GILIANE CACHIN

Giliane Cachin studied graphic design in Geneva for 3 years before graduating with a Bachelor in graphic design at the ECAL in Lausanne. The Swiss Design Award 2015 enabled her a residency in New York, where she made one research per day – a daily list of things that caught her attention, from type designs to medieval rules. This research project will result in a newspaper, containing all the references she found during her journey through the United States, and thus to be shared by the readers.

In our interview she explains why design is always a mixture between experimentation and organization.

Giliane Cachin
1:108:8
Giliane Cachin
1:108:8

What is the task of design?

It’s a mix between experimentation and organization. Facing a new mandate, I will experiment to define the tone of the project and organize my time from the prior knowledge to the final deadline. I will experiment to create the tools that I need and organize the content I have been provided with or found out by myself. I will experiment to find out what will be the object, organize the structure of my project, experiment to find a right way to show it and organize the space.

How does design change life?

Dreaming in my childhood of becoming an astronaut to finally become a designer has definitely changed my life.

Is good design invisible?

I would say the opposite. I think a good design can make elements visible.

Must design create something new?

Setting a new printed train timetable doesn’t reinvent anything, but it can be a good demonstration of design.

Which designer influenced you?

I don’t think I have an idol, but before becoming independent, the reason I decided to work in different studios was mainly to face the various ways of doing design. One day I wanted to be able to reproduce the elements that suited me best. So, at some point, I was definitively influenced by people around me, people I have been working with or used to: Norm, Cornel Windlin, amongst others.