JOACHIM LAPOTRE _ SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
JOACHIM LAPOTRE
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Dear Wright team,
With over 15 years of experience in graphic design for some of the top advertising agencies in France, I have developed a deep expertise in visual communications, particularly within the luxury and cosmetics sectors. My professional journey has been marked by significant projects for prestigious brands such as L’Oréal, Dior, and Chanel, where I delivered innovative solutions that set industry standards.
In the early stages of my career, I played a pivotal role in creating Lancôme’s first website in 1998, establishing a benchmark for luxury digital presence in France. This project was just the beginning of a series of high-impact web and video works that earned recognition in prominent publications like Taschen’s "1000 Favorite Websites" and Agile Rabbit’s "WebDesign Index."
Transitioning to freelance work, I continued to collaborate with leading digital agencies like DDB Rapp Digital and Digitas, contributing to campaigns that were celebrated for their creativity and technical excellence. My work has always been driven by a commitment to superior design and effective cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring that each project meets the strategic objectives.
Eleven years ago, my career took a new turn when I moved from Paris to Chicago. Despite the initial challenges, I embraced the vibrant local design scene, continuously expanding my skill set. In Chicago, I launched a successful design gallery that served an elite clientele, including notable figures in the arts and entertainment sectors. This experience sharpened my skills, further enriching my professional repertoire.
As I seek to close my gallery and return to my roots in graphic design, I am particularly drawn to the opportunity at Design at Wright. I am eager to apply my extensive experience in web and print design, photography, and e-commerce to enhance Wright’s innovative projects. My background aligns seamlessly with your mission to lead the auction industry with groundbreaking visual strategies.
I am excited about the possibility of contributing to your team and would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my background, skills, and enthusiasms align with the goals of Wright. Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the possibility of discussing this exciting opportunity with you.
Warm regards,
Joachim Lapôtre
Photo Vogue France #758 (March 1998) "Nouveaux métiers". Me at my working computer with the Lancôme website homepage that I designed featuring a photo of Ines Sastre.
PHX GALLERY (2013-2024)
The branding of the gallery has evolved over the years, like me. The gallery started as Philolux, a name I created from Philo (to love/friend) and Lux (light). "Friend of light" or "I love light" was tailored for the gallery focusing on 1950s French, Italian and Scandinavian lighting. Two ancient European languages, like our designs are old European culture. It was an old money market so the codes were referring to traditional values in fine arts. With time I felt empowered enough to offer more adventurous pieces in the field of European Radical Design and American Postmodernism. I rebranded the gallery PHX Gallery because 3 letters is easier to remember and Gallery because our activity is more of a gallery than a vintage furniture dealer.
The website visual identity language is based on harmonious asymmetry of texts and images blocks. The asymmetry evoques sculptural forms, and the play of typography with text blocks/titles/menus evoques the 20th century avantgardes (the Bauhaus/Laszlo Moholo Nagy, the Russian avant-garde/El Lissitzky and the more contemporary Neville Brody and The Designer's Republic, who have kept this tradition alive in modern graphic design). An alternate rhythm of fullness and emptiness allows sculptural layouts but maintains harmony with more conservative readability, needs and standards. Playing with text gives a hierarchy of importance to the information on a page: it directs the viewer's attention, leading the reading path, and allowing one to find easily what they're looking for.
BRANDING - PHX GALLERY
I designed the zig-zag element as a new character in the alphabet: a double Z, in the manner of the letter W being a double V. It is a lightning bolt and a spring. It evokes striking power and creative energy. The colors were taken from a George Sowden and Nathalie du Pasquier wall clock, both masters of elegant color clash. The cobalt blue is synonimous of creativity, the neon green gives the bolt its electricity. I'm not fond of image-logos, I much prefer a Text/Font only logo for many reasons. However, I chose to make the PHX gallery logo for impact, and as a charismatic visual element that I can use to dress and brand communications.
EXHIBITION WEBPAGE - THE ARCHITECT'S BIRDHOUSES
WEBPAGES (with alternate versions for mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop). CLICK THE IMAGES TO VIEW THE LIVE VERSIONS
BLOG POST - THE FIORRUCI PALM TREE LAMP
WEBPAGES (with alternate versions for mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop). CLICK THE IMAGES TO VIEW THE LIVE VERSIONS
PRODUCT PAGE - STANLEY TIGERMAN & MARGARET MC CURRY MAILBOX for THE MARKUSE CORP
WEBPAGES (with alternate versions for mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop). CLICK THE IMAGES TO VIEW THE LIVE VERSIONS
HOME PAGE SLIDES - FOR NEW PRODUCTS, EXHIBITIONS and AUCTIONS
Full screen slides for new products, exhibitions and auctions.
CATALOG PDF - PLATFORM for BLACK BOX at CONVERSO
A proposal of exhibitions cycle for Chicago dealer CONVERSO.
CATALOG PDF - THIS IS NOT A CHAIR, PANEL DISCUSSION by DOYLE & THE INTERSECT at THE PALMSPRINGS ART FAIR
A talk about postmodern chairs in collaboration with Doyle and The Intersect at the Palmsprings Art Fair. Cancelled due to covid.
CATALOG PRINT - PHILOLUX TRADE CATALOG 2, 2016
A5 format catalogs that where added to every purchase and sent to the gallery's regulars.
