DESCRIPTION:
DeValence is a design studio formed in 2001 by Alexandre Dimos and Gaël Étienne. It is located in Mains d’Oeuvres, a former industrial building now inhabited by artists, in Saint-Ouen, near Paris. DeValence is responsible for the design of the building’s identity and communication tools, ranging from flyers to posters. Other clients include artists (Agnes Thurnauer, Matthieu Laurette, Thomas Hirschhorn), museums and art centers (Le Centre Pompidou, Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers), and luxury brands (Martélouise, Kenzo). Apart from an architecture office in Bordeaux and a friend’s music label in Brussels, most of deValence’s clients are based in Paris or its suburbs. “France is a very centralized country,” says Dimos. He and Étienne went to Valence Fine Art School and École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris.

VOICE:
When asked why they are doing what they do, the pair responds simply, “We cannot do anything else!” And what do they believe in? “Paul Rand, red wine, and New Order.” In 2003, deValence established a nonprofit organization called F7 through which they organize events about graphic design in Paris. Recent speakers include Jonathan Barnbrook and Stefan Sagmeister.

DISTINCTIVE MARKINGS:
“Tampering with the ways you can read a book; using rough homemade typefaces with very classic ones; loving contradictions.”

HABITAT:
DeValence is located in Saint-Ouen because, as they put it, “We don’t want to be alone in a little office in the center of Paris.” Mains d’Oeuvres rents out low-cost spaces for artists and musicians and deValence enjoys being part of this vibrant community: “Here we meet people and go to concerts. It helps us to work with less wealthy clients. Our office is insufficiently heated, but we survive.”

SPOTTED BY:
Laurence Madrelle, principal of LM Communique, Paris, and current president of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) Paris: “I nominated deValence not only for their surprising and refreshing design work, which never lacks meaning, but also for their involvement in the design community. DeValence organizes talks, through F7, that bring together a designer and his client to talk about the design work they produced together. DeValence has already produced four events this year. Curiosity and generosity is what is leading them.”

CONTACT:
+33.1.4011.8237 | www.devalence.net

Written by Alice Twemlow