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Type

Course

Know-how

Years

2006 2024
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.

“The Eskimo in the Mojave Desert”: Herbert Matter, a Designer Across Scenes and Genres

“The Eskimo in the Mojave Desert”: Herbert Matter, a Designer Across Scenes and Genres

with Jonas Berthod, Louise Paradis, Gilles Gavillet

Matter’s career was that of a multidisciplinary, international designer working across commerce and culture. He was not only a graphic artist but also a photographer, type designer, art director, teacher and film-maker. His work in the field of advertising and editorial design, his collaborations with artists, his self-commissioned work, his photography and film outputs and his long-serving position as an educator provide as many entry points to analyse the impact of migration and an international network on a graphic designer’s career. It also provides a case study to analyse the professional model of the designer working as photographer and layout artist simultaneously.

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 ECAL x Alloyed

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 ECAL x Alloyed

with Nicolas Le Moigne, Alexis Georgacopoulos, Xavier Perrenoud, Basil Dénéréaz

For the Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 trade show, ECAL/University of Art and DesignLausanne has teamed up with Alloyed, a company that specialises in metal printingtechnologies, to present an original collection of watch straps. Designed by students in theMaster of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship programme, thesewristbands have been developed using 3D modelling software, resulting in unique pieces thatgo beyond the limits of traditional techniques. Five of the 15 concepts designed by the students were selected and 3D printed from a finepowder of TI6AI4V titanium—an alloy composed of titanium, aluminium, and vanadium—whosemelting point of around 1,600° Celsius is obtained using a laser beam. Regularly used in theaerospace, and medical industries, this printing technique, known as Laser Powder BedFusion (L-PBF), can be used to create objects with ultra-high-performance mechanicalproperties. Each project, presented in the form of a prototype or animation, finds its inspiration in thebeauty of nature, through organic structures, as much as in complex systems, closer toengineering. This collaboration brings together technology, craftsmanship, and design—withlinks to the world of fine watchmaking—by combining the expertise of engineers specialising inthe science of materials, the know-how of artisan jewellers and their finishing skills, and thecreativity and innovative spirit of up-and-coming designers.

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.

Beyond Bézier. Explorations of drawing methods in type design

TYPE DESIGN

Beyond Bézier. Explorations of drawing methods in type design

with Matthieu Cortat, Alice Savoie, Kai Bernau, Radim Pesko, Roland Früh

In the early age of digital type, several methods were explored to draw letterforms. One of them, the Bézier spline, an algorithm that generates curves with a small quantity of data, has the crucial advantage of sparing computer memory and processing resources. It is today the industry standard. This project aims to question and reevaluate it, to move beyond established trends, to develop innovative ideas by exploring alternative methods of drawing curves, and letterforms.

Tribute to Masterpieces

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Tribute to Masterpieces

with Elodie Anglade

Selection of animated sequences made during a 3D course directed by Elodie Anglade. The students were inspired by a painting and transcribed it into three different scenes.

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.

The Manufacture of Type for Typewriters in Switzerland

The Manufacture of Type for Typewriters in Switzerland

with Sophie Wietlisbach

Between the 1940s and the 1990s, three companies manufactured type components for typewriters in Switzerland: Caractères SA, Setag and Novatype. During more than fifty years, they supplied the biggest manufacturers of office machines in Europe and around the world, such as IBM, Remington, Olivetti, Paillard-Hermès or Triumph-Adler. Having held a leading position worldwide, the three manufacturers played a key role in the design, development, and production of type components and typefaces for typewriters, as well as for all kinds of impact printers.

Vietnamese objects: The material culture of resilience in the face of (de)colonisation

Vietnamese objects: The material culture of resilience in the face of (de)colonisation

with Quang Vinh Nguyen, Cynthia Ammann, Chi-Long Trieu

Cà phê (coffee), atisô (artichoke), xi nê ma (cinema), căng tin (canteen) or xi-măng (cement): in the Vietnamese language, many words bear the imprint of a French origin. And what if the same were true of everyday objects? Somewhere between cultural anthropology, the epistemology of Vietnamese design and the sociology of objects, this research project analyses the production of objects in Vietnam in the light of French colonisation and decolonisation.

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.

PROJECTIONS XXL

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

PROJECTIONS XXL

with Sami Benhadj, Vincent Jacquier

An immersive and magnetic visual environment, created by ECAL students, illuminates the facades of the mudac and Photo Elysée building. As part of an interdisciplinary project within the Visual Communication department of ECAL, students in the Photography, Graphic Design and Media & Interaction Design Bachelors programs developed immersive video projects designed to adorn the facades of Photo Elysée.

Automated Photography at Foto/Industria

PHOTOGRAPHY

Automated Photography at Foto/Industria

with Milo Keller, Marco De Mutiis

The MAST Foundation is presenting the seventh edition of Foto/Industria, the world's first biennial event devoted to photography of industry and work, at a number of historic venues in Bologna and at MAST. The 12 exhibitions in Foto/Industria 2023 represent a chronology of points of view on the theme of PLAY, from the end of the 19th century to the present day. They offer an opportunity to observe and delve into the research of a selection of international artists. The ECAL is presenting an exhibition of its research project Automated Photography. An increasing number of images are produced autonomously by machines for machines with a gradual exclusion of any human intervention. Automated Photography is a research project developed by the Master Photography that addresses this situation by examining the technologies of image production and distribution such as: machine learning, CGI, photogrammetry.