CATALOG PRINT - PHILOLUX TRADE CATALOG 3, 2016
A5 format catalogs that where added to every purchases and sent to the gallery's regulars.
CATALOG PDF - MASSIMO MARIANI at FUORI SALONE 2022
Exhibition proposal.
CATALOG PDF - SOURCING CATALOG
PDF presenting some early Studio Alchimia pieces for sourcing from Italy.
3D - NUAGE CLOUD SOFA
Entirely made with sketchup because it allows fast work with simple concepts. The isometric render has a stereotypical aesthetic, making it artchitectural and eye candy.
3D - PLIAGE FOLDS TABLES
Simple ideas modeled in Autodesk Fusion360. An assorted set of tables.
3D - ANTENNAE FLOOR LAMPS
Simple ideas modeled in Autodesk Fusion360.
CREATIVE PHOTOMONTAGE - ICELANDIC FASHION BOOK by CHARLIE STRANDT
Photomontages made from model photos shot by Charlie Strandt in his home studio, which I mixed with volcano photos. Charlie Strandt gave me carte blanche.
NET ART - BPOEM 2002
BPoeM is a music composer entirely made in flash from scratch (coding and design). The name is a contraction of "bpm" (beats per minute, used for tempo in electronic music) and "Poem". Inspired by the low-fi electronic music and the pixel art style, this music composer can play random notes. It was selected as a finalist for the first Flash Festival in France (2002) at the prestigious Beaubourg museum in Paris. It was also published in the reference book "Taschen's 1000's favorite websites". BPoem was a real technical breakthrough at that time ,when everybody was struggling to sync sounds in flash. http://jlapotre.free.fr/bpoem/bpoem.html
NET ART - FLASH WEBSITE AND CD-ROM 2002
GEO.GRAPHIC is a mind game inspired by milllitary surveillance software, which has been a hot topic after 9/11 during the Ben Laden search, and satellite photo imagery that I'd been fascinated with for ages. I drew the faces from most wanted mugshots and modified some satellite maps, in vectors. Each map appears element by element, quickly coming together into highly stylized maps with red dots. Each red dot opens another door. The purpose of this puzzle is to click all the red dots to visit the 12 maps.
NET ART - MOST WANTED (FREEDOM)
Another NetArt project around the idea of satellite maps and most wanted criminals mugshots following 9/11. This time, an algorithm is choosing a random face among the 24 I drew. The faces float on the white surface and stick to other elements. The accumulations of hand drawn faces create a map with its roads and ramifications.
VIDEO - PARIS SYNDROME
A short animation entirely made from pictures I shot in Paris and animated in a 3D space in After Effect. The dark side of Paris.
NET ART / VIDEO - THE GREAT ESCAPE, 2004
Video depicting man's colonisation of nature. Made with Flash. Exhibited at VIDEO MINUTO 2004 (Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci Prato Italy) and shortlisted among the best 10 videos ever submitted.
Originally made as an interactive animation to perform live video with an electronic musician's performance during the French electronic arts festival, Pi Days Electronic Arts Festival at Contemporary Museum of Lyon (France). I defined keys on my keyboard that triggered elements separately in my animation to deploy the video in sync with the music improvisation. I later remade the animation in a one minute format to submit to the festival VIDEO MINUTO where it was shortlisted and exhibited. Back from the festival, I turned this 1 minute video into a 100% homemade dvd, a limited edition of 50 copies, signed and numbered, and they quickly sold out at the Beaubourg museum and Palais de Tokyo libraries. I used tracing paper in my home printer for the DVD cover, letting appear the inside soft-blue DVD in a glowy and elegant fashion despite the cold and clinical vector visual elements. Several influencial personalities purchased the DVD which was followed by opportunities: The GreatEscape was well reviewed by Ariel Kyrou in the French cultural magazine Chronic'Arts, and the most reverred French advertising think-tank LEGS shared the video in their newsletter reserved to their best consulting customers.
White urban elements grow in waves in untamed nature landscapes. Gradually nature falls apart and humans flee earth in rocketships under the white flash of a global atomic explosion. A simple tale about la follie des hommes. The eerie sound was specifically created by Italian electronic arts duo Fantasmagramma (from Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli).
FLASH WEBSITE - SHOWROOM ROMEO
My first freelance job directly for the customer without an agency. A flash website for a Parisian fashion showroom, dedicated for designers' private showings during Fashion Week. I was given a set of photos and a logo to make a website showing the interior of the showroom for rent without any directives. I chose to draw in vecotrs the silhouette of each element to highlight them. Moving the cursor/mouse over the shapes make them fade out, revealing a part of the photo behind. Discovering the full photo, element by element becomes a beautiful game/toy.
The background sound brings life and depth to the photos and experience: I used vinyl soft crackling sounds and my heartbeat to emphasize the emotional aspect of the discovery of the place.
FLASH WEBSITE - DESCAMPS, HOW TO BECOME A FRANCHISE
DIGITAS/BUSINESS INTERACTIF hired me to create for their client DESCAMPS, a similar experience to SHOWROOM ROMEO (above). They wanted the same effect of vector shapes fading to reveal a photograph for their store. DESCAMPS is a French luxury linens brand with an important chain of stores. In full expansion, they needed a website that explained didacticaly how to become a franchise. The website was mostly text slides that I embellished with beautiful didactic vector animations of people moving in a few frames.
