Thomas Huot-Marchand designs bespoke typographic solutions for brands and institutions seeking to strengthen their visual identity. His research expertise allows him to advise and support both clients and creative teams on typographic history, technology, and concepts.
- 2010
Théâtre musical de Besançon — abribus
- 2010
Théâtre musical de Besançon — abribus
Posters for the Théâtre musical de Besançon.
Luxeuil script is a very rare Merovingian script, from the beginning of the seventh century. It is derived from uncial, half-uncial and roman cursive: before the advent of the Carolingian Minuscule, it is considered as one of the first formal minuscule.
Intrigued by this local unknown writing, born a few kilometers from my home, I studied it with my friend Claude-Laurent François and tried to design a digital version of it. I had to understand the ductus and then to reproduce the gesture and stroke of the pen. Rather than drawing the outlines, I digitized the inner skeleton, and applied afterwards a virtual elliptic pen. This dynamic approach allowed me to create the very large number of ligatures contained in this handwriting: these ligatures are created automatically with initial, medial or final contextual forms.
Unpublished
Minérale is a typeface based on uncommon stems, whose sides intersect at their centers. These two triangles that meet at the tip are an exaggeration of triangular serifs.
This project was born from a lettering for an exhibition entitled Splendeurs Minérales at the Musée de Montbéliard (France). I then developed a series of weights, which share the same width: a Multiplexed typeface that occupy the same space, whatever its weight.
The same goes for Roman and Italic. Italics turn around a central, vertical axis: the more the weight increases, the more slanted is the typeface.
Minerale is published at 205.tf since 2017 for Roman, 2018 for italics. It is developed in the new technology of variable fonts, which allows the user to act directly on the appearance of the characters, on a weight axis.
Minerale was designated Favorite Font of 2017 by Typographica, and won a TDC award in 2018.
Try and buy at [205.tf]Published by 205TF
- 2021
Samaritaine × Ateliers Saint-Lazare
- 2021
Samaritaine × Ateliers Saint-Lazare
I was commissioned by Ateliers Saint-Lazare (formerly known as be-pôles) to develop the typographic brand identity of Samaritaine, a much-loved iconic edifice situated in the heart of Paris. Born 151 years ago, La Samaritaine reopened in June 2021 after a 17 years closure.
The logotype captures the spirit of historic Samaritaine signs, honoring the stylistic evolution of the landmarked building. The singular silhouette of the distinctive historic letters, are blended into the logotype and a type family. Samaritaine Sans exists in 2 cuts: the first one features historical forms, inspired by Art Deco and Art nouveau letters, and is used for the wordmark. The second one has a more modern look, for daily use.
Art Deco style
Visual dentity by Ateliers Saint-Lazare, 2021 (art Direction: Reynald Philippe).
Justus Erich Walbaum (1768–1837), a confectioner by trade, carved his own cake molds. Quite gifted, he became a specialist, developing an activity as a punch-cutter and eventually buying Ernst Wilhelm Kirschner’s type foundry. Considered one of the foremost creators of his time, he cut both Gothic and Antiqua typefaces, the latter similar to those of Didot and Bodoni. But Walbaum’s had a different flavor, and for some, they contain the origins of the Grotesques that followed.
In 2010, Thomas Huot-Marchand and SPMillot were asked to develop the typographic identity of the Musée d’Orsay, which had been based on Berthold Walbaum since its very beginnings. They proposed adding distant “cousins” in later typographic styles: a bold grotesque and a thin slab serif, though these typefaces ultimately remained unused.
In 2020, Thomas Huot-Marchand decided to redesign them while developing an extended family. Album is a subtraction of Walbaum: with no serifs for Album Sans and with no contrast for Album Slab. Its silhouette retains some memory of Walbaum’s particular proportions and slightly flattened curves.
