NN Swinton is used for a current exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris:

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs invites visitors to step inside the intimate world of an eighteenth-century aristocratic residence and its inhabitants – masters, servants, and household animals.

Featuring more than 550 original objects, drawn from the museum’s collections and for most of them, rarely exhibited, ‘A Day in the Eighteenth Century: Chronicle of a Parisian Townhouse’ gather all fields of expression of the decorative arts – wood panelling and wallpapers, furniture, ceramics, silverware, clothing and fashion accessories, toys, and jewellery – to recreate the life of a Parisian hôtel particulier in the 1780s.

In a cinematic, sound-filled and scented atmosphere, the visitors wander from room to room as if they were close acquaintances, friends, or privileged guests of the family.

The exhibition is curated by Ariane James-Sarazin, Chief Heritage Curator responsible for the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century collections and the Nissim de Camondo collection, together with Sophie Motsch, Assistant Curator. The exhibition is designed by FREAKS Architecture.

Des Signes were commissioned by the Élysée together with the Musée national de l'histoire de l’immigration to design a commemorative plaque and a visual identity to mark all Algerian-French memorial sites.

The design studio explains:

We created a geometric and abstract monogram, resulting from the typographic interweaving of the a (algeria) and the f (france), but also revealing the d (dialogue), the P (« Partage » sharing ), the H (History).

At once a sign of identity, a nameplate and a digital relay, this ceramic and metal object highlights the issues and history of Algeria/France, while honoring the memories.

Made in collaboration with Grégory Rosenblat of porcelain workshop Ateliers Arquié and Boscher Signalétique. BallPill by Benoît Bodhuin is used for the typography of the monogram and the wordmark.

How do photographers represent natural or artificial materials? How do they interrogate matter using their own technical and artistic means? Why do they hybridize photography with the graphic arts or video? The question of matter runs through the history of photography. Putting matter to the test of photography and photography to the test of matter: this is the purpose of the BNF exhibition, from which this book has selected 40 photographs, followed by 4 essays from which a new matter emerges: that of reflection.

Under the supervision of Héloïse Conesa
Co-published by the(M) éditions and BnF Éditions

The design of this book was crafted by the French graphic design studio Des Signes, using the typefaces Exposure (Federico Parra-Barrios, 205TF) and GT America (Noël Leu, Grilli Type).

The book is available from the(M) éditions.

The latest book by Alain Damasio is a compilation of essays in witch he analyses the impact of the Silicon Valley on our contemporary lives. It is published as a joint effort between Villa Albertine, the French cultural institution based around the US, and Éditions du Seuil. As such, the cover inherits Villa Albertine’s identity, designed by studio Des Signes, with a custom typeface, OnTheRoad, developed in collaboration with Redouan Chetuan. The inside and back cover are set in Self Modern.