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ANRT, Research in type design
Exhibition, Dec. 4-19, 2024
Ecal Lausanne, Elac gallery
Swiss design network symposium

Created in 1985 to “contribute to the development of typographic creation”, the Atelier national de recherche typographique (ANRT) is a postgraduate research course of the École nationale supérieure d’art et de design (ENSAD) in Nancy.

Established on the ARTEM campus, the ANRT is a place of excellence where a singular expertise in typographic and editorial design is developed. Each year, the Atelier welcomes 6 students from around the world for a period of 2 years. Students are invited to propose a personal research project or to join an established program

Long-term research lines are defined, which give rise to specific programs, often conducted with partner structures. These research lines aim to :

  • develop typographic solutions for digital humanities and research: creation of specific alphabets, stabilization of scripts or notation systems, encoding and input methods;

  • support the integration and creation of digital fonts for minority and/or ancient scripts, unencoded or about to be encoded in Unicode;

  • study the history of typography, but also its relationship to language, writing, and learning.

Curriculum

Postgraduate research course

Accessible after a Master degree (or equivalent), the course lasts 4 semesters (3 semesters in Nancy, one in mobility) and delivers a Diplôme de spécialisation et d’approfondissement (DSA),  (Diploma of Specialization and Deepening, DSA), Mention Recherche Typographique (120 ECTS).

Candidates can present a personal research project or join a pre-established program (2 to 3 programs are open each year). A strong articulation between theory and practice is recommended, and interdisciplinarity is encouraged.

Six candidates are recruited for each session; a € 4,450 research grant  is granted to each student-researcher. The teaching staff is present on a weekly basis, while conferences and workshops led by external personalities are organized throughout the year. Tuition fee is € 451 per school year.

ECTS
Personnal research 30
Specific learning 30
Culture and theory 06
Foreign language (English/FLE) 06
Workshop of Practice 18
Internship, publication 30
Total 120

PhD

In some cases, students can pursue their research in PhD, co-supervized with partner laboratories. This is more fundamental and prospective research, built over a long period of time, from 36 to 48 months.

The ANRT is a partner of the SLTC doctoral school (University of Lorraine) and of the ED 472 of the EPHE.

  • Typographic solutions for the digital humanities: designing specific alphabets, scripts or notation systems for scholarly purposes 
  • Typeface design for minority and/or ancient scripts, unencoded or about to be encoded in Unicode (The Missing Scripts)
  • History of typography, especially in France

Course structure

The post-master’s provides an outstanding environment for developing research, with the benefit of regular supervision by leading typographic designers. We teach both in French and English. 

  • Director of typographic research in attendance two days per week
  • Regular invited speakers on typography / graphic design 
  • One-day sessions dedicated to guests and lecturers, visual artists and theorists 
  • Partnerships with research laboratories and academic departments developing joint research programmes
  • 
Preferential access to documentary and other resources offered by ENSAD Nancy
  • 
Some expenses related to research projects may be covered by ANRT 
  • Presentation and dissemination of students’ work (publications, exhibitions, etc.)

Opportunity for teaching experience: students can lead workshops to ENSAD Nancy’s students.

Teaching staff

Director

Thomas Huot-Marchand

Teachers

Jérôme Knebusch
Charles Mazé
Émilie Rigaud
Alice Savoie

Visiting professors

2023-24

Guest speakers

1985-2006
2013-2022

Alumni

Promotions

ANRT 2024
ANRT 2023
ANRT 2022
ANRT 2021
ANRT 2020
ANRT 2019
ANRT 2018
ANRT 2017
ANRT 2016
ANRT 2015
ANRT 2014
ANRT 2013

ANRT 1985–2006

Teachers
Students

Contact

Address

Atelier National de Recherche Typographique
École nationale supérieure d’art et de design de Nancy
1 place Charles Cartier-Bresson
BP 13129
54013 Nancy Cedex
France

Follow ANRT

Twitter: ANRT_type
Instagram: anrt_type
Facebook: ANRT

Credits

Support

L’Atelier National de Recherche Typographique est un 3e cycle de l’École nationale supérieure d’art et de design de Nancy. Il est soutenu par le Ministère de la Culture, la Métropole du Grand Nancy, la Région Grand Est, et l’Alliance ARTEM.

Credits

Writing: Thomas Huot-Marchand
Typefaces: Artem Bureau, Jérôme Knebusch & Immortel, Clément Le Tulle-Neyret
Design: Gwenaël Fradin (2013–2021), Thomas Bouville (2021–)