The Cultural Turn in Swiss Graphic Design from the 1980s to 2020

The Cultural Turn in Swiss Graphic Design from the 1980s to 2020

with Davide Fornari Jonas Berthod, Chiara Barbieri

The research project investigates the discourse on graphic design in Switzerland in the under-researched period from 1980 to 2020. While the 1950s and 1960s saw graphic design in Switzerland reach international recognition and commercial expansion under the label “Swiss style”, a paradigm shift emerged in the following decades. The attention of many practitioners turned away from design as a pure service for the industrial and service sector and moved towards cultural commissions on a local, national and international level. Instead of aiming for maximum return, they chose their commissions according to whether they promised them creative freedom and whether they contributed to the profiling of their portfolio in alignment with their new definition of the profession as a lifestyle. This project examines the emergence and the development of this phenomenon, which became known as “cultural graphic design”, in professional graphic design in Switzerland.

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

COLLABORATION AVEC DEDON 2023

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

COLLABORATION AVEC DEDON 2023

with Alexis Tourron (Panter&Tourron), Stefano Panterotto (Panter&Tourron)

DEDON by Nature: Object 3 DEDON Studio partnered with ECAL for the second year to showcase "DEDON by Nature: Object 3." This exhibition features three collections of living accessories created by students from the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship. Under designers Panter&Tourron's guidance, students kick-started the project with a visit to DEDON's Philippine manufacturer, immersing themselves in DEDON's unique Fiber and weaving processes. The creations that were conceived, designed, and crafted over an eight-month period, demonstrate imaginative prowess that reflects both the talent of the students and the enduring fascination that nature holds for us all.

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.

USM Design Grant - 6th Edition

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

USM Design Grant - 6th Edition

with Christian Spiess, Fondation USM, Théâtre de Vidy

The USM Design Grant is a study grant launched by the Fondation USM to encourage innovation by rewarding a student’s project. For the 6th edition of the USM Design Grant awarded by the USM Foundation, ECAL Bachelor Industrial Design students, under the guidance of Swiss designer Christian Spiess, were asked to design new outdoor seating for the terrace of the Théâtre de Vidy in Lausanne.

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.“

Archive as a Creative Act: The Absolute Cinema of Gregory J. Markopoulos and the Temenos Utopia

FINE ARTS

FILM STUDIES

FINE ARTS

FILM STUDIES

Archive as a Creative Act: The Absolute Cinema of Gregory J. Markopoulos and the Temenos Utopia

with François Bovier

Artists who produce archives from their own work approach archival activity as a creative gesture: here, the archive literally becomes a work of art. In parallel with the “archival impulse” that has run through contemporary art since the 1960s, this research project examines the “performative agency” of archives when they are constituted from “image acts”. The selected corpus is based on an extremely singular case, the cinematographic work of Gregory J. Markopoulos (1928-1992) and the Temenos archives.

The Raving Age. Histories and figures of youth

UNITE DE THEORIE

FINE ARTS

The Raving Age. Histories and figures of youth

with Vincent Normand, Stéphanie Moisdon

This research project questions what has come of youth – a conceptual, aesthetic, and political figure that was born with modernity – in the visual arts, popular culture, and the humanities. Conversely, the project addresses what the problematic category of “youth” has brought about in contemporary art and thought.

A Third Hand – Creative Applications for Robotics

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

A Third Hand – Creative Applications for Robotics

with Alain Bellet, Andrea Anner, Thibault Brevet, Martin Hertig

Robotic arms have long been a common sight in many industries. They are currently making a rapid entry into art and design studios and practices. Yet, at the same time, difficulties remain in accessing the workflows and work methods demanded by these machines given a clear lack of reference resources suited for this community. The same applies to Art and Design schools, which are increasingly investing in this type of equipment, often without having the resources to run it. This research project uses applied case studies to explore and define a set of exemplary work methods, capable of both informing and inspiring future users.

Hermès WINDOW DISPLAY IN GENEVA

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Hermès WINDOW DISPLAY IN GENEVA

by Nathanaël Baby, Luca Nichetto, Nicolas Le Moigne, Xavier Perrenoud

The Hermès Printing Company Inspired by the aesthetics of rotary printing presses, this project allows passers-by to immerse themselves in a graphic and artistic universe. Through the ten windows of the store, “L’Imprimerie Hermès” is a reinterpretation of the main stages of printing: everything starts with rolls of paper, which are then deployed in large strips, until they become posters. The paper, in all its forms, is printed along its length by repeating the story of a letter published in six different languages (French, English, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese) by the magazine Le Monde d'Hermès. A layout specially created for this project incorporates large areas of color in order to frame and highlight the accessories from the different Hermès universes. They thus seem to come to life and become part of the story.

Hermès Window display in Zürich

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Hermès Window display in Zürich

by Charitini Gkritzali, Xavier Perrenoud, Nicolas Le Moigne, Luca Nichetto

The Astonishing Moment of Life Inspired by the Surrealist movement and the desire to find magic and wonder in the familiar and everyday life, this project features shapes and emblematic Hermès accessories that interact to form two subtly choreographed installations. These two window displays, imagined by Greek designer Charitini Gkritzali, a student in the Master of Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, are an interpretation of Hermès' 2023 annual theme, “Astonishment”, offering a moment that oscillates between reality and dreams.

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.

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