The first publication about the work of the French graphic design studio deValence, this book examines their most recent works since 2012, as well as their long-term collaborations with artists such as Raphaël Zarka, Saâdane Afif, Mathieu Abonnenc, and Pierre Huyghe. Led today by Alexandre Dimos and Ghislain Triboulet, the studio’s work is notable in its intention to seemingly disappear in a process where form logically follows from content. By way of a thorough analysis of several of their designs, overlapping elements of both avant-garde functional aesthetics and an austere classicism emerge in their work. With a text (“Defying the image: deValence, Socrates and the question of design”) by Victor Guégan; an exhaustive visual overview of their design work, with photographs by Paul Lepreux; and an interview.

deValence is both a design studio and a publisher, supporting research and reflections about the role and history of graphic design. Among their activities: the forum F7, an umbrella for bringing designers from across Europe to Paris; the magazine Marie Louise, whose first issue was made live during an exhibition of the studio in 2006, later evolving into the French design periodical Back Cover; and the founding of publishing project “Éditions B42.”

Includes a foreward by Robin Kinross.

Published by Éditions B42

In English and French

Softcover, 128 pages, full color, 6.5 × 9.5 inches

ISBN 978-29-1785-562-1