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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Tamara Janes
The students task is to create their own story, storyline, narrative or sequences based on the existing given images. Using their personal interests, imagination and ideas they link the images together. They can continue the plot of the images, do in-depth research, write fictional stories or tell stories based on personal experiences. The students had the freedom to photograph, generate or film.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Lorenzo Vitturi
The aim of this workshop is to engage students in a multidisciplinary process that combines photography with sculpture and scenography. To emphasize the importance of the creative process, students are encouraged to use primarily collected and recycled materials, which will need to be transformed and integrated into their visual narrative. The work presented at the end of the workshop will reflect this approach, combining visual results with sculptures and ephemeral installations.
PRODUCT DESIGN
with Reed Kram
No Signal! Is the the outcome of an exploratory one-week workshop completed for, and now exhibited in, the Mudac’s exhibition ‘We Will Survive’, which delves into the world of ‘Preppers.’ Guided by designer Reed Kram, students from the MA Product Design program, worked in pairs to create solutions for a hypothetical scenario in which phones no longer work, the internet is down, and grid electricity is unavailable. Faced with this breakdown of modern infrastructure, their mission was to reimagine how we might fulfill one of humanity's most essential needs—communication.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Florence Tétier, Nicolas Coulomb
SPORT - CORPS : Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques The project is based on the theme of the body, with a view to staging physical effort. The recent context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games logically frames the choice of sport as an aesthetic means of highlighting different forms of bodily expression. The choice of discipline could be classic, out-of-games or even imaginary. The students worked around a certain vision of physical effort, movement, constraint, a form of discipline, or even joy.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Laurence Bonvin
Liquid Times Produce a project using photography and video on the theme of fluidity, liquid form and water.
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.
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
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.
FILM STUDIES
by Loris Ciaburri, Jonathan Daza Ospina, Loïs de Goumoëns, Sara Dutch, Fei Fan, Pablo Guscetti, Anna Joos, Saleh Kashefi, Theofanis Papadopoulos, Valentina Parati, Antoine Scalese
Students in the Master Film Studies ECAL/HEAD produced documentary vignettes for the Paléo Festival, which were shown for the first time at Visions du Réel in April 2024.
FILM STUDIES
with Alejo Moguillansky
A 1 week filmmaking workshop led by the Argentinian director, screenwriter and producer Alejo Moguillansky with the students of the Master in Film - major direction.
FILM STUDIES
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.
PRODUCT DESIGN
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.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Viktor Gagné
The weight of materials produced by humans is now believed to exceed that of all terrestrial biomass. How will these artifacts integrate into the rest of the environment in a million years? Serialized Saplings is an interactive installation that speculates on a potential form of vegetation to come, heavily altered by the excesses of human production, here crystallized through the symbol of the electrical outlet. By manipulating the connections of several power strips, the participant is invited to program the "genetic code" of hybrid plant species that do not yet exist and whose appearance resembles our industrial standards. This generated vegetation is then classified in the form of a digital herbarium that can be consulted and studied.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Marius Parisod
At the crossroads between video games and board games, Get-Out 4 is an invitation to rediscover the joy of playing together. This puzzle game, designed to be played by two or more players, encourages direct interaction and cooperation. The use of external game pieces invites players to rely on their observation and deduction skills, bringing them together in a shared experience that goes beyond screens. The design of Get-Out 4 is based on a minimalist aesthetic inspired by early video games such as Pong, Pac-Man, and Tetris. This visual simplicity not only evokes nostalgia but is strategically employed to enhance player engagement by focusing on gameplay mechanics. This project, beyond its playful aspect, offers human interaction through the lens of gaming.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Julie Turin
Assembly line work and online orders have become the norm, even in craftsmanship. The Star's Bags app is a seamstress's response to this trend, offering an immersive shopping experience to highlight manual labor before the customer receives their bag. "The Tree Bag" is the first collection from this app, which can expand into other themes. Through this experience, the customer participates in every step of the bag's creation over several days: gathering materials, placing patterns, cutting, sewing, pinning, addressing, and shipping. By following this process, the customer appreciates the effort involved and retains a special memory of their purchase, enhancing the value of the product received.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Isaïa Delaplace
