So French, So Bad
What's with the apparent inability of the French to express the unique appeal of their country in a graphical manner? It's not like they weren't once the world leaders at this. Think of those captivating posters for Parisian cabarets from the early years of the 20th century, travel posters from the Jazz Age for transatlantic liners, advertisements for exotic drinks or just about anything. To a great extent the world's continuing desire to flock to France for a vacation is still driven by these mythic images, the expression of a vibrant, confident culture. But myths they are, and long-dead ones at that, judging from the current inability of the French to rise above the level of graphical banality when trying to convince us that France remains a land of sophistication and savoir faire.
This first came to my attention a few years ago when I stumbled across a freshly-minted logo by the French Government Tourist Office and later commented: "Here's where we are in a nut (snail?) shell. Last summer, France joined the ranks of countries having a graphical identity that embodies the delights of a touristic visit. For France, being the world's most popular tourist destination, this represented a non-trivial task, both for those managing the design project, and for the designers themselves. The result, shown below, was to my eyes far from a success, not least because it traded heavily on the mythic French image of Marianne, here in harness (or rather, out of it) to flog the wonders of French tourism."
While this had a certain racy charm, using a topless babe as the embodiment of French travel seemed to me rather dubious in this day and age. And I guess I wasn't the only one, since some months later the sanitized version below showed up. No longer offensive but now simply pointless.
To make matters worse, the government agency responsible for this effort then merged with a similar entity and called itself Atout France. Predictably, the first task of this group was to create a new logo, which you can see in all its drab horror below. I mean... beyond using the red, white and blue colors of the French flag, does this convey anything about its mission to tell people about the delights of France?
But wait, it gets worse. You may have heard that after years of high-level lobbying, the "gastronomic meal of the French" was recently given the nod by UNESCO as being part of the "intangible cultural heritage of humanity." That's right, France's glorious gastronomic tradition has now found its rightful place in the pantheon of cultural greatness, along with Turkey's Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival and some kind of Belgian bread and fire feast. These days you have to take comfort where you find it.
The French have responded to this acknowledgement in a predictable fashion — by setting up a government agency to spread the good word. And of course where there's a new government agency, there's a new logo. In this case, the agency in question has as its mission to tell the world about the wonders of French food. Wow, what a dream brief that could have been. Imagine what a talented designer could have done with that! And so with no further ado, I give you:
Hard to believe, isn't it? Is it just me or is that a piece of clipart? And how convincing is the English tagline? Even the choice of typeface and how it is set is questionable. To say nothing of the relationship between the tiny graphic above and the wide type below. What a train wreck, what an opportunity missed.
Okay, that wasn't a very positive post, I admit. So let's end things on a happier note. And since happiness in France consists at present in dreaming of former glory (believe me, I know, I live here), let's browse through some juicy images from the Golden Days, thanks to ParisPosters.com and Memory-Pub.com.
Drab French government agencies take note — your country deserves better.
Chris Dickman
Founding Editor, Graphics.com
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Actually it took me a very long while to notice the visual pun on the breasts, I had to look twice or three times.
I regret they changed it, it was really really subtle.
I have a tie like this, coming from Brussels, from a distance it looks like a Louis Vuitton-esque monogram but close up it is a stylised Mannekenpis.
Chris responds: I can see it on a tie, although not one I'd wear to a funeral. On the other hand, keep in mind this logo was supposed to represent France globally. I'm not sure how well it would have gone over in China, for example, a country that France increasingly is courting for tourist traffic. And in conservative Musiim countries, ditto. And really, anywhere where resorting to using naked women to flog products and services is viewed rather dimly.
Appalling !
Thanks for posting this critique. I'm continually amazed by the state of design in France. It's almost so bad it's good—almost.
It seems the French answer to every design problem is a picture of a "beautiful lady". As if to say, "What more could you possibly want?"
A lot. At the very least, some decent typography.
Gill Sans? Really? The de-facto national typeface of England? Wow. Good choice, you scholars of culture!
