, can mean developing a project in which the students focus on the process rather than just the concept or the results. This should allow them to experiment, to look for new solutions, to explore unexpected paths, techniques and forms, to lose themselves and find themselves again. Sometimes we give up on an idea for fear of failure, of not having a strong enough idea or of not succeeding in producing sufficiently interesting images. The idea is for the students to free themselves from these injunctions so that they can explore their ideas, desires, obsessions and desires more freely.

Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Last minute risk As the students enter their final year of training at the ECAL, and their interests and methods take shape, it's time to take advantage of this last project to question our own rules, achievements and influences, not to be satisfied with them, and to take risks.

PROJECTIONS XXL 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECTIONS XXL 2024

with Jean-Vincent Simonet

As part of this second edition of XXL Projections, 2nd-year Bachelor of Photography students from ECAL/Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne developed projects in a course dedicated to the creation of video mapping. Supervised by Jean-Vincent Simonet, this course enabled students to conceive immersive creations designed to animate the facades of mudac and Photo Elysée with creativity and fantasy.

One-Off 1/1

PRODUCT DESIGN

One-Off 1/1

with Augustin Scott de Martinville

For this semester, students were invited to focus on the creation of a “One-Off” of their choice. They were encouraged to free themselves from the issues traditionally associated with industrial design - mass production, costs, market positioning, etc. The project concluded in a silent auction at the ECAL's traditional Christmas Market.

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 inkjet 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.

Moving Images – 2023-24

FOUNDATION YEAR

Moving Images – 2023-24

with Sylvain Meltz

Introduction to moving images and animation (video, kinetics, etc.) using After Effect.

Richard Authier. Design and industry in Northern Vaud

Richard Authier. Design and industry in Northern Vaud

with Calypso Mahieu Laurent Soldini, Sophie Wietlisbach

The project aims to shed light on the career of Richard Authier (Lausanne, 1925–2018), who was an industrial designer at Hermes Paillard International in Yverdon-les-Bains and a pioneer of industrial design in French-speaking Switzerland.

Photographic Editions

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic Editions

with RVB Books/Matthieu Charon & Rémi Faucheux

Using pre-produced images, the students created one or more book models. How do you transform a series of photographs into a book? The Photographic Editions course introduces students to the selection of images, their order, format, graphics, ink, paper and binding. It addresses the specificities of the book as a medium and as a market.

BURNING CORSO - Thomas Mailaender

PHOTOGRAPHY

BURNING CORSO - Thomas Mailaender

with Thomas Mailaender

In the spring of 2024, Thomas Mailaender and the students of the ECAL Bachelor in Photography entered the ruins of the club with the intention of making it resonate once again. Between archaeology, documentary research, and imaginative speculations, the group of adventurers crafted a surprising exhibition path blending mold and glitter, ashes and glamour. For one night, the Corso was filled with explosive sounds and images in a fiery tribute to the nights of Renens.

Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Last minute risk As the students enter their final year of training at the ECAL, and their interests and methods take shape, it's time to take advantage of this last project to question our own rules, achievements and influences, not to be satisfied with them, and to take risks.

Pratique photographique

PHOTOGRAPHY

Pratique photographique

with Maxime Guyon

"Extraordinary Daily Commodities": Everyday Objects What if the objects around us were not mere tools, but autonomous entities with their own essence? Inspired by Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO), this semester invited students to explore objects from a fresh perspective. Freed from the shadow of our consciousness, they take a place equal to that of humans, animals, and plants. Guided by Maxime Guyon, second-year photography students were encouraged to rediscover what "banal" truly means and dive into a reflection on the place and sensitivity of objects in the contemporary world.

Blue jeans

PHOTOGRAPHY

Blue jeans

with Philippe Jarrigeon, Philippe Jarrigeon

This year, a unique workshop invited students to explore the relationship between an object and its image. By delving into the material properties, history, symbolism, and multiple representations of an iconic object, they sought to understand the aura that defines it. The subject of this first edition? The blue jean. From a simple utilitarian garment to a global symbol of style, the blue jean transcends generations and cultures. Throughout the semester, students were tasked with creating a photographic project or video that both questions and celebrates this emblematic object.

Video

PHOTOGRAPHY

Video

with Olivia Schenker

Hot N Cold By making a very short film, students learn fundamental notions in the narrative, visual and conceptual development of video production. The project provides essential technical skills in shooting, lighting, camera movement, sound recording, editing and post-production.

Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Laurence Bonvin

Liquid Times Produce a project using photography and video on the theme of fluidity, liquid form and water.

Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Documentary, the power of make-believe. Based on projects developed around a common theme, the students develop a personal, in-depth project around the theme of pretense. They build a project that plays with the limits of veracity in photography, using it as an artifice of deception.

Staged Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Staged Photography

with Charlotte Krieger

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the creation and management of a complex photographic project involving sets, characters and lighting. The theme is free.

Workshop Digital Medium Format

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop Digital Medium Format

with Anoush Abrar

Beauty shot The week-long Medium format digital workshop is both an introduction to shooting equipment and dedicated software. Students worked in groups to produce portrait images.

Applied Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Applied Photography

with Calypso Mahieu

Waliking in Renens A collaborative project in which students were asked to choose a local shop in Renens and to create a documentary project combining images of still life, architecture and portraits.

Kosovo Grand Voyage workshop

FILM STUDIES

Kosovo Grand Voyage workshop

with Kaltrina Krasniqi

Each year, students of the Master's program undertake a "Great Trip" to discover the territory of a filmmaker. In 2022, they went to Kosovo with the director and screenwriter Kaltrina Krasniqi.

SORTIR DU CADRE – ECAL + DECATHLON

PRODUCT DESIGN

SORTIR DU CADRE – ECAL + DECATHLON

with Camille Blin

On the occasion of Paris Design Week 2024, DECATHLON is partnering with ECAL's Product Design Master's programme to unveil "Sortir du Cadre", an installation showcasing two prototypes of electric-assisted trekking bikes based on research into eco-design. Through this collaboration, DECATHLON engages the younger generation of designers around eco-design themes. These concept bikes, envisioned by students from Product Design Master’s  programme, express a vision of the future in which sustainable development and the pleasure of outdoor activities go hand in hand.

Video

PHOTOGRAPHY

Video

with Orsola Valenti

Hors-champ “Showing by hiding, revealing by stealing": for a political practice of the audiovisual image. The main aim of the course is to raise awareness of the political dimension of the audiovisual gesture and give students the tools to distinguish the cinematographic image from the media image. Whereas the latter - flattened, emptied and therefore interchangeable - overwhelms its receptor, rendering it powerless, the cinematographic image liberates emotion and critical reflection. In this way, it goes beyond the supposedly faithful representation of reality.

VAUD-O-RAMA – JEUX OLYMPIQUES PARIS 2024

VAUD-O-RAMA – JEUX OLYMPIQUES PARIS 2024

with Julien Gurtner, Vincent Jacquier, Matthieu Minguet, Anthony Guex

As part of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the canton of Vaud has commissioned ECAL to create an original work of art, on view from July 24 to September 8 in the Maison suisse set up for the occasion in the courtyard of the Swiss Embassy in Paris.

Introduction to graphic design 23-24

FOUNDATION YEAR

Introduction to graphic design 23-24

with Violène Pont, Patrick Monnier, Denis Roueche

Exercise 1: Collecting images in vector graphics Exercise 2: Using the grid between image and text Exercise 3: Memento

Documentary film workshop with Alessandro Comodin

FILM STUDIES

Documentary film workshop with Alessandro Comodin

with Alessandro Comodin

The 2024 documentary film workshop for 2nd year students was lead by french italian director Alessandro Comodin.

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 poster.

Editorial Design S2 2024

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Editorial Design S2 2024

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.

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.

Type Specimen

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Specimen

with Robert Huber

Type design research and developmen displayed on a specimen.

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.

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.

Information Design

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Information Design

with Angelo Benedetto

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

Creative drawing

FOUNDATION YEAR

Creative drawing

with David Monnet, Natacha Donzé

Drawing with an emphasis on research and experimentation from a purely artistic perspective.

Atelier Images 2023-24

FOUNDATION YEAR

Atelier Images 2023-24

with Francis Baudevin, Christian Pahud

Service Design - 2024

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

Service Design - 2024

with Angelo Benedetto, Vincent Jacquier, Pauline Saglio, Calypso Mahieu

During the Service Design course, the 3rd year of the Graphic Design, Photography and Media & Interaction Design bachelors had to create multi-media projects. A collaboration of the Visual Communication department which had as subject the SDGs (*Sustainable Development Goals). The theme was called "For a good cause, make the SDGs a reality" and its objective was to allow students to develop a cause that is close to their hearts. Each project consists of at least two different media, one primary and one secondary. These projects could take any form that the students deemed relevant, be it a website, editions, posters, a video sequence or virtual reality.

