Entorse Magazine explores the culture of basketball through design, photography and illustration

Entorse means “to sprain” in French which is the most common injury sustained by basketball players. “Faire une entorse,” however, (which translates to “do a sprain,” in English) has a wider resolve, as an idiom of the French language that means to break the rules or go against the norm. It’s this double interpretation that led photo editor and photographer Benjamin Schmuck, editor-in-chief Stephane Peaucelle-Laurens and design studio Helmo to name their new magazine about the culture of basketball, Entorse.

Stephane approached Benjamin and Helmo, who had previously worked together on Iteneraries of Contemporary Cuisnine, to translate his love of the sport into a publication in a creative way.

The magazine is incredibly visual, led by its (often) full bleed photography and illustrative stories. Being a photographer himself, Benjamin shot two stories but the work of Marie Queau, Oliver Clement and Thomas Chéné also features. In terms of illustration, Helmo commissioned Simon Roussin to replicate some famous archival photography and Kitty Crowther who created a “fun story about a basketball mascot.”

The distinctive design of Entorse forms a large part of its personality. With a custom typeface inspired by the lines of a playground, the publication is fairly large – 12×15 inches – meaning that once opened, it forms the same proportion as a basketball court. The vivid orange cover coupled with the black title, which is embossed, emulates the feeling of actually holding a basketball – especially as the hard cover features a series of varnished dots.

Entorse is currently all in French: “Basketball in France has become a sort of underground punk scene,” explains Benjamin, “the goal is to shine a light on this sport, which died in this country several years ago.” The plan for the future, however, is to become bilingual and reach a more international audience. Entorse will be launching this Thursday (7 December) in the oldest basketball court in the world, in Paris.