Yes, the French have evolved a very special and strange indifference to design. Outside of a ridiculously small subset of Parisians (probably mostly foreigners at that) they seem utterly blind to visual communication. It seems to be all about words and "concept" in France, and yet, ironically they also seem to be typographically illiterate. Every try to read the highway signage there? Good luck with the tracked-out U&LC Univers Light Italic!
The land of Garamond and Didot seems to have been stuck in a rut so long they can't even see it anymore. Their treasured UNESCO cuisine is only another example of their own brand of uninspired, backward-looking mediocrity.
I had a chance to move from my home in Amsterdam to the shores of the Côte d'Azur recently, but thought better of it. I just couldn't see myself surrounded day after day by that much visual garbage. And how to make a living as a graphic designer in a land where design just doesn't seem to matter to anyone? "The food is good," I imagine them saying, "Who cares what the menu looks like?"
And yet, most French are still so enthusiastically positive about their culture, defending it to the bitter end. It's such a shame, really, as the they have so much unrealized potential.
Moi? I'm always relieved to get through to Italy.
Chris responds: I think it's important to point out that my post was not a frontal attack on French design in general but very specifically pointed out the weakness of French government agencies promoting their country graphically. Those active in French graphic design can speak more authoritatively than me about whether there is currently some kind of widespead malaise in the industry here. But anecdotally I do have a very talented French friend who had great clients, many luxury product firms, for example. A few years ago he closed his shop and moved to Dubai because of what he felt was a willingness to make do with just good enough on the part of his clients, with less and less interest in excellence and innovation. Whether that's pervasive, I couldn't tell you.
Yes, it's wise and far more level-headed of you to point out that you're neither condemning nor maligning French design as a whole.
For my part, I see the poor performance of government-sponsored work which you highlight as symptoms of much more widespread and depressing issues. Your French friend's story echos that of my Parisian friend, who has struggled for many years with the lack of taste and understanding many of her local clients display.
Any experience with the French management style in business (comprising a toxic mix of total deference to, and fear of, 'superiors' who push all their 'problems' – actually, their work – on to beautiful but un-trained and underpaid underlings) goes a long way in explaining the situation. I'm sure most learn – after years of frustration – to relax, expect less, and turn a blind eye.
As the French say, "Phfff…".
Having created logos for large entities, I know the hoops a designer must jump through.
For a government program, your logo must go through not just one person, but a huge committee. The logo becomes a chew toy for everyone with each person nitpicking and fighting personal battles with one another.
Once the committee is through tearing apart the design and diluting it from the brilliant concept to a mish-mash of compromise, it goes to the senior government members who then must put their personal stamp of mediocracy to it.
That said, there is no excuse for poor typographic choices.
It seems that all of this discussion fails to mention the name of Delacroix who painted the most famous rendition of Marianne, portraying her as a bare-breasted woman leading the French to freedom. I don't know that the first France logo had the craft of a Delacroix, but it did have a precedent.
Chris responds; On the contrary, if you followed the links to my earlier posts, you would know that part of my indignation is directly related to the misuse of the Marianne figure.
You speak of the state of French design, yet, you limit yourself to governmental jobs, as if the state of US design could be summed up by its as-poor overuse of eagles and stars.
Come on, work a little. Dig and do some actual research and find more than 3 governmental logos if you're to call French design bad.
Chris responds: I'm not calling French design bad -- just the work of governmental agencies in the travel and tourism sectors. I think France deserves better, don't you? Why settle for mediocrity?
Living in the South of France for nearly three years now and trying to scrape out a living as a graphic designer myself, I can only say that I agree entirely with your viewpoint. Personally, I've found that all my work has been subject to the rigours of the alimentary canal known as "design by committee" in every possible sense and not just in France either. Its just that over here, the insistence on some bizarre notion of using a scripty font must be included at the very last minute to a design, no matter what the cost, with no explanation given and that's what's so frustrating. However these experiences are my own and its enough for me to set fire to my design degree and become a waiter.