Further research into Alexis Jamet

Further research into Alexis Jamet

I ran into a few issues regarding my creative report as the initial designers I reached out to never got back to me (such as Fisk studios). Due to this, I wanted to contact other designers, and decided I wanted to do my creative report on Alexis Jamet. I really love his work as it has a very playful and experimental tone, as well as his portfolio balancing personal work alongside commercial commissions for brands such as Nike and Hermes. I think that I would really value his perspectives from his experiences within the design industry, as he has worked in different countries and has worked in various different studios; this is massively relevant to me as after I graduate, I ideally want to work in a small studio environment so his advice on this matter would be super useful to me. 

Over recent years, Alexis has explored different mediums such as animation that bring his playful illustrative style to life; this design above was created for the Nike Live Report, and features some really interesting colours and textures. What I like about his work is that it combines both digital and physical elements, such as scanning textures in to create a somewhat nostalgic atmosphere. This was of working is something that resonates with me, as personally I often like to work both physically and digitally. Due to this, it would be interesting to find out more about his creative process, as it would be very inspiring to my own personal practice. 

Despite working in more illustrative formats, Alexis also integrates typography into his work; I like how he combines playfulness with minimal typefaces, as it creates a nice juxtaposition between both elements. Getting better at using typefaces is something I want to improve on, as I often create my own hand drawn type that sometimes doesn't fit the sense of voice I want to create; I want to be able to expand my knowledge of type, and what appropriate typefaces are good to use. 

Within his portfolio of work, Alexis has worked on projects for music videos. He got into creating videos for people during his experiences within the skateboarding scene in France, through filming skate videos for his friends. In regards to my own practices, getting into moving image and video is something I want to improve on, as recently I feel like I've been focusing too much on publication design. Due to this, it would be interesting to ask Alexis a few questions on how his style has evolved to create moving image, as he initially started out as an illustrator. 

In terms of his publication design, I really love how Alexis features hand drawn elements into his work, often working with pencils and textures from painting. Its quite refreshing to see designers use analog approaches to their work, as a lot of design now is so orientated around digital components; theres something quite personal about using physical approaches to design especially in todays industry. 

Alexis has done a lot of commission work for some big names throughout his career, such as creating these animations for The New York Times. What I love about this and really admire is that he tailors his style to different clients, yet still maintaining his iconic look. This is definitely something I worry about as a designer, as although I want to be able to work for big clients, I don't want to fall into the trap of creating super commercial work. 

Alexis has also created a lot of apparel design, for brands such as Everpress. I can personally relate to this, as I have worked with Everpress myself and have even been commissioned to create stuff for them. I think that clothing design is a super fun way to translate your work into a tangible product. 

I particularly really love this zine design titled A Special Request, and have a copy myself. I find the illustration style super interesting and playful, as it uses some really cool textures; the illustrations don't feel super trapped on the pages as they're blended with gradient textures. 

I also really like these poster designs Alexis created, as they involve images instead of illustrations; I definitely aspire to be a multidisciplinary designer in terms of using both image and illustration, as I really enjoy manipulating images in new and exciting ways. 

https://www.oneclub.org/articles/-view/young-guns-17-alexis-jamet

• Alexis describes his work as 'poetic, abstract and narrative, soft and bold'
• He finds that the internet is a great creative tool to find inspiration when he hits a creative wall
• A creative dream that he has yet to fulfil is to travel with his work and set up his own studio

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/alexis-jamet-graphic-design-animation-190319

• Alexis branched into creating zines around the Paris skateboard scene, creating clothing and board designs for his local skate shop
• Its only within the last couple of years that animation has become more of his job
• He has stated that he becomes 'bored very quickly' so his work is 'constantly changing and evolving' 
• His animations are a 50/50 split between digital and analog 
• One of the works Alexis is proud of is the flip book he created titled Coup De Vent 

https://www.metalmagazine.eu/en/post/interview/alexis-jamet

• Alexis has had the opportunity to work in the past for agencies based in France, Spain, North America and England 
• He started by making illustration, then progressed into making animation and video 
• 'Working with different mediums keeps me active'
• His career in the design industry started with skateboarding, watching videos, magazines, animated movies and music videos 
• Printed matters and textures have always attracted him, so he integrates physical elements into his design
• He states how he is often tired with brands and clients asking him to reproduce something he's already done before; they are scared of new proposals and experiments 
• He has grown up watching design on the internet 

https://liveskateboardmedia.com/en/article/conversation-alexis-jamet-romain-batard

• Painting is something he does more for himself on his 'free time'; 'it allows me to leave the computer while still making something'