Stephane Elbaz, Type designer
Interview February 21, 2017. Type Directors Club.
FOR THE FIRST DAY of our workshop in New York, we met our first guest: Stephane Elbaz. A French graphic designer, who moved to New York to pursue his career in graphic and type design. Following his graduation from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2004, he received in 2009 the “Certificate of excellence in type design” from New York’s Type Director’s Club. He then joined Code and Theory with whom he designed projects for the LA Times, GQ, Vanity Fair and many more.
He created the brand identity and design of The Intercept, an online news site created by Pierre Omidyar, founder of Ebay. Initially conceived as a platform for Edward Snowden’s revelations on global surveillance by the United States government, in the longer term, The Intercept aims to develop a generalist media dedicated to the practice of investigative journalism “courageous, combative and dealing with wider issues: abuse, financial and political corruption, or violation of civil liberties”.
Stephane Elbaz discussed the new issues affecting interactive and online design. How time changed the way we use the internet, and how it affected his everyday job and how he responded to it. How to improve your digital presence and how to best align content and presentation. Using his skills in type design, he managed to create a strong and personal identity that would fit The Intercept like no other magazine.
Stephane then invited us to review some of the latest innovations and challenges that face interactive design. Working in small groups, we analyzed apps and websites and presented our findings, discovering on the way how different media addressed readers desires and needs.
Thank you, Stephane, for a stimulating and pleasurable meeting.
Twitter: Stéphane Elbaz
Instagram: Stéphane Elbaz
By Viktor Fenard & Kenza Mezouar
February 21, 2017. Type Directors Club, 347 West 36th Street, New York City
