EuroFabrique is an international, travelling design project initiated by RMN-Grand Palais, École des Arts Décoratifs Paris and ANdÉA. In February 2024, the EuroFabrique Design Camp brought together 42 graphic design students and professors from 10 art and design schools across seven European countries at Le Signe, Centre National du Graphisme in Chaumont, France.
The aim of the week-long workshop was to develop a shared graphic toolbox for future EuroFabrique Design Camps. Rather than creating one fixed visual identity, the goal was to establish a flexible set of visual elements that could be interpreted and recombined by different designers while remaining connected to a common EuroFabrique identity.
The project began with discussions around the idea of a future Europe. We explored questions around our personal visions of Europe, its cultural diversity, social values, opportunities and challenges. These discussions were followed by lectures, workshops and collaborative design sessions focusing on different aspects of visual identity. Inputs from designers and educators introduced us to approaches to dynamic identities, typography, symbols and visual systems.
I mainly contributed to the Fonts and Symbols groups. In the Fonts group, we developed a shared layout template and used it to experiment with different typographic directions and visual languages. Working with designers from different countries and educational backgrounds resulted in a wide range of approaches and interpretations. In the Symbols group, I explored different compositions and arrangements of graphic elements, testing how individual symbols could function within a larger and flexible identity system.
I also experimented with translating some of our visual ideas into motion and animation, exploring how the identity could behave as a dynamic system rather than remaining purely static.
One of the most valuable aspects of the project was its international and highly collaborative setting. Bringing together students from different design schools revealed very different approaches to research, ideation and teamwork. It challenged me to be more open to unexpected ideas, to develop concepts through experimentation rather than over-planning, and to let the collective process influence the outcome.
The final result was a graphic toolbox for EuroFabrique, containing visual elements and design principles that can be used as a starting point for future editions of the project. The system is deliberately open-ended, allowing future designers to reinterpret the elements according to their own context while maintaining a connection to the overarching EuroFabrique identity.
For me, the project was an important experience in international collaboration, identity design, typography and visual systems. It also showed me how a flexible identity can create a shared visual language without restricting individual creative interpretations.