REMIND ME I'M ALIVE

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

REMIND ME I'M ALIVE

with Alain Bellet

REMIND ME I'M ALIVE is a companion that combines the functions of a fidget toy with those of a personal reminder. The gadget uses information on Wifi connections in its immediate vicinity to better understand the user's environment. By examining these connections - the only gateway to the outside world - the gadget can tell whether the user is in a busy or quiet environment, and even give indications of possible stressful situations. When the user is not interacting with the device, it constantly monitors his or her status via the surrounding wifi connections. These connections provide implicit information on social conditions, working environments, infrastructures and much more. If the user does not communicate with the companion for more than six hours, it “dies” and must be resuscitated. This feature underlines the need for regular interaction and ensures that the companion is always ready for use.

LET THE DATASET CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

LET THE DATASET CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

by Thomas Gaudin, Olivia Capol, Livia Schmid, Emilie Maier

This project revolves around a fully functional data visualization experience and graphical interface, designed and programmed by second-year Bachelor students in Media & Interaction Design as part of a course taught by Gaël Hugo. This exercise begins with the following reflection: "Fun" datasets concern topics that are of personal interest, and can be used to answer unexpected questions and explore relationships that aren’t immediately intuitive. Perhaps you start with a question or hypothesis, and then find a dataset to prove (or disprove) your theory. Or, you might even generate your own dataset using web scraping techniques or an open API. In fact, creating your own dataset enables you to collect, label, and prepare a clean dataset. - Kindra Coope

Generated memories

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Generated memories

with Guy Meldem

During the Image Creation course with Guy Meldem, students explored the benefits of AI. Feeding the machine with their own illustrative style, they were able to generate a certain quantity of images, enabling them to produce a graphic novel, a collection of images or other types of illustrated editorial work.

INSTANT TOY FOR MUSICIANS

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

INSTANT TOY FOR MUSICIANS

with Gaël Hugo

Soundtoys coded by 1st year Bachelor students in Media & Interaction Design as part of a semester project led by Gaël Hugo.

Dynamic Identity - 2024

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Dynamic Identity - 2024

with Angelo Benedetto

First-year students explored the creation of dynamic identities for fictional places. This project, part of the Dynamic Display course led by Angelo Benedetto, challenged them to imagine graphic universes reflecting the essence of each invented location.

Nuancier

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Nuancier

with Julie Richoz

"Nuancier (n.m.): A presentation tool displaying the colors and shades of a product." — Larousse definition For this project, the students created and developed their own shades, surfaces, assemblies or materials, which they then shaded in several samples and assembled to create their own nuancier.

In Situ

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

In Situ

with Elric Petit

For this project, students were asked to design architectural interventions taking into account the characteristics of a precisely chosen location. They had to select an inspiring building in which to integrate their work, with a view to improving its functionality or protecting it from wear and tear. As part of this exercise, students were asked to act like "surgeons", adapting their projects to the "body" of the building, like prostheses. The projects had to be removable, with no permanent attachment to the site.

In Situ

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

In Situ

with Elric Petit

For this project, students were asked to design architectural interventions taking into account the characteristics of a precisely chosen location. They had to select an inspiring building in which to integrate their work, with a view to improving its functionality or protecting it from wear and tear. As part of this exercise, students were asked to act like "surgeons", adapting their projects to the "body" of the building, like prostheses. The projects had to be removable, with no permanent attachment to the site.

SYNC SCREEN

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

SYNC SCREEN

with Charlotte Krieger, Jean-Vincent Simonet, Florian Pittet (Sigmasix), Vincent Jacquier, Julien Gurtner, Matthieu Minguet, Cédric Duchêne, EPFL+ECAL Lab, Giacomo Bastianelli

For a week, the first-year visual communications students worked on an installation consisting of 15 screens, accompanied by a 360° sound system developed by EPFL+ECAL Lab. This chandelier, five metres in diameter and suspended from a height of three metres, served as a support for their experiments. Using music specially composed and spatialised for the occasion, the students explored the dynamics of sound both visually and in movement.

Photography 23-24

FOUNDATION YEAR

Photography 23-24

with Tonatiuh Ambrosetti, Daniela Droz

Exercise 1: Still life and portrait work, between studio and location Exercise 2: Short work based on experimentation Exercise 3: Narrative series Exercise 4: Series of images linked to the music Mind if I stay by Kadebostany

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.

ECAL x FREITAG - Access over ownership

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

ECAL x FREITAG - Access over ownership

with Christophe Guberan

Second-year industrial design students collaborated with Zurich-based brand FREITAG Lab, leveraging their expertise in environmental awareness, material upcycling, and the circular economy. Using the FREITAG manifesto as a foundation, they developed new shared products centered on the principle of "access over ownership."

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