SNCF Réseau – Brand Illustration Case Study
📚Reading time: 12 minutes
I created a set of illustrations for SNCF Réseau to strengthen its internal and external image. The project was a success thanks to a rigorous methodology and effective collaboration.
1. The client and the intention 💡
SNCF Réseau, the French rail network operator, employs more than 50,000 people and communicates constantly with a variety of audiences to fulfill its mission of maintenance, safety, modernization, and development.
To communicate effectively, SNCF Réseau’s communications department has begun an image overhaul.
Its key message: Paving the way for sustainable mobility.
The target audiences are: employees, businesses, local authorities, and the general public.
I was contacted to create a set of illustrations focusing on employees and their jobs.
The objectives: to revitalize educational content, encourage employee buy-in, and strengthen the company’s image both internally and externally.
2. The roadmap 📜
A quote and a roadmap are powerful communication tools that convey trust and professionalism.
I provided a quote accompanied by a methodology that included a provisional schedule for the preparatory phases, customer feedback, the integration of this feedback, the creation phases, the validation stages, and contingencies.
Through this, I present my aspirations for the project:
• Create illustrations with a clear message.
• Ensure consistent graphic uniformity.
• Bring creativity to update the company’s image, express well-being at work, and carry out missions with rigor and precision.
Developing this roadmap took more time than preparing the quote. At this stage, other illustrators were contacted, and there is no guarantee that my proposal will be chosen.
In this case, the time spent adjusting everything was (re)compensated later, after a test illustration was requested.
3. A free test? 🫠
For this new contract, I took the time to carefully consider my decision.
Until now, I have refused to do free tests. Working mostly with agencies and studios, what clients call tests are often the creative intentions for which I am paid.
Determined to win this new contract, I took the time to carefully consider my decision. Whatever happened, a high-quality quote and methodology would serve as a model for my future projects. And if my test was accepted, I would already have a finalized illustration.
After approval of the test illustration and signing of the quote, I began work on the project.
4. The brief 🧭
An often underestimated but crucial step in the creative process, the quality of an illustration stems from the clarity of a good brief.
As illustrators, we operate in a visual universe rich in possibilities. The brief provides us with a compass to navigate successfully. When well-crafted, it transcends mere technical details: it reveals the essence of the project, its nuances, and its main objective.
Why do I think the SNCF Réseau brief is good?
The SNCF Réseau communications team presented a clear, attractive, detailed brief based on the company’s new visual identity charter, in the form of a 19-page PDF file outlining all the points to be covered.
5. The illustration kit 🖼️
The illustration kit features minimalist characters and backgrounds.
The colors from the graphic charter are used to create warm, dynamic, and attractive compositions that are also descriptive. The kit includes various representations of cateners, stations, railroad tracks, mechanics, traffic agents, administration, etc. This kit allows the company to communicate effectively while conveying its values of inclusion and diversity.
6. The project, the people 👯♀️
Thanks to their suggestions, my colleagues simplified the design process by presenting the technical requirements from the outset. They greatly contributed to making the process enjoyable.
With a view to overlapping projects, I called on Joules , layout artist in the animation industry, for his expertise in sketches/roughs. After agreeing on the number of days for the assignment and signing a confidentiality clause, I provided him with a good brief, and we had a video meeting to organize the remote work on Miro.
Well on track, the creative project got off to an easy start. Thanks to her excellent sense of posing and composition, Joules demonstrated responsiveness that matched her creativity. In addition, our discussions on corporate social responsibility were particularly fruitful.
Roughs, posing, sketches ©Joules Trouvé
This allowed me to focus fully on the artistic direction and implementation of the illustrations.
7. Creative process ✏️
How could these elements be brought together into a visually appealing whole, in line with the brief, the company’s values, and its objectives?
The idea of creating faceless characters came from the communications team. We didn’t discuss it much. In general, this is an interesting artistic approach for several reasons, notably because faceless characters can be more easily interpreted by a wider audience. For my part, I wanted to ensure that their attitudes expressed liveliness, movement, dynamism, and warmth in order to elicit identification and understanding from a broad audience. I arranged the colors with simplicity and contrast in mind, favoring image clarity and evoking a dynamic atmosphere.
I chose to use Adobe Illustrator because of the practicality of vector drawings and the ease of defining shapes with flat colors rather than clear lines. Space and volume are suggested through a play of color contrasts on a minimalist background. In order to bring my work in line with current criteria, the light spaces ensure better eco-design.
The SNCF Réseau brief includes a recurring element: a groove, symbolizing openness, which I was able to use for its multiple graphic uses: brand identity, eye movement, balance, etc.
The streamlined design allows the company’s consultants and trainers to easily use the kit to support their presentations on the media of their choice: slide presentations on their laptops, printed brochures, internal displays, etc.
8. Vision before action 🔮
By establishing a project management method, I responded to the request with attention to detail and rigorous execution.
Until now, I have focused on assignments for creative studios or agencies responsible for project management. The direct relationship with the client involves a level of management that I didn’t know I was capable of.
The initial design phase was particularly beneficial to me, as I was able to work directly with a client of this caliber with complete confidence.
I discovered that I can do what I appreciate so much in the good project managers and art directors at the studios and agencies I have had the opportunity to work with.
Conclusion
This project was an unexpected opportunity for professional development. Delegating some of my tasks to a talented freelancer and working together methodically contributed to a high-quality result that will serve as a communication tool for a wide audience. The company will benefit from an updated, attractive, and consistent visual identity. The team can be proud of the work they have done, and I am proud to have contributed to it. 🏅🎉
A big THANK YOU to Lucie Bourrillon, Melissa Raffin, Virginie Darrieux, Joules Trouvé, and Claire Lemaitre-Smith.