Atelier Jérôme Knebusch
Mainzer Landstraße 105
60329 Frankfurt am Main
jk [at] jeromeknebusch.net
+49 69 15 61 60 23

Durandus, Hochschule Mainz, Gutenberg Museum, 2016.

Until the advent of talking pictures, cinema had been referred to as silent. To compensate for the absence of sound, films were punctuated by numerous ‘intertitles’ containing a fixed text, interspersed among the sequences of moving images. Intertitles could be hand-painted on thick paper or glass plates, using brushes or round-tipped nibs, by teams of letterers capable of producing up to 100 cards a day. Yet today we know almost nothing about these technically gifted craftsmen. However, at the end of the 1910s, in the United States, the name of a technician occasionally appeared in the film credits: that of Victor Vance, a letterer associated with the Warner Bros. studio. His distinctive style of lettering, constant over the years, was based on a virtuosic use of the brush. Considered a ‘title-artist’, he also wrote in 1930 an article on how to paint intertitles. This account sheds valuable and precise light on the methods used to produce intertitles and the way these objects were viewed at the time. Written by Julien Van Anholt and edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series.

Title
Victor Vance, title-artist
Date
2025
Type
Editorial design
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Pamphlet
Publisher
Poem

Victor Vance, title-artist, Julien Van Anholt, Poem, Frankfurt am Main, 2025.

Design of the exhibition signage panels and outdoor visuals of the Brave New World Order – Triennale Jeune Création held at Rotondes and Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain in 2021. The young art triennale is a major event for emerging artists from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Initiated during Luxembourg European Capital of Culture 2007, the Triennale was held for the fifth time in 2021. The identity integrated the custom design of a typefaces in two styles. See here for more information on the design of the catalogue. Here for more information on the general design. And here for the website.

Title
Triennale Jeune Création
Date
2021
Type
Visual identity
Client
Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg
Place
Luxembourg City
Material
Signage
Scenography
Morgan Fortems

Brave New World Order – Triennale Jeune Création, Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain, 2021.

Sophie Dubosc. Avec ou sans raison, Sophie Dubosc, Frac Normandie, Rouen, 2016.

Europa String Quartet, Marienkirche, Berlin, 2009.

Conference given at ISType Mono series, Istanbul, in 2014. Instant is an anachronic type family going from thin, quick handwritten letters to stable, black typographic shapes. Each of the five styles correspond to a singular design related to a specific stroke speed and weight: Vivid, Quick, Regular, Slow, Heavy. Hommage to the poet, painter and writer Henri Michaux (1899 – 1984), it questions fundamental differences between handwriting and typography, type family consistency and the relation and usage of roman, bold and cursive faces. More informations on Instant here. Video link below.

Title
Instant: from handwriting to type design
Date
2014
Type
Research
Client
ISType
Place
Istanbul
Material
Conference
Video
IStype Mono 2014

Instant: from handwriting to type design, conference, ISType Mono, Istanbul, 2014.

Biography, 2003-2018 [folded], Poem, Frankfurt am Main, 2019. Published by Poem Original artworks here

Chercher sa recherche, Ministère de la culture, ENSAD Nancy, 2012. Published by Presses Universitaires Nancy.

Instant is an anachronic type family going from thin, quick handwritten letters to stable, black typographic shapes. Each of the five styles correspond to a singular design related to a specific stroke speed and weight: Vivid, Quick, Regular, Slow, Heavy. Hommage to the poet, painter and writer Henri Michaux (1899 – 1984), it questions fundamental differences between handwriting and typography, type family consistency and the relation and usage of roman, bold and cursive faces. Instant was designed by Jérôme Knebusch in 2005 as part of a personal research project at ANRT Nancy. First published in 2012 by BAT Foundry, it is today available at Poem. In 2020, Instant Variable was added to the collection.

Title
Instant Variable
Date
2020
Type
Type design, Research
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Retail typeface
Award
Typo­graphica 2012
Award
Best ten fonts of the year, Fontwerk 2012
Publication
Poem

Instant Variable, typeface, 2020. Published by Poem.

‘La page projetée. Livres fictionnels au cinéma’ [The projected page. Fictionnal books in movies] is a pedagogical project led by the Institut Page at ESAL Metz, in collaboration with Léo Coquet, Elamine Maecha, and the institute's students. We analyzed existing films that feature fictional books – books that appear only on screen and were never actually edited or published. These books are often reduced to their physical appearance as cinematic props, typically limited to a cover. Yet they actively contribute to the narrative and, in some cases, even extend it. The research project was presented during The 2024 Biennale Exemplaires in Valence and a one-day symposium in Metz, featuring Agatha Masa, officeabc, Alice Planes, and Pierre Leguillon. This event was promoted via social media and a printed poster. A (filled) popcorn cup was handed out at the entrance of the symposium, with the program printed on it.

Title
La page projetée
Date
2024
Type
Research, Visual identity, Editorial design
Client
ESAL Metz
Place
Metz
Material
Poster portfolio, popcorn cup, ads
Publisher
ESAL Metz
Editors
Léo Coquet, Elamine Maecha, Jérôme Knebusch
Texts
Léo Coquet, Emilia Bernard, Corentin Ferry, Alix Hetreux, Yu-Chien Huang, Maddy Lepage, Théo Michaud, Gabin Nivard, Léa Pesant, Valentine Poulet, Erwan Wilhelm
Photography
Léo Coquet
Typeface
Bureau Grotesque
Printing
Édicolor, Bain-de-Bretagne, pok Büroartikel, Berlin, ESAL Metz
Copies
400
ISBN
979-10-90886-22-3

La page projetée. Livres (fictionnels) au cinéma, research symposium, ESAL Metz, 2023. Visual identity, w/ Institut Page

Pedagogical materiality covers all media, tools, objects, toys and devices dedicated to the transmission of knowledge. In short, all the ‘things' which accompany educational activity, regardless of the place in which it occurs. Because this materiality is expressed in terms of properties perceptible through the senses, its uses are particularly popular throughout the pre-school period and in early-learning methods. Éloïsa Pérez's essay discusses examples from the early 19th century until today. It is structured in three parts: constructing (the letter), guiding (the movement through trajectory and tracing) and composing (the word). The pamphlet is accompanied by the edition of an exclusive capital lettering template and two postcards. Edited by Alice Savoie and Jérôme Knebusch in the Poem Pamphlet series. Translated into English by Nigel Briggs.

Title
The material discovery of the alphabet
Date
2021
Type
Editorial design
Client
Poem
Place
Frankfurt am Main
Material
Pamphlet
Publication
Poem

The material discovery of the alphabet, Éloïsa Pérez, Poem, Frankfurt am Main, 2021. Published by Poem.

Un mot, un matériau, École Française de Saarbruck et Dilling, 2008.

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