Azimut is a puzzle game set in a 3D natural environment. The aim is to solve a series of riddles linked to the position of the sun in the sky. Inspired by the theme of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's book “In Praise of Shadows”, controlling the sun becomes the central element of the gameplay. This action allows players to simply interact with the light that illuminates the Earth, solving puzzles and progressing through the experience. Through this series of increasingly complex puzzles, we can observe and feel the beauty of light and shadow in an increasingly vivid and rich environment.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Charlotte Pralong
Have you ever wanted to be part of the show at the concert you are attending? This is where the Take Part project comes in, an interactive scenography for a song specially composed by my musical duo with my sister. The phone, often seen as a disturbing intermediary between artists and the audience, is here used as a tool for connection that strengthens bonds and amplifies collective energy. Indeed, each spectator participates in the projection behind the musicians using their phone. The audience follows a character with a naïve style, animated in 2D, who travels through various worlds to recharge before finally sharing this energy, symbolizing the sharing and multiplication of collective joy.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Jérémie Kursner
iLand Universe is a project focused on the world of amusement parks where every activity is an allusion to the digital world, whether through its architecture, its scenography, or its references to the overuse of smartphones. Through an "epic" teaser, this project adopts the promotional codes of a traditional amusement park, using video as the main communication tool while playing with the "inspiring" codes of this industry from the United States. The desire to create this fantastic world stems from my passion for this universe, as well as my interest in metaphorizing digital visions into tangible concepts, thus creating mind games that continuously question the digital society in which we live.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Odran Jobin
What Lies Behind is an immersive virtual reality experience dealing with the disproportionate scales that separate us from the immense and the minuscule. This project is based around a philosophical and personal thought; it is difficult, as human beings, to define ourselves when faced with the idea that the immense and the minuscule come together in complexities and scales that escape our perception. This experiment takes us on a journey through these scales. The aim is not to explain, but to marvel at the beauty of the inexplicable. Seated on a bench, we are led through various scenes, each gradually altering our perception of space.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Sasha Iatsenia
Today, 1 in 15 children are affected by a disorder that alters their behaviors, impacting their educational, socialization, and communication skills. LittleCubes were designed as therapeutic toys to help develop these skills through light and play. Using a cube that lights up and responds to natural gestures, therapists can create fun and engaging exercises using an intuitive app. While designing this project, I discovered that I have autistic traits, inspiring me to build a toy I would have loved as a child. My goal is to build bridges between neurotypical and neurodiverse experiences, making the world more inclusive for all. To date, I have tested the cube with more than 15 therapists and 30 children (ASD, motor deficiencies and associated disorders). I hope to continue this project after my diploma. This project is supported by Fondation Dr Combe.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
by Alexandre Gambarini
Whether it's the legend of Joan of Arc, William Tell, Che Guevara or other emblematic figures, our societies and our daily lives are partly punctuated by these tales. Echoes from the Tales is an interactive sequence that traces the life of Vasil Levski, a Bulgarian icon. By listening to his story, punctuated by strong symbolism, the sequence enables us to grasp how these stories can shape individual and collective identity. The aim of this interactive sequence is to analyze how a story can be assimilated and transformed by the individual imagination and then passed on, as well as understanding how age-old narratives such as Vasil Levski's can be hijacked by modern storytelling.
TYPE DESIGN
by Naiqian Mac Wang
Nimonik is designed to help Chinese native speakers learn English, the typeface addresses common problems Chinese English learners would likely encounter, such as stress placement, vowel reduction, and unfamiliar phonemes. Based on letter identification and legibility research, the letterforms are drawn to emphasize their idiosyncrasies, resulting in subtle yet quirky features that purposefully slow down the reading process of the learner. The combined technical and aesthetic considerations allow Nimonik to maintain a familiar first impression while hosting many unorthodox details, like having a vague gist memory instead of a vivid verbatim memory.
