ADEME – Case study
📚Reading time: 7 minutes
YES to sustainable mobility!
Supporting our shift towards 🛴 sustainable mobility 🚲 🛵 is one of Ademe‘s missions. The French Environment and Energy Management Agency contacted L’Associé to conduct a web and press communication campaign. I was hired by L’Associé to create the illustrations.
The goal: to reach the general public to encourage them to adopt sustainable mobility and inform them about the assistance available.
The mission 🚀
Create five illustrations to support the visibility and clarity of the message based on the mock-ups developed by L’Associé and previously approved by Ademe.
Here are the mock-ups I received:
Les maquettes – ©L’Associé
The brief and constraints 📝
L’Associé asked me to reinterpret the mock-ups created by the agency’s creative team using my own illustrative style. The client liked the following aspects of my portfolio:
• Colorful, expressive characters
• The welcoming, “lively” cities and vegetation
I was given a mood board of illustrations and a summary of the desired visual style:
• A joyful, simple, inviting, playful universe
• Inspiring, colorful, and positive
• Valuing imagination, looking toward the future
• Understandable by all, accessible
Upon reading this, certain constraints emerge:
• “You are free to change the colors, characters, shape of vehicles, etc. But you must retain the creative ideas, framing, and composition of the illustrations that have already been approved by the client.”
• Keep pastel backgrounds for good eco-design.
• Do not move text blocks and various logos.
What we call creative constraints therefore came in plural form.
The solutions 🪄
After analyzing the brief and the constraints, I formalized the available space and the flow of the eye between the message and the illustrations, then submitted a color palette consistent with the tone of the message. This was followed by defining the style of the characters, their attitudes, and the precision of the compositions in the space.
Space and the flow of the eye:
Circulation du regard – ©Clémence Thune
Colors 🤹♀️
The difficulty lay in choosing colors that respected eco-design principles, legibility, and the tone of the text and images. The ink coverage during printing had to be reduced, hence the choice of pastel colors and light tones. The contrast needed to define shapes required the use of small touches of color to enhance them. Cool colors were chosen based on the font colors approved in the mock-ups. I selected warm colors to create a cozy atmosphere, reinforce the perspective effect, and accentuate certain elements such as means of transportation: bicycles, carpooling, scooters, trams, etc.
Textures✏️
The Associate asked me for a textured color rendering, inspired by one of my previous projects done in Photoshop. The rendering is worth the time spent coloring. Goodbye, one-click color filling. Hello, long meditation sessions 🧘.
Adobe Illustrator vs. Adobe Photoshop – ©Clémence Thune
The style of the characters 🤸
Colorful, relaxed, dynamic, and smiling, the characters are mainly composed of curved lines. Choosing colors for their clothes proved more difficult. Indeed, the means of transport had to be highlighted more than the characters. In search of the right visual balance, the cyclist underwent a few transformations.
Deadlines 📅
Sévan and Sophie, my contacts at L’Associé, informed me of the steering committees required to validate each stage. Until then, I had no idea that every aspect of an image would be scrutinized by the relevant ministries.🔬
The project was well managed by L’Associé, which allowed me to organize myself as best I could and focus on the creation and coloring. I was able to propose several tests. This good management is essential to avoid numerous back-and-forths with the client, especially when there are several steering committees involved.
“Oui à un air plus sain” – ©Clémence Thune
A great experience 🙌
This assignment was great for several reasons. I was hoping to work on large-scale communication projects for environmental protection and changing our habits. Of course, I’m proud that my illustrations have had such an impact.
“Oui au remplacement des véhicules polluants” – ©Clémence Thune
My experience with L’Associé taught me many things and confirmed many other points. The agency’s excellent organization left me with the time and mental space to focus on creation.
“Oui c’est possible de mieux respirer en ville” – ©Clémence Thune
The precision of their project management required me to be equally precise in both technical and aesthetic terms. When it comes to eco-design, I learned that I still had a lot to learn and even more to share. You will find a good resource HERE.
“Oui aux déplacements plus actifs !” – ©Clémence Thune
Thank you
to L’Associé for taking an interest in my work and for bringing me on board for this project.
to Sévan, my contact from the very beginning who supported me right to the end.
to Sophie and Sévan who explained everything about the Copils to me; their project management was fantastic!
“Oui aux déplacements collectifs et partagés !” – ©Clémence Thune
