The certificate of release is one of the important documents of daily life in this period of confinement. Purely procedural at first glance, this paper hides its game well: its font conceals a rich graphic history that the graphic designer Valentin Socha reveals in a short instructive video.
"I thought it was quite interesting to start from a rather dull and bureaucratic medium like an administrative form to bring out a history that goes back to antiquity, with political stakes", explains the graphic designer, head of the Parisian collaborative design workshop LabBoîte.
Marianne, the government typeface..
In fact, the exit certificate is one of the very first official documents to use the new state font. Since February 10, 2020, France has indeed had a true visual identity, complete and harmonized, including graphic composition rules, its trademark block, the motto of the French Republic, color codes and font.
The exit certificate - like the health instructions of the French government - allows you to become familiar with this typeface: Marianne.
Letters inspired by the History of France
In his 3:43 video entitled The Marianne, a state typography, Valentin Socha analyses this typeface designed by the typographer Mathieu Réguer.
It says that capital letters are based on the monumental capitals also called Roman capitals, which were engraved on the fronts of ancient Roman monuments.
As for lowercase letters, Mathieu Réguer was inspired by the garamond Police of the 16th century engraver Claude Garamont. "Garamond's imprint on our heritage is considerable, so much so that his creations have contributed to the influence of French literature throughout the world. His use in the works of the prestigious Bibliothèque de la Pléiade is one of the best examples."
Behind a typography, a political issue
Then Valentin Socha looks at the reasons for this new visual identity and the political stakes.
He tells us: "Beyond the historical references that were summoned and that echoed in me, I was very interested in the issues surrounding a state typography. Already by the repercussions of the project, which concerns millions of citizens, but also by its highly political dimension, quite rare in a graphic design project."
According to him, "in the post-Yellow Vests context, the State understood that it had to make its services and its action more legible for citizens; the choice of a new typeface also goes in this direction and I wanted to ask about the social role that typography is given."
"Without going so far as to exaggerate the role of (typo)graphic design, it's still a heavy responsibility and a pretty big stake!" he remarks.