TYPE DESIGN
by Anna-Sophia Pohlmann
From Rational to Functional: Eternity is a family of six styles inspired by the French typeface Romain du Roi in 1694. Its creation is one of the first examples of rational type design. Philippe Grandjean, who cut the punches for the metal type, took many liberties to moderate the original letterforms. Eternity raises the question of what makes a functional typeface contemporary. What criteria are important for a typeface to be usable in different contexts? The finished typeface continues to use characteristic elements of Romain du Roi and Philippe Grandjean, but questions the functionality of the typeface by breaking with mathematical and analytical principles. Eternity collects and creates the ideal parameters for each font style, applied on an axis between rational and function.
TYPE DESIGN
by Antoine Pasi
The Quasi family started with the idea of “Mécalde”, a french typographic term employed by Maximilien Vox to describe José Mendoza y Almeida’s way of mixing Mechanistic and Garalde genres. Like a soft sculpture molded by hand, Quasi offers a contemporary dive into an empiric and hybrid process by joining traces from the craft and the industrial, gathering fragments from different periods. The brush, the chisel and the broad nib pen are joining on a rigid and boxy construction, without rejecting the digital tool. Quasi embraces the beauty of imperfections and finds its interest in inconsistent and grotesque details, mediating antagonistic ideas. Like a Janus-faced performer, Quasi is confident yet clumsy – rough yet elegant, inhabiting polarizing personalities within a character set.
TYPE DESIGN
by Lucrezia Noro
Plaxid is a uniwidth typeface developed to enhance the typesetting of complex hierarchies and text-heavy layouts. Inspired by the mechanical structure of the Ionic genre, Plaxid is a practical font family with a solid feel and modest character. The specificity of duplex matrices used by Linotype during the hot metal typesetting era improved with the contemporary design possibilities of negative spacing and applied kerning. This complementary duality makes it possible to achieve a uniwidth design without compromising letterforms. Plaxid maintains consistent width measurements across its eight cuts, making it easy to change styles without affecting quality, copyfit and layout.
TYPE DESIGN
by Simon Memel
Itinérant takes Robert Granjon’s work as its starting point, producing a type family of four cuts: a text and display roman, each with a corresponding italic. The text cuts pare back some of the extravagance that Granjon was famous for, and lower the contrast in order to create type suitable for continuous setting, especially in smaller sizes. In part they draw on historical typefaces which themselves were influenced by Granjon- namely Plantin and Times New Roman. The display cuts reference the writing masters that preceded Granjon, and influenced the masters work. They restore the details that were removed in the rendering of the text cuts, and go further still, creating characters more calligraphic than Granjon, but rendered with a contemporary cleanness.
TYPE DESIGN
by Nell May
Night Editor is a text font family designed for the dark screen writing environment: a focused space for creation and thinking. Night Editor features a calm low contrast calligraphic skeleton. Large counters, open apertures and generous spacing all aid legibility and counter the impact of light halation. Styles are limited to necessary tools: Regular, Bold, Italics (plus accompanying light mode grades). Night Editor Mono is the text production workhorse with oversized punctuation. It is designed for a slower, more physical access to a text in progress and is also available in Round with softened terminals that embrace the bloom of light. Night Editor Sans is the proportional counterpart, suitable for both writing and reading texts in the tranquil darkness.
TYPE DESIGN
by Gabriela Jaime
Fabrikaat is a sans-serif typeface that breaks from the traditional Swiss neo-grotesk genre. Its curves, translated from steel to vector, vary in width from Condensed [0] to Regular [4] to Wide [8]. A monospace cut, incorporating features from its proportional siblings, serves as a text style for small sizes. Fabrikaat is inspired by manipulating rigid materials and analyzing the resulting curves, focusing on deformation and tension. Like the exploration of shaping stiff materials, Fabrikaat’s curves have a mechanical feel. Smooth transitions between flat and curved forms are achieved through a stylistic set designed to facilitate movement along the design space. This adds character and rhythm to a sturdy, mechanical typeface, allowing versatile application across media and font sizes.
