Starting with a short story whether classic or contemporary, French or foreign, very brief or longer we were tasked with designing, typesetting, printing, and producing a book whose inherent energy would reflect the full narrative power of the story. The book was meant to be an expressive object. The goal: to build a unique, sensitive, and meaningful bridge between a narrative and its conceptual, material, and typographic incarnations.

Among the short stories proposed, we chose “01/50” by Régine Detambel. To summarize the story, it is about a woman who looks at herself in the mirrors of a supermarket and begins an inner dialogue with herself. This simple moment becomes a reflection on her identity and on how we see and understand ourselves in life.

Produced in collaboration with Angélina Adrovic & Clara Fidélis - Supervised by Atelier Tout Va Bien
Duration: 1 week

Drawing on the story behind the short story, we wanted to visually represent this inner dialogue. In the story, there are external physical descriptions things everyone can see and internal reflections. Red was a prominent color in the narrative, so we came up with the idea of using red gelatin. It allows us to highlight physical characteristics on the page. But when you turn the gelatin over, everything that is internal and not visible at first glance is revealed. The elongated format illustrates this tension.

At the end, we depicted two silhouettes responding to each other on the facing pages. These silhouettes represent men in the story who play a significant role in the plot.

This week taught me a lot about the technical aspects of publishing and microtypography. We also worked with the work-study class, which gave me the chance to work with my friends who aren't always at school, so the atmosphere was great!