Loïc Altaber’s reductive practice favours simplicity, not minimalism

It’s easy for creatives to become self-indulgent in the work they produce, however, in the case of Paris-based graphic designer Loïc Altaber, content is placed above ego. “I try as much as possible to understand the content and show it in the best way,” Loïc explains, using this total coherence as the foundation to build his designs upon. Although he is without a fixed style, Loïc’s reductive process is what makes his work notably his own, explaining that “I always try to reduce my design to the essential elements.” The result is wonderfully transparent work that is simple but not minimal. With the utmost consideration for the content, Loïc strikes a salient balance between information and expression.

Loïc’s practice has a somewhat “architectural approach,” forming a framework and system prior to integrating with content, giving the highest priority to the latter. He tells us: “I consider the text as much as an information as a pure graphic form.” Although not practising it any more, Loïc remains invested in a detailed typographic discipline, after studying type design at university and specialising in it during his master’s degree. “Learning type design helped me to understand my graphic design productions,” he adds, explaining how being fully able to comprehend the minutiae of type design remains necessary to his practice.

“From a formal point of view, I have modernist inspirations,” Loïc says, in discussing his influences, expanding that he’s “always been attracted to the work of the Bauhaus.” On a more personal note, however, a major influence on Loïc is the cinema – “the sequence in a film can be very inspiring, you can make a lot of connections between films and books.” In particular, he finds more overt inspiration in the typography found in films, highlighting the work of Saul Bass especially, as well as the concept of movie posters as a medium in design.

This passion for cinema manifested in his master’s diploma project that looked towards the work of cinematic legend Buster Keaton, creating and designing a fictional film retrospective. Utilising the “notion of time” and analysing the data from Keaton’s movies, as well as Keaton’s specific style of parallel movement across the screen, Loïc animated the identity and posters. The end product is incredibly striking and satisfying; truly exemplifying Loïc’s priority showed towards the content. This cinematic fascination has bled into his non-commercial practice too, as Loïc’s current personal project looks at the final duel in Sergio Leone’s The good, the bad and the ugly. We are excited to see how this will manifest.