Montreal, Canada

About

Abz School – photo by Philip Cheung
Photography direction

Atelier Michèle Champagne is known for its approach to graphic art as a form of visual journalism.

From archival research to striking books, digital magazines, and documentary photography, its projects nurture a personal truth, cultural truth, or political truth.

Atelier Michèle Champagne

Michèle Champagne, M.Des.
Founder, Art Director

mail@michelechampagne.com
+ 001 514 554 8396

Design Montréal
Canadian Creators Collective

Insta – LinkedIn

Research

The studio leads cultural research projects that study mandatory positivity, freedom of the press, and the media of design, architecture, and “smart” cities. Research activities include visual audits, archival sessions, essays, teaching, and lecturing.

The studio is invited by Artexte, Harvard GSD, McGill University, UQAM School of Design, and Volume magazine in Amsterdam.

Current research with Dr. Sarah Moser at McGill University in Montreal focuses on the democratic contestation of Sidewalk Labs’ pitch to build a private smart city in Toronto.

Pakhuis de Zwijger
Photography research

McGill University – with Dr. Sarah Moser
Cultural research

Creation

The studio art directs and designs award-winning projects for visual identity, documentary photography direction, and book and magazine design across media.

Collaborators include author Daniel Canty, Estuaire journal, photographer James Brittain, Penguin Random House Canada, photojournalist Philip Cheung, Sandberg Instituut, Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, and Jim Balsillie’s Centre for Digital Rights.

The studio’s redesign of Hazlitt, Penguin Canada’s flagship digital literary magazine, won Website of the Year from the National Magazine Awards.

Sandberg Instituut – with Lauren Grusenmeyer
Print magazine design

Chevalier Morales – photo by Guillaume Simoneau
Photography direction

Direction

The studio was founded by Canadian graphic artist Michèle Champagne in 2013. Her visual acuity and creative ways of working reflect her art and design training in Canada and the Netherlands.

At Rietveld Academy’s Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam, she was schooled by leading Dutch art critics, graphic designers, and documentary filmmakers. Daniel van der Velden from Metahaven was a mentor, as well as Annelys de Vet, Nina Folkersma, and the late Rob Schröder.

The studio is now based in Montreal.

Portrait by Alex Blouin

Testimonials

Michèle Champagne is “distinguished by her intellectual curiosity, artistic culture, and keen sense of organization.”

— Sergio Morales, founding partner
Chevalier Morales Architects
Montreal

Champagne is an “ambitious Canadian with a crisp, ‘flight attendant’ persona and a nicely cultivated sense of irony.”

— Rick Poynor, writer and critic
Design Observer journal
New York City

Atelier Michèle Champagne

Michèle Champagne, M.Des.
Founder, Art Director

mail@michelechampagne.com
+ 001 514 554 8396

Design Montréal
Canadian Creators Collective

Insta – LinkedIn

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