Please introduce yourself and tell us about your creative journey so far.

Hi! My name is Alice Bottigliero and I am a graphic designer and illustrator. Born in 1995 to a German mother and a French-Italian father, I grew up in Burgundy immersed in its heritage of culinary arts and fine produce.

In 2010 I joined a boarding school of applied arts called Alain Colas where I studied different design disciplines for three years. Once I graduated, I chose to specialise in Graphic Design, with an instinctive sensibility for colours, textures and printed media. In 2013 I was admitted to the National School of Applied Arts and Crafts, Olivier de Serres, based in Paris. I graduated with my BTS in 2015, and two years later, in 2017, my SAAD (Superior Applied Art Diploma).

As soon as I left school I moved to Bordeaux where I founded my graphic design studio, Forme Brute, specialising in work for cultural, environmental and gastronomic client sectors. I also illustrate and take collage commissions under my own name.

Where are you based? Does your location influence your work?

I am currently based in Bordeaux and I actually think it does influence my work. Or maybe who I am working with. I’m very happy and grateful to have been able to build a local network, little by little. I would say that it is a place where gastronomy and cultural events thrive, and this is certainly not to my displeasure as those are my preferred fields!

What are your favourite papers to work with, and why?

I am, for sure, a huge fan of GF Smith Colorplan. I discovered this range when I was a student. For our final-year thesis, my classmates and I designed an editorial collection, using a different colour for each individual volume. The end result was so vibrant.

Later on, as a graphic designer, I have worked with some of the finest art printers, and used GF Smith Colorplan several times for visiting cards. My customers have always been so happy with the result. I actually made my own visiting cards hot-foil printed on Bagdad Brown paper!

What I love most is the insane colour intensity. It is as if the colours vibrate, and you can't see that brightness elsewhere. And as colour is my number-one concern in my work, it could not have been another range.

Your current exhibition, FRÜHSTÜCK, showcases a series of paper collages compiled using GF Smith Colorplan. Please can you share the inspiration behind these beautiful pieces?

My main inspiration comes from my family and our relationship to gastronomy, and food in general. I like to say that sharing food is our love language. We cook, we make each other taste and respond to what we make, and we eat with appetite! In French and Italian culture, meals punctuate our days in an almost ceremonial way, and it’s always good to savour a moment spent together. However, we are so constrained by rules of order (starter, main course, dessert…) and the time of day (breakfast, lunch, dinner). As adults, we became expert in the art of setting those rules to ourselves, inherited from an outdated education and culture.

In Germany, where my mother is from, rules are more tenuous: we allow ourselves more whimsical associations. That is why I wanted to make a tribute to my ideal meal - this moment of the day and the week where all the established codes are shattered to keep only the best - sharing, eating and free association: BRUNCH. When we get out of bed, this spontaneous and regressive excitement of being able to eat with our fingers, dressed in pyjamas… sweet, salty, sour, without transition or concession!

Which was your favourite collage to work on from your FRÜHSTÜCK exhibition, and why?

Tricky question! My process is so time-consuming, meticulous, and full of excitement that I often feel like I leave a bit of myself in each and every one of my creations. Literally. But I would say I really enjoyed working on bigger formats, because of all those huge paper solid-colour zones. If I really had to choose one, it would be the boiled egg, because it really is my indulgence and reminds me of my inner child: joyfully dipping toasted bread in my boiled egg, feeling the salt crystals and pepper my dad just put on top. What a great feeling! It definitely would be my ‘madeleine de Proust’.

You also run an independent graphic design studio, Forme Brute. Have you any advice on how to nurture a career in graphic design?

I do think that to nurture a career in graphic design, as in many other creative fields, you have to be passionate about what you are doing. Professional life and personal life are often going to merge (as it is a job and a passion), and it is sometimes very tricky to set healthy boundaries - trying to learn how to dedicate time to not creating, in order to come back more relaxed and focused after a little rest!

You also have to learn how to be a good listener with customers, because they are going to trust you with their project, and you can't just do what seems exciting to you without considering their needs. I think that to be a good graphic designer is to work as a team with your client, hand in hand, knowing your main goal and challenge is the same, being super-excited about the result at the end. I definitely love to surprise them though, and by chance it often works!

How does your passion for graphic design influence your approach to paper craft?

I think that my graphic influences are a great help to me in terms of composition and structure. My practice is relatively free, having a framework at the beginning, in conceiving my sketches, and allows me to think in terms of fullness, emptiness, and planning, and to obtain a rich and pleasant result to the eye.

All those graphic skills really help with projecting what my collages are going to look like, even if it is like a discovery when the paper comes to life. They help me avoid making mistakes in a practice that is very time-consuming.

What do you love most about paper as a medium?

What I really love is creating by hand! It makes me feel as proud as a child! I'm glad that all these software programs and apps exist, but I am sometimes very annoyed by the time I spend on the computer for work. It causes fatigue, headaches and most of all, paradoxically, the feeling of being disconnected.

I love how paper helps me reconnect back to myself, and to sensations. It is a kind of therapy to me, listening to music, tracing my forms, cutting shapes, and playing to associate elements in the manner of a puzzle.

There is a very playful aspect to creating with paper. And I think people can tell with the result that it really is different to flat illustrations. All those textures and reliefs, creating shadows. It is almost as if the artwork evolves through the day, according to its exposure to light. It is living, and paper really is my favourite medium to use!

What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?

I left the site of my original studio to find a better location, and am currently working from home. I love to wake up with soft music and a large glass of water, a cold shower, and some stretching. I have a little leather diary in which I note everything that is coming up in the day. If I am at the begining of a project, I love to just take a pen and paper and start drawing ideas. I also spend so much time on type foundries’ websites as I am obsessed with letter design.

I don't really have a typical day at the studio, because it will depend on what I am working on. It might involve painting on a super-large canvas, or doing less sexy tasks, such as identity variations or layout, shooting some projects, editing images for my website and social media, or exchanging mail with my clients. Self employment means having to manage everything alone, and there is never a dull moment, haha! I sometimes end my day by going to my pottery class, exercising a bit, or having a fresh craft beer with my man or my friends, depending on my mood!

What’s next for Alice Bottigliero?

No one really knows! But I have to admit that my dream is to start creating more and more by hand again, focusing on illustration, and maybe one day devote myself exclusively to the conception of original pieces with galleries, or for custom orders in collaboration with architects, hotels or individuals. I also wish one day to be represented by an agent who can lighten all the tasks I manage, and allow me to reveal my potential in various mediums.

However, I am already very happy where I am! I feel very grateful for everything that has happened to me this year, including winning the 2022 Prix Jeunes Talents for illustration organised by Les Agents Associés; getting the chance to work with GF Smith products on my first solo exhibition at Slow Galerie; being interviewed by Étapes magazine about my graphic design work; the kindness of all the people from GF Smith that I’ve been in contact with, and now this interview… the present is already super-bright!