Album Sans offers a new interpretation of grotesques with an extended range of weights: the horizontal terminations of the R and the a, the binocular g, the junction of the k, along with the singular design of the numerals, distinguish it from more usual forms. The duplexed italics have a reduced slant. As an informal reinterpretation of Walbaum, Album Sans pairs perfectly with Slab.
Album is published by 205TF.
A series of posters for Blago Bung events, Emily Harvey Foundation (NYC, USA) and Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich, CH). Art, Sound, Poetry and Performance. Posters are printed in split fountain : gradients evolve during the printing process, each poster is unique.
Cast iron is used on all signage and property objects, in a wide range of techniques: enamel plates, sign painting, silscreen, embroidery, etc.
- 2021
Samaritaine Serif × Ateliers Saint-Lazare
- 2021
Samaritaine Serif × Ateliers Saint-Lazare
Along with Samaritaine logotype, I was commissioned by Ateliers Saint-Lazare to develop a custom typeface for La Samaritaine brand identity. Samaritaine Serif is inspired by Latines and Elzévirs of late XIXth Century French typefoundries. With sharp triangular serifs, monocular g, flourished endings, some alternates and a very French Art Nouveau touch.
Visual dentity by Ateliers Saint-Lazare, 2021 (art Direction: Reynald Philippe).
Launched by François Busnel and Éric Fottorino, this mook tells of America, its beauty, but also its faults and cracks. Each quarter, the greatest French and American writers are invited to become the memorialists of an extraordinary era. 4 issues for 4 years: the time of Donald Trump’s presidential term.
For the header, I designed a custom lettering inspired by American typefaces, something between Woody Allen and Ralph Lauren. Lowercase m is an obvious reference to Windsor, but the wordmark is sturdier.
- 2015
Le Pigalle × be pôles
- 2015
Le Pigalle × be pôles
Le Pigalle is a hotel in the eponymous district of Paris. The agency be-poles (Paris / New York) commissioned me to create its custom typeface, which is inspired by the vernacular signs and inscriptions of this lively and typical district. Photos © Benoît Linero
Park MGM is the new name of the famous Hotel Montecarlo, on the Las Vegas Strip (Nevada). It is owned by MGM Resorts. The agency be-poles (Paris / New York) commissioned me to design the exclusive typeface of the hotel, Alder, used for its interior and exterior signage, and all of its communication.
Rather than the excessive and often caricatured image of the hotels in the city, the visual identity of the Park MGM chooses elegance, with a very refined interior design. Likewise, Alder is inspired by the proportions of classic Roman capitals, with a more contemporary design. It comes in 4 weights : Regular, Bold, Italic and Condensed. Exclusive use
Minuscule is a typeface designed for very small sizes. Its creation was inspired by the theories of ophthalmologist Emile Javal and his “theory of compact prints” (Physiologie de la lecture et de l’écriture /Physiology of reading and writing, Paris, Alcan, 1905). I initiated this project during my studies at the Atelier national de recherche typographique in 2001-2002, and completed it, designing the italics in 2006–2007 during a residency in the Académie de France in Rome – Villa Médicis.
The font comes in five versions, all optimised for 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 points. The design evolves progressively as "the size decreases": the spacing and the x-height increase, the contrast decreases, inktraps appear and the design is simplified. The MinUscule 2 is the strangest: “at this size, said Javal, we read most the difference between the letters”. As a consequence, the particularities of each sign are exaggerated, and the secondary details eliminated.
The contrast of the italics is not found in the spacing, almost identical to the roman, but by a more rhythmic design, progressively more lively and broken.
The Minuscule has received a number of awards: Type Directors Club in New York in 2005 (Certificate of excellence in type design); Erik Spiekermann declared it to be the Favourite Font of 2007 in Typographica (http://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/minuscule/ ), and Paul Shaw described it as one of the typefaces of the decade in Print magazine (http://www.printmag.com/imprint/ten-typefaces-of-the-decade/ ). In 2016, a collection of 256 original drawings of the Minuscule were acquired by the Centre national des arts plastiques.
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