We are Acil Benamara and Pierre Mallart. We met during our first year at Penninghen in art direction, a school located in the heart of Paris. We got along from the start, and we have always enjoyed collaborating together on our school projects. Once we graduated, creating a studio together was the next obvious step. It is in 2019 that the journey of the studio Acil&Pierre begins. After France’s lockdown, it was important to us to find a space where we could work, discuss and create. It is in 2021, where we settled the studio in the heart of Paris’ art district, the Marais. We mostly work in the cultural field, especially in the art world, but also in the luxury and fashion industry, with fashion houses such as Chanel and Hermès.

Thank you guys for joining us today, we love your work, Pls tell us more about your backgrounds.

Acil: I was born and raised in Algiers, Algeria. At 17, I moved to Paris to study at Penninghen. I did not know a lot about the work of a graphic designer; however, I have always carefully observed the aesthetics and harmony of shapes and forms. I grew up in a family of scientists; therefore, rationality, good measures, and perfect balance have always been necessary to me in terms of design.

I did my graphic design thesis under the supervision of Etienne Robial, who I quickly discovered was a jovial and passionate man. Etienne passed on his passion for his “three fundamentals: shapes, colors, and alphabet.” He also familiarized me with the great Swiss designers and the precepts of concrete art.

Pierre: I grew up in the Paris area. Son of an illustrator father, I was immersed in the world of graphic design and the importance of image at a very young age. I have always loved drawing, but in my older brother’s record sleeves, my passion for graphic design grew.

Tell us a bit about your creative process?

We bring a conceptual approach. Our proposal for each topic should be radical and meaningful.

The design must be reduced to the cleanest and most functional expression while containing essential elements of balance, harmony and accuracy of proportions. Nothing should be superfluous. We use a smooth and elementary graphic language. The objective is to achieve a minimal aesthetic, with constant consideration of accuracy, care for detail, and visual efficiency.

We work around graphic systems that are usually quite rigid. It is the constraint that paradoxically opens the door for creative freedom.

In addition, experimentation is a crucial aspect of our creative work. The interest lies in the visual surprise it can cause. We believe that playing fuels our conceptual thinking.

What is your medium of choice?

• We really like typography.
  Letters are, above all, a means of telling stories. Characters carry and distribute our thoughts. In fact, typography is a vital medium for designers, which everyone can understand. It is not only evocative of meaning but can influence the reader.
  We do not define ourselves as typographers but rather as “typo-graphic designers.” The letters we draw are shapes, modules, and rhythms before forming a word.
  We design a lot of modular typefaces. They are composed of limited basic shapes and held in a regulated layout. The principle of modularity allows the deconstruction of letters and multiplies the possibilities to play with the type. The importance of balance between shape and readability of the letter underlines what is seen and what is read.

• Along with typography, we reflect and think with animation. - Animation is an activation of elements. It allows us to reveal details and capture attention with an image. The rhythm and movement offered by animated images open possibilities to play and tell a story. Animation should not be anecdotal; it should serve a purpose. We see it as allowing us to think of the fixed image in a more experimental way. It also makes it possible to bring an entirely new perspective to print.

Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences?

We are particularly sensitive to the values of the Bauhaus school: the desire to use design as a tool for improving everyday life, the idea of functional design, and the simplicity of shapes and colors. Designers of the Bauhaus movement inspire us to always go back to the basics, underlining the need for simplicity and practicality in the artistic invention.

We greatly appreciate the radicality and sense of the efficiency of the Swiss school. The use of fundamentals is the best way to strive for timelessness.

We also find inspiration in Vasarely’s kinetic work. His work around form and color constitutes a great graphic richness. His visual compositions provoke this impression of movement and these characteristic optical vibrations between pleasure and displeasure... It is fascinating!

Anything else you would like to share?

We would like to share a quote from Joseph Albers:
“Learn to see and to feel life; that is, cultivate imagination, because there are still marvels in the world, because life is a mystery and always will be. But be aware of it.”

www.aciletpierre.fr