Pourquoi Paris?
Paris 2024 has gone for a modernised Art Deco look, and I am absolutely there for it. The clean lines mixed with subtle colours, a little bit of gradient and hints of different shapes pushes all my happy design buttons. But to me, Paris is full of curves, Art Nouveau-style and fin-de-siècle* engineering. This could be because the first time I went to Paris I was still at school and had recently done Art Nouveau in art class, or was making an Art Nouveau bench in craft & design... I can't remember fully... But what I do remember is walking around Paris and seeing those curves and flourishes everywhere**. Menus, ironwork, train tickets. I loved it all. So when doing the art prints for Paris 2024 Olympics & Paralympics, I really wanted to incorporate that vibe into the posters because it makes me happy and nostalgic, and to me it sums up Paris. An older Paris perhaps, but a point of difference to the official branding.
*A fancy term used to describe the end of the 19th century - thanks pointless degree for that bon mot.
**There were also posters promoting the new Men in Black film everywhere at that time too but these art prints aren't inspired by that thankfully. There's maybe another time and place for that type of design.
