Massin

The French graphic designer Massin is best known in France for his ground-breaking typographic and visual treatment of the Eugene Ionesco play "The Bald Soprano" ("La Cantatrice Chauve"). He created a juxtaposition of type and image in book form that became a classic of expressive typography. The stark images from "The Bald Soprano" are instantly recognizable -- both the characters and their jumbled words. From an early date, Massin was influenced not only by the traditions of book design but by the innovations of film: Saul Bass's title sequences for the movies of Alfred Hitchcock, and Tex Avery's animated cartoons. Massin finds inspiration in popular culture, and as a book designer, he puts these influences to work in interpreting the text.