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F
rench graphic designer, illustrator
and motion artist Guillaume
Castagné – known professionally
as Guillaumit – loves a creative challenge.
He’s worked on diverse projects for clients
including Orange, Sony and the Pompidou
Centre, and is more than happy to dive
into a subject he knows nothing about,
and come out the other side the master
of a new medium. Guillaumit’s work
can be recognised through his use of
geometric shapes, vibrant block colours
and humorous characters, which he uses
to tell stories that walk the line between
poignant and ridiculous.
Here he shares insights into his career
so far, from creating a new type of carnival
to taking on the world as one half of
music-design duo Gangpol & Mit.How would you describe your style?
I usually work with simple shapes and
plain colours, but I always bear in mind
that there are numerous possibilities
and I enjoy experimenting with different
contexts and subjects. I especially care
about the relationship between the
posters and the external environment.Your work covers graphic design,
illustration, motion and more. Which
would you say is your main passion?
I really couldn’t say. My illustrations will
inspire my costumes, my animations will
nourish my books... it’s my own recipe
and I’m comfortable with this process.What’s your professional background –
did you study design?
My career path is unusual. I went to
university to study art, but also studied
video and cinema. I was digging the New
Wave! As my studies were ending, I met
Gangpol [musician Sylvain Quément]
who asked me to produce an artwork for
his record and then a music video. It went
very well and I dropped out of university
to film and document concerts all around
the world. We did this for 10 years.
Those live videos gave me the
opportunity to meet many passionate
and singular artists. As time went by,
I received a lot of commissions for posters
and illustrations. For the past five yearsI’ve mainly worked on commissions and
a lot of personal work.What’s been the biggest challenge in
your career so far?
There have been two key challenges.
The first was when I decided to drop out
of university to devote all my time to
live videos with Gangpol & Mit, and the
second was when I decided to move into
the Fabrique Pola to achieve my personal
plans and projects. It’s where I work every
day. Architects, designers, plastic artists
and other creators work alongside each
other in one building. This place is also an
amazing exhibition space, enabling us to
experiment and offer alternative ideas.You have many different talents. What
drives you to learn new things?
My favourite stage is the start of a project.
I like having a new frame of work; new
circumstances. I don’t have one job that
I keep repeating – I change my approach
for every project. I try to understand the
circumstances and what my clients expect
from me. Then, depending on what we
discuss, I have to come up with a world
that has many creative possibilities.
What’s even more exciting is when
I don’t know anything about the medium.If I’m okay with everything, I dive in head-
first. It was an incredible experience to
create my first sculptures and drawing
boards with Zébra3. Seeing all of these
people using them was very satisfying.Tell us about Zébra3...
It’s a group of former fine art students
who gathered together to create pieces for
contemporary designers and artists. They
have a workshop at Fabrique Pola, where
they create many different pieces using
a range of techniques. I occasionally do
workshops with them. They know how to
listen to artists, understand their needs
and what’s at stake.What’s been your favourite project of the
past year, and why?
There are two projects that I’m proud
of. One of them is Globozone [more on
page 63] and the other is the Augmented
Carnival. The carnival’s organisers placed
a lot of trust in me, which enabled me to
do all the crazy things I had in mind, and
I still managed to bring those things to a
level that I was happy with.You’ve been the art director for Bordeaux
Carnival for the past three years. What
does that involve?
It involves managing a rather big team
of artists, musicians, dancers and
volunteers. My primary goal is to make
people want to move forward with a
project they all understand. This is why
I need to be passionate about the subject,
or it just won’t work. It’s a huge challenge
to communicate my ideas – to create a
design scheme that can bring 40,000
people out into the streets.You mentioned the Augmented Carnival
earlier. Tell us about the idea behind
this, and how you brought it to life.
I came with one question: what does
carnival mean to people in 2020? What
does it involve in this time of digital
tools, augmented reality, Snapchat apps,
Instagram and all its many filters?
I offered to work on facial recognition,
street masks, hacking, coding and so on.
We created an augmented reality app that
makes crazy animations appear on ourIN CONVERSATION WITH
“It’s a huge challenge
to create a design
scheme that can bring
40,000 people out
into the streets”