Behind the Grid: The Art of Minimalistic Title Design in "La Ruche" / "The Hive"

Title design – without grid

La Ruche / The Hive
Minimal title design / intro & end credits

The film "La Ruche" ("The Hive"), selected for the 2023 Solothurn Film Festival and directed by Salah El Amri, produced by GoldenEggProduction in Geneva, Switzerland. As title designer for this project, I focused on creating a minimalistic title design for the short film, which explores the experiences of incarcerated men navigating prison life.

My task was to develop a subtle yet impactful visual identity. I chose a graphic typographical composition for the intro and end credits, drawing inspiration from the Swiss graphic grid system. Each word was carefully placed on a specific grid, creating a sense of emptiness and austerity. This design aimed to mirror the film's theme, where individuals within four walls share narratives, blurring reality and imagination.

The deliberate choice to adhere to the Swiss graphic grid system infused the title design with a sense of strictness and coldness. This approach, combined with an aspiration for elegance and sobriety, symbolizes the tension and balance within the stories unfolding against prison walls.

The title design for "La Ruche" reflects the film's essence, embodying the tension, balance, and cold elegance of the stories told within the confines of a prison. Inspired by the Swiss graphic grid system, the graphic typographical composition visually manifests the film's narrative, ensuring a seamless integration of design elements with the overarching theme.

Directed by Salah El Amri
Produced by GoldenEggProduction, Yan Decoppet & Gabriela Bussmann
Title design by cdrc. (aka Cédric Gottet)

Title design – with grid