Violaine et Jérémy returns with a cookbook for Molly Baz, featuring three of the studio’s much-loved typefaces

Violaine Orsoni and Jérémy Schneider are two very familiar names here at It’s Nice That. Often better recognised under their moniker Violaine et Jérémy, the Paris-based duo runs a multidisciplinary creative studio focusing on graphic design, typography, illustration and plenty of other bits and pieces. Just last year, the duo released a typeface named Voyage, the perfect balance of curves, smooth lines and functional letterforms – the pinnacle of the precise and elegant work the studio constantly pushes out. Prior to that, they collaborated with Anna Kovecses to produce a visual identity for the 2017/2018 season of the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. The result was a visual and creative interpretation of the theatre, with bold colours, a custom typeface named Traviata and illustrations to match.

Now, Violaine and Jérémy are back at it again with yet another punchy release: Molly Baz’s first cookbook, published by Clarkson Potter. They worked on the graphic design, editorial design and custom typeface for the cover logotype, and the result is a modern take on your typical cookbook, brimming with recipes and food photography by Peden + Munk. The book also features three of the studio’s typefaces, Kobe, Voyage and Dida. “Molly contacted us because she was inspired by our work and aesthetic,” explains Violaine. “So that’s why, when she shared her brief with us, many of her references came from our portfolio. It was very clear that the global look and feel of this book had to be colourful, joyful and dynamic. Kind of like Molly herself!”

Molly is a food editor and recipe developer, whose concoctions have been featured largely in the pages of Bon Appétit (she also has a dog named Tuna, by the way). Her creations – and writings, for that matter – are full of flavour, so it was clear her publication would be far from dull or tasteless. “We wanted to avoid this book being calm and monotonous like a traditional cookbook,” explains Jérémy. “We also wanted to use many of our own fonts, so we worked to achieve a book that would be a strong graphic object, where typography, colours and rhythm are important.”

Both Molly and her husband Ben are big fans of the studio’s typographic work, setting the tone for how the publication would take shape: i.e. through the use of as many of the duo’s fonts as possible. With the three chosen – Kobe, Dida and Voyage – the team decided to apply the fonts on a larger scale than before. “We made the letters play with one another,” adds Violaine. “The words are decomposed and then recomposed, in order to give them a dynamic movement.” This becomes evident from the outset, with a cover page so bold and graphic, if you were to stumble upon this book in a shop, you’d be hard-pressed to avert your eyes. Boldly titled Cook This Book: Techniques That Teach & Recipes to Repeat, the statement is both imperative and inviting, and is teamed with a primary blue backdrop and playful portrait of Molly eating some salad.

Colour plays an important role throughout the entirety of the project. “Molly gave a super clear direction for this,” adds Jérémy. “She was in love with blue first, and second wanted to play with the primary colours. We added the off-white colour to soften the contrast and to create a smooth bond between the blue, yellow and red.”

“Actually,” he continues, “colours play a bit part in the design. They gave a playful first direction and we thought of the design in the continuity of the colours.” Indeed the perfect accompaniment to the studio’s bold typefaces and clever, unusually structured design, the pages are a treat to observe. After launching into the first few pages – that is, once you’ve managed to stop staring and drooling at the cover – you’re then taken on a wonderful journey through vivid introductory pages, brimming with delicious contents and design to match. “For the first part of the book,” says Violaine, “we wanted to have very strong titles with a lot of graphic design effect because we knew the tunnel of recipe pages were coming next and we wouldn’t have a lot of flexibility to play with the design for these pages.”

The recipe pages are certainly more parred back than the intros, but the studio still manages to sprinkle a touch of personality – triangular shapes, bold lines and illustrations nod to the typical foray of cookbook publishing. Overall, however, the book is warmly inviting, and both Violaine et Jérémy and Molly hope their audience will indulge in its pages and, more importantly, learn something new. “Molly wanted her book to be super didactic,” says Jérémy. “She wants people to understand the whole cooking process, so that’s why she wanted to use graphics to explain some ideas in a more direct and simpler way.”