BMD DESIGN | AWARDED & FEATURED PROJECTS

6-Page Feature on BMD Design : The clattering of machines can be heard, the smell of gasoline fills our nostrils, and letters dance and stretch, soaked in black or blue ink, traced by expert hands. The work of BMD Design studio transports us to the United States in the 1930s. Yet, behind these three letters hides Bruno Michaud, who founded his studio in the early 2000s in Bordeaux. (...)

2-Page Feature on BMD Design : The rapid pace of change in the creative, commercial, and social spheres has generated uncertainty among illustrators, art directors, and brands. But with imagination and creativity, illustrators are mapping new ways of visualizing and experiencing our fast-changing world. It is hard to imagine more uncertain or more exciting times for the art of illustration, risk and excitement often go hand-in-hand, and I wish I had an illustrator to picture the idea, the story, and emotional textures of this moment. (...)

2-Page Feature on BMD Design : Taking the pulse of creativity around the world. When we founded Behance in 2006, we were on a mission to empower creatives to make their ideas happen. We believed that if we brought artists and designers from all over the world together to share their portfolios, we could increase the chances of great work getting noticed and connect creatives with opportunity at every level. (...)

4-Page Feature on BMD Design : The clatter of machinery is heard, the smell of gasoline enters our nostrils, the letters dance and stretch, slips of black or blue ink, drawn by expert hands. The work of BMD projects us into France in the 1930s. Yet behind these three letters hides Bruno Michaud, who created his Bordeaux studio in early 2001. A graphic designer in the early 1990s in Toulouse, Bruno has retained a love for craftsmanship—the one before the computer. Rotring pens, pencil, cutter, glue, brush, roughs... working by hand takes more time, but it allows him to be one with what he creates and stimulates all his senses. (...)

1-Page Feature on BMD Design : Spending time in nature is a humbling and inspiring experience. From the adventurer who sets out to conquer the highest peaks and overcome the greatest of physical challenges to a group of friends sitting around the glowing warmth of a campfire on a cold fall night, there are endless opportunities to enjoy our vast and open landscapes. In previous times, a true outdoor lifestyle was a choice that few made. (...)

6-Page Feature on BMD Design : It should be simple. Simple enough to be drawn in the sand with your big toe, as German graphic designer and typographer Kurt Weidemann once claimed. Yet it also has to stand for a large, complex whole. Whether it is for a young start-up or a large multinational corporation, the logo has a paradoxical task. Like the cell of a living creature, it bears within it all the information of the organism. Hence, reduced to the essence of the brand it represents, the logo was long considered untouchable.

6-Page Feature on BMD Design : A graduate of the School of Graphic Arts in Toulouse, France, Bruno Michaud learnt graphic design in the most organic way possible, putting pencil to paper rather than using a computer. To this day, he does everything by hand, something that brings authenticity to his creations and has consequently seen his work grace the products of some of the biggest brands across the globe. All my training is based on the handmade. I love trends that generate authenticity and dreams. I do not like the cold trends made 100 per cent with a computer. "Working manually, it takes longer but allows [the artist to] be one with what he creates, stimulating all the senses. Today, the handmade creates a craze, and many brands are turning to its values." (...)

6-Page Feature on BMD Design : Logos and marks express the identity of brands and shops, as well as the appeal of services and products. Among them, we have gathered emblem and badge-style designs from around the world that place particular emphasis on frames and decorative elements. Decorative logos used in a wide variety of contexts and situations contain many design insights hidden within their details. This is a collection of examples that both designers and non-designers can enjoy by observing the finer points and use as a source of inspiration. (...)

2-Page Feature on BMD Design : Bruno's work, better known under the name BMD Design, is an invitation to travel… through time! Based in Bordeaux, he has specialized in hand-drawn typography, with his work characterized by graphic combinations of textures created using watercolor and pencil. His work is highly artisanal, as everything is made by hand before being scanned for retouching and color. A motorcycle enthusiast, this universe is strongly present in his work. (...)

10-Page Feature on BMD Design : Behind these three letters stands Bruno, who founded his own studio in 2001. Due to his training as a graphic designer, Bruno has kept a special place in his heart for handcrafted work, the way things were done before computers, with pencils and paper, scissors and glue, brushes, sketches, handwritten compositions, etc. Working with your hands may take longer, but allows you to have a better connection with what you are creating, stimulating your senses. The term "handmade" is currently becoming a style in and of itself, and many large brands are becoming interested in the values that it imparts: authenticity, savoir-faire, going "back to the basics." Handcrafted work gives people a sense of calm and inspires confidence. (...)

8-Page Feature on BMD Design : Today, the idea of a graphic design education without the inclusion of computing technologies would be considered absurd. While hand-drawing curriculums are still a part of most modern courses, digital tools are undoubtedly the focus. And though their merits need no rationalisation, the loops of instant feedback have certainly shifted the learning process to a significantly automated one. The byproduct of this is a curious situation where, in the future, there may very well be a generation of creatives who never put pen to paper. This is a thought Bruno remains optimistic about. (...)

6-Page Feature on BMD Design : "The clattering of machines can be heard, the smell of gasoline fills our nostrils, and letters dance and stretch, soaked in black or blue ink, traced by expert hands. The work of BMD Design studio transports us to the United States in the 1930s. Yet, behind these three letters hides Bruno Michaud, who founded his studio in the early 2000s in Bordeaux." (...)

2-Page Feature on BMD Design : BMD Design began its work in 2001 in Bordeaux. Bruno Michaud, the founder of BMD Design, specialized in works within the fields of art, typography, and textile design, working for labels such as Rip Curl (Hossegor), Fuel, or Levi's. In addition, several advertising agencies in Toulouse are among his clients. Michaud holds a degree in graphic design from the Pôle des Arts Graphiques (Jolimont), though he prefers to describe himself as a "scriptograph." (...)

1-Page Feature on BMD Design : La popularité du lettrage (lettering) et de la calligraphie s'explique avant tout par le fait qu'ils transmettent plus d'émotion et d'authenticité qu'une police de caractères standard — des qualités qui ont aujourd'hui une importance considérable. Enfin, la tendance pour la nostalgie et le vintage ne faiblit pas. Jan Middendorp soutient que le lettrage est si populaire parce que beaucoup de gens ne savent plus écrire eux-mêmes et aiment donc utiliser une police manuscrite ou faire appel à un artiste de l'écriture. (...)

2-Page Feature on BMD Design : I do love to draw and I'm sure you must, too; otherwise, why crack the spine of this book? Being an illustrator gives me good reason to say I love to draw, yet I also love design. Let me draw on graph paper, let me draw the label on this package or the cover of that book. I never questioned the melding of drawing and design, so it is no surprise that this book is for me to write and for you to read and use! (...)

7-Page Feature on BMD Design : Bruno, a talented professional graphic designer, devotes himself to a genre that is very rare today: "scriptography." For him, the Letter with a capital L is not just the mother of well-ordered, or even polished, typography. No, he sees it instead as a movement, a gesture, and a way to express an entire universe by choosing the forms and finishes necessary for a purely artistic expression before being essentially commercial, even if that is his profession. His drawings are reminiscent of the sign painters of a bygone era, who were replaced by adhesive vinyl and laser cutting. Here, everything is handmade, and he takes pride in it: "I use the computer to finalize documents intended for distribution, but all my work relies on my brushes, my inks, and my papers. I don't draw with a mouse or a graphics tablet; I scrape, I trace, I paint." (...)