TYPE DESIGN
by Maximilian Inzinger
Embajador is an all-purpose serif font family designed for extended reading. Referencing historical Spanish influences that show an unfamiliar dynamic in their strokes, Embajador strives to harmonize contemporary type setting while maintaining the essence of the Spanish spirit and charm. Available from Light to Black with corresponding italics, Embajador’s weights are drawn as optical sizes. Whereas the Light is monolinear with wider proportions, the Black features more condensed, high-contrasted letterforms. These variations in weight are intended to guide users in choosing the appropriate style for their specific application and size. With the addition of optical spacing, however, all styles can also be used effectively at any size.
TYPE DESIGN
by Thorgeir Kristinn Blöndal
Flaneri is a cursive script-like typeface that invites references born after industrialization to find its place. Torn between the human stroke and its translation into the machine, it steps into a world where authenticity is becoming harder to detect, and a longing for “human made” becomes greater. While wandering around many places, Flaneri finds inspiration in everything from Jan van de Velde’s art of writing to my grandmother’s and my own handwriting, the digital translation carries questions on what is to be left out, polished or even highlighted. Resulting in a cursive font with a physical texture and broken connections, leaving the observer with a feeling of what has been or what is to come.
TYPE DESIGN
by Hólmfríður Benediktsdóttir
What is the difference between a curl, a swirl and a whirl? What about a whirl and a whorl? What about a swash, a flourish, a spiral, a twist and a twirl? Using the curl as an experiment in expression and disobedience in text, KRULLA.SANS is a sans serif typeface that comes in three weights with corresponding curls. Inspired by the original drawing of Antique No. 8 by Miller and Richard, KRULLA is an endeless exploration of contemporary curls taken to a curly extreme. With its condensed proportions and unexpected curves throughout the styles, KRULLA evolves from a Bold Confused and arrives at a disobedient Crazy Light that reimagines the relationship between curve, curl, spiral, twist and a twirl. Can a curly letter be repurposed and shown as a tool to signify resistance and disobedience?
TYPE DESIGN
by Eran Ben Barak
Olivia is a font family supporting both Latin and Hebrew scripts. It explores the shapes and conventions of these scripts without blending or “Latinizing” Hebrew. The project rethinks Latin type design norms, leveraging my background and education. As a Hebrew type designer, I advocate for mutual learning between scripts. This typeface serves as a bridge, demonstrating how Hebrew and Latin can coexist and enrich each other.
