Alumni: Pierre-Alexis and Vincent, Les Zincs

MEETING WITH PIERRE-ALEXIS (aka PA) & VINCENT, FROM THE BRANDING AGENCY "THE ZINC", GRADUATES FROM THE INTUIT LAB SCHOOL!

Hello PA, 

Who are you? 

I'm Pierre-Alexis Génard, co founder et manager from the branding studio ZincSince 2013.

Lyonnais by birth and by heart, I live in the 11th district in Paris, I am 29 years old and often knock against furniture.

What is your background?

I carried out a large part of my schooling in Lyon, including my first year post Bac in probation at the Emile Cohl school.

I then arrived at the'' Intuit Lab School, in Aix-en-Provence. I met there Basile, Vincent and Thibault who became my partners a few years later. I was not necessarily the hardest worker but my investment in the life of the school and the positive energy that I was trying to put in earned me the congratulations of the director at the end of Master 1.

The four of us went up in Paris for the Master 2, alternately. I worked three weeks a month in a creative strategy agency, Nouveloeuvre (which unfortunately no longer exists today) and my former boss helped me a lot in my professional development! The idea of ​​founding a studio with friends has always been present and has become more and more important during this year 2012/2013. At the end of our contracts, when we were offered positions, we decided to launch Les Zinc directly (name which refers to our past in Aix, and which means cousin in verlan)!

Today there are seven of us collaborating in new and beautiful premises, in the 20th district in Paris!

What did you like during your studies at Intuit Lab School?

I really enjoyed my years of study at the Aix-en-Provence campus: the city offered a really nice student life (the weather is nice from March to November) and at the school, which is human size, we were evolving in an almost family atmosphere, in a small committee, with the teachers who have time to exchange, discuss and make us understand things.

I also loved my six months in Montreal, in the first semester of Master 1. We were two of our class to be in internship in a very good Branding / Packaging agency (at Valois). It was the Intuit Lab School that offered us this internship: it was really the bomb! We were very invested in the agency's projects but we also had the time to make the most of it! Thibault, one of my associates, was on an exchange in Quebec and we were able to spend quite a few weekends together: Montreal also offers a hectic student life, and I have fond memories of it!

And finally what I liked more generally is the state of mind: the Intuit Lab School really has this side human et nice, which allows us to grow in a serene and stable environment. The school really taught us to think carefully, and to give meaning to our jobs.

I also think that the work-study year is a real plus, which allows a transition between school and the professional jungle 😉

What's your job ?

Today, I am Studio Manager. Over the years, we have divided roles according to our professional and personal skills, and also our desires. My role is to manage the studio and its development, canvass and prospect new clients, manage projects. I participate in the creative process of projects by taking part in creative and strategic thinking, in the concept of projects, but I no longer do creative work as such.

What makes you vibrate?

Synergy ! It may seem odd to say that, but it's true. I take great pleasure in working in the studio. My associates are my friends, almost brothers! We also maintain a very relaxed, even friendly, relationship with our employees and our service providers: Les Zinc is almost a second family. The goal is really to work in a good mood, with positive and optimistic energy to take pleasure in everyday life.

This mindset also allows us to maintain excellent relationships with our customers and collaborators, whether small structures or large groups.

Your landmark project?

Andy!

Andy is a Branding project that we carried out last year, for a real estate consulting firm.

The client is young, very friendly and ambitious: he wanted to break the codes of what already existed and trusted us by giving us carte blanche.

From naming to the site, via the logo and the brand territory, we have designed the entire brand.

In terms of creation, we were able to go far in our concept: the fable. The brand is a fairly simple metaphor between the city and the jungle, and we were able to have fun!

I think this is one of the most complete projects we have carried out, with a large team (several designers, a project manager, a copywriter, a motion designer, two developers…) and which really shows what we like to do: create creative brands and deploy them as much as possible 🙂

https://heyandy.fr/

What do you recommend for future creations like you?

I necessarily advise them toundertake ! After I know that it does not necessarily correspond to everyone, but it's still the best to feel free, and to do things as you hear them. Design offers so many great possibilities that I think it's important to know what we want to do, what we really like and to stick to it to avoid drifting and ending up doing uninteresting work for uninteresting projects.

