Élise Rigollet, a Risograph, and a World of Gems

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"Rockie" zine by Élise Rigollet, published by independent publishing house Look Back and Laugh, will be out in early 2021 and Risograph-printed. Photo courtesy of Élise Rigollet

By

December 24, 2020

“It was inspired by my parents’ passion for finding and collecting minerals,” says graphic designer Élise Rigollet of her latest work—a 60-page Risograph-printed zine called Rockie.

Élise fell in love with the Risograph—essentially a stencil duplicator that’s a cross between screen printer and photocopier—in a zine class at Parsons School of Design. When she returned to France she missed that work, so she and several other creatives in Paris and Glasgow started a collective called Riso Sur Mer, working with a Risograph in a friend’s basement.

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Excerpt from “Rockie.” Photo courtesy of Élise Rigollet

These days Élise spends most of her days freelancing from her flat or at a collaborative studio with another group of friends on the outskirts of Paris. While she’s currently working on two brand identity projects in the fashion and cosmetics industries, some of her favorite projects have been books and zines like Rockie, which explores the gem world through found vintage imagery, photography, collages, and paintings.

Due out in early 2021 from Look Back And Laugh (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Rockie uses rich spot colors and stencils to create tactile and vibrant prints. “All the colors you see in the book are created by mixing a set of inks used with different half-tones to create a unique texture on the imagery.”

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Graphic designer Élise Rigollet works from her studio in Paris. “I feel like I’m still exploring every area of graphic design. I want to try a bit of everything.” Photo courtesy of Élise Rigollet