TYPE DESIGN
by Mirela Belcheva
Astra is a humanist serif type family designed to meet the demands of complex text environments, such as dictionaries and reference materials, particularly in the fields of language learning and translation. Its calm personality, and clear and functional presence, add to its versatility and allow it, nevertheless, to adapt to different types of text, both printed and on screen. Its neutrality ensures that it can be used in a variety of contexts and applications, without being limited by specific use cases. The family comes in two optical sizes: Display and Text, the latter with a range of weights from Light to Bold, one of which includes a Cyrillic extension.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Yichen Wu
Haitang Stool is the result of a culture-based form study, a blend of tradition and democratic ubiquity. The popularity of the New Chinese Style demonstrates a growing recognition of traditional culture in the Chinese market. Building on extensive research into Ming-style furniture, this project aims to extract and bring its beauty to everyday objects, challenging the common perception that it only serves a select few. By redesigning the iconic red plastic stool, the local Monobloc alternative, Haitang Stool explores the communicative power of cultural forms while keeping its low cost and universal functionality.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Loïs Weber
A report from the Swiss Office for the Environmental forecasts annual summer heatwaves, increasing the number of «tropical» days (>30°C) throughout the year. In response to this phenomenon, some Swiss cities are seeking solutions to combat these urban heat islands. The Ilo project proposes a solution to address heatwaves in Lausanne. In collaboration with a local brick manufacturer, the cooling potential of bricks, which absorb and slowly evaporate water, has been harnessed in a modular seating installation, providing shade and refreshment. Adaptable to various locations, this installation can be deployed during the four months of summer heatwaves, thus improving urban comfort and fostering social interactions.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Antonio Severi
VAC focuses on assembling objects without conventional fasteners, using vacuum as a binder. This technique, known as «jamming,» originates from soft robotics but also occurs when vacuum-sealing goods like coffee. It increases friction between parts like glue but allows the process to be reversible. Various bags were filled with different materials, creating unique seating options that address technical challenges and explore material combinations. The project produced five chair prototypes using different methods, showcasing binding techniques that allow for easy separation and recycling, highlighting a commitment to sustainability and innovation.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Aurelia Pleyer
The way we work is changing. Today, we no longer stay at a fixed desk in a single place but need flexibility and movement. As we perform a variety of tasks during the day, we wish for an equally diverse range of spaces to create, concentrate, communicate, and think within. With Kind Regards proposes an open way of working on two surfaces. Sitting or standing, the furniture explores different possibilities of work situations. The simple and direct, yet versatile structure uses wood to create a warm, welcoming surrounding. Encouraging to work in new ways, With kind regards is a flexible place for both short and longer E-Mails.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Lilian Onstenk
Many discarded jackets have malfunctioning zippers. Before repurposing, textiles and hardware need to be separated within the recycling facilities—a labor-intensive procedure. The uien collection proposes a system in which the fabric and the zipper are easily exchangeable and separable. The cotton inner lining is connected to the water-resistant cotton outer fabric. Similar to a pillowcase, the felted wool insulation is encapsulated between the cotton layers without using additional fastening systems. The slightly modified zipper ties into the fabric and can easily be removed and replaced. uien aims for easier recycling but above all encourages consumers to replace broken items without special equipment or prior knowledge.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Clémentine Merhebi
In 2023, a person residing in Switzerland consumes 140 liters of drinking water per day. Half of which is used for showering. 75 is a showerhead that saves up to ¾ of our consumption. Developed by SICT, its mechanism visually imitates but reduces the flow of a classic showerhead from 20 to 4 liters of water per minute. Deprived of its handle, it also represents a material saving by fitting in the palm of your hand. Assembled with a single screw, all its components can be separated, including its magnets, which offer different inclinations when in contact with its support. Like a canvas, this adhesive sheet deconstructs the architecture of the shower through a simplification of its systems and accessories, allowing us to better understand our consumption.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Fanny Marrot
Encore Bon is a system designed to change the way we think about food waste by reusing existing unsold but consumable resources produced by supermarkets. These spoiled, less attractive products are often neglected, even though they have tasty and nutritious qualities. The Encore Bon system communicates and educates people about food waste whilst creating new products. Raw ingredients are collected and then combined according to their aromatic match using a dedicated application, creating new and unusual flavours. They are then dried to extend their shelf life. The result is attractive, tasty dry products that encourage consumers to take a different look at unsold food.
PRODUCT DESIGN
by Jiahao Huang
Polyurethane foam has been taken granted as the go-to material in creating comfort and softness for upholstery and caused immense pressure to environment. This motivates me to use spacer fabric, which features a sandwich structure with 3 layers, knitted altogether one time by 3d knitting machine, as the alternative to PU foam. I developed a sofa with this particular material in the core. It is cushioned, padded and covered all by spacer fabric. Without glue nor staples, all components are designed to be easily assembled and separated. The concept spins around the inherent tension and flexiblity of the material that enables it to naturally form voluminous yet smooth shapes. The idea is to build the cushioning core and contacting layer in one piece of fabric wilhout stiching and triming.