It’s a profession of passion, a personal approach linked to a vision of life, a state of mind, an ambition for the future: you have to be invested, curious, and resist the dark drifts of marketing!

Thank you PA! : )

Hello Vincent,

Who are you ?

I'm Vincent Hennebert,

co founder et Lead Designer in the studio The Zinc.

I am 29 years old, I work and I live in Paris.

What is your background?

After doing the Master 1 at the Intuit Lab School in Aix-en-Provence and Ie Master 2 at the Paris campus en alternation at the W & Cie Branding agency, I founded the studio Zinc with Basile, Pierre-Alexis and Thibault. We have been working together for almost 7 years now and we are now 7 full-time people.

What did you like during your studies at Intuit Lab School?

3 very specific moments marked my studies.

First: MANAA (Applied Arts Upgrade which no longer exists)

Having a scientific BAC, I was not at all intended for studies in visual communication and graphic design. At the time, it was unthinkable for me to combine my passion for drawing and higher education.

This is why this first year of studies was a real revelation for me. Having a rather illustrative profile (the computer tool was completely unknown to me at the time), the MANAA allowed me to explore different more interesting materials than the others such as drawing nudes, sketching outdoors or even illustration. It thus allowed me to multiply my skills in terms of visual arts. Drawing, coloring, painting, cutting, gluing, laminating were part of my daily life as a student: what a pleasure!

Secondly: MASTER 1

Over the years, my passion for drawing has gradually changed. The use of IT and the arrival of new materials such as typography, layout or visual concepts in increasingly complete projects have gradually changed my perception of the profession: we are not talking more plastic arts, but applied arts.

This fourth year was marked by its intensive pace. After having completed a 4-month internship in Paris, the Master 1 is condensed into six months. Added to this is the publishing project, the end-of-year project and the continuous monitoring… I didn't sleep much, I spent my nights behind my computer, the word "cart" was part of my everyday language, but it is always with so much motivation, passion and pleasure that I embraced this year! Results : I finished Major of my promotion 😉

Thirdly: the MASTER 2

With the Masters I in my pocket, I decide with 3 other comrades from Aix-en-Provence (who will become my associates) to do the 5th year in Paris. A new adventure begins. The capital, its rhythm and its hectic life immediately conquered me.

The final stage of the course, this year is decisive, because it really helps to reduce the gap between studies and the professional world. In fact, the work-study program combined with the school's workshop weeks allowed me, still very much a student in the profession, to professionalize myself. I emerged from a human and professional standpoint.

Another important point, this year was the beginning of the studio, because we were already working for our first clients. With the Masters 2 in hand, we decide to set up the studio despite some attractive proposals for some of my associates.

What's your job ?

Over the years, we have implemented agency methods and processes while keeping the creativity and flexibility of a studio. Within Zinc, I am Lead Designer. I work mainly on projects of Branding andvisual identity.

I am an integral part of the process Creative from the studio Brief with the Project Manager and  client, on second thought strategic with our strator to the graphic design. I supervise the creative teams of the studio with a specialization rather Print.

What makes you vibrate?

First of all, it's the creation that makes me vibrate.

Creativity as a whole: strategic thinking, creative concepts and graphic design.

I am a designer by training and I remained a designer in the studio. What has changed now is that we have employees, the management is an integral part of my job. Sharing and passing on my know-how to the next generation of designers is something that touches me and that I take very seriously.

Your landmark project?

The Techno Parade.

It's quite funny, because when I arrived in Paris I participated in the event.

H5 took care of all the communication and I found it rather ... disappointing to tell the truth.

In 2016 we decide to participate in the contest and bingo, the project is for us!

We had chosen a design that was more plastic than graphic: torn paper, collage, and scan allowed us to inject a “street” look into the event. It is not necessarily the most “branding” project of the studio, but precisely, the ambition of our response was to create consistency from year to year and thus anchor the Techno Parade in an identity that is specific to it. . Successful bet ! We continued to work on the communication of the event for the next three years until the 20th anniversary of the event in 2018.

What could be more rewarding than seeing the deployment of his work on tanks traveling through the city of Paris!

What do you recommend for future creations like you?

I advise them to remain passionate and curious.

This job is a job of passion and curiosity is the driving force.

Thank you Vincent : )