Yosemite Park, October 2013 Natural parks are physical oxymora. To enclose the nature that must remain intact, enormous human and material resources have to be deployed. And the best way to maintain them is to allow visitors, under the control […]

Roanne, august 2009. Urban settings are genuine incubators for written objects. Numerous graphic species interact one with another according to different patterns: cooperation, domination, succession. As far as specimens of advertising are concerned, the struggle for life consists in a […]

Two years after the publication of the results of your research on signage, the regional transportation authority gives you a call. They would like to know if you’re interested in discussing their project of harmonization of the multiple wayfinding systems […]

Gouda , August 2013 The wetland intertwined channels, livestock and small winding roads. Here and there, houses remind us that there are still some inhabitants and not just cycling tourists admiring birds. And then, in a bend on the side […]

Above Palm Desert, October 2013 It is a long road through a semi-desert. Gradually it rises and high mountains appears, composing gorgeous landscapes. And then there isa sign announcing a “vista point” as they say in Californian Spanglish, just a […]

Roanne, august 2013. There’s no accounting for taste. For some, it’s teal blue. Others prefer orange, green or red. That’s just the way it is. Colors seem to belong with peculiar emotions, intimately connected with personal tastes. Yet, colors are […]

London, september 2013. One of the essential qualities of public spaces is their diversity. Cities are ecologies within which a great variety of species live together, more or less peacefully. There are numerous devices that are used by authorities to […]

Paris, September 2013. Doors are one of the first prehension lessons: the growing child stands on tiptoe to reach the handle and open what prevents access to the rest of the world. Domesticated and thus humanized cats do the same. […]

Nantes, september 2013. All participants did not attend this fascinating biennial conference simultaneously. Some of them have been there since the first day, others arrived later due to diverse reasons. Some attended the whole conference, participating in plenary and semi-plenary […]

Clamart, August 2013. Signature is both an amazing written object and an amazing scriptural gesture. We can experience it almost everyday, as we pay with a cheque, as we receive a parcel, as we check at the kids’ workbooks at […]

Rotterdam, August 2013 ” Leave a comment ” may you read under this text and that image. Electronic contemporary spaces often established interaction as a central principle , the host receiving comments from readers responding, or, when things went wrong, […]

La Rochelle, juillet 2013. Week after week, post after post, we continuously discover how various the ways to act with different kinds of inscription are. Whether it is with a pen and a sheet of paper, a keyboard and a […]

Saint-Saturnin-les-Avignon, June 2013 Finding the station has been easy, just follow the tracks going away from the village center. But once there, usual landmarks are blurred: the building that shall commonly be denominated “station” is walled on all sides. No […]

Boulogne, june 2013. Mandatory signs are powerful devices. They fix an acute flaw of Law, though written and reproduced in few documents, still is supposed to be known by everyone. Even if the Web changed things in potentially giving access […]

Maurienne Valley, June 2013 This photograph was taken with a “new iPad”, a digital Swiss Army knife which sophistication has obsoleted its predecessor, which was still at the forefront twelve months earlier. Both have in common one component, sand, essential […]

I don’t remember what I used to draw when I was her age. I’m not sure I ever drew any device or any technology. A TV, a radio, a phone, perhaps? I doubt it. I was really surprised when I […]

Visiting an unknown city in a limited time often leads to prepare or even simulate the journey ahead, relying on multiple devices: tourist guides with photos and addresses remarkable site bringing together fellow travelers opinions or a software to view […]

Public lettering, to use Petrucci‘s term, has been an essential element of the graphic ecology of cities for a very long time. Actually, they are crucial parts of the city itself, of what dwelling together in an organized, politicized, place […]

One of the most visible aspects of globalization is not “made in China” on the back of many manufactured goods, but the geographical extension of what was once attached to a territory, and its infinite reproduction in always different places. […]

You’ve been regularly back in this station for thirty years. The first time that you stopped at Centraal Station, it was during a trip with friends a summer at the beginning of the nineties. For five days only, you appreciated […]

For a long time, there has ben very few concert halls in Paris compared to other European capitals : failing sound equipment fails, lack of prefecture authorization, too few market intermediaries or even banned musicians, rock fans had to go […]

In Elevators, you’re bored, you’re scared, you look buttons leading to different floors whether you arein a station or this hotel. Could we find a better place to catch the eye of captive and stressed passengers for a few moments […]

I remember the poster that used to be stuck up the wall of these lavatories. It was a painting, which I always found pretty ugly, autographed for your wife, my grand-mother. It had remained in place several years after she […]

Elevators are often experienced as specific sites. In such confined spaces, feelings are as various as the fear of suddenly failing down, the anxiety of getting stuck for a long time, or being visited by a ghost girl, sexual arousal […]

In the past, things were simple: to stay healthy while eating, it was enough to avoid too rich foods that give an upset stomach, undercooked meat that transmits parasites, raw milk cheeses can cause listeriosis, eggs always suspected of harboring […]

Great events always represent opportunities for exchanges. They are like objects on the skyline, big enough to be seen by almost everyone. At least discussed by almost everyone. These last days, approaching Apocalypse was one of them, a quite huge […]

When participating to a discussion or being involved in any kind of interaction, one is supposed to know and endorse the basic code of conduct: to be respectful and polite in any circumstances. That is what everyone expects! More: what […]

The tale of the failing train has become a very stabilized narrative figure : passengers left to themselves for hours, no station agent present to answer them, locked in their steel vehicle unless they decide to get out and walk […]

The food industry has learned to manipulate our senses: taste enhancers, thickeners, dyes and artificial flavors regularly deceive our eyes and palate. It has set new standards on the appearance of products: strawberry ice cream should be a sparkling rose, […]

We already stated that urban settings are graphical ecologies. Numerous species struggle to occupy specific places. Some get killed ; some come back to life again and again ; some others, quite rare, are officially supported and claim their role […]

Facing the shelve, she compares colors and chooses a blended shades of blue. Then, she puts spay cans on the counter, and waits to pay the bill. Yet, the salesman does not tell her the price. Beforehand, he grasps a […]

She’s got her own keys now. Once in a week, she gets back from school after lunch, alone. You tried to imagine her, organizing the few hours she got before she takes her bike to attend her tennis lesson. Doing her […]

Recently bicycle has been an object of reinvestment as a green technology of mobility. In numerous cities around the world, bicycle usage has dramatically increased in the last decade, notably through bicycle-sharing systems. As a consequence, various dedicated infrastructures have […]