Book design: editorial,
creative and art direction Branding
Books, brand identities and presentations for architects, structures, projects and people connected to creation, art and culture, but also to scuba diving, the ocean and drums — my other passions — that’s what Dawa creates.
Dawa’s not a studio; Dawa’s me, Christophe Lorvo, a Creative and Art Director, originaly educated in Applied Art and Art History in France. With battle scars to show from working three decades as Graphic Designer, Art Director, Copywriter and Creative Director in some of the most competitive environments. On agency and client side. In Europe and Asia-Pacific.
You wouldn’t bet on my Frenchness when looking at what’s in my plate — I am a cheese and wine free specimen. But my accent gives me away.
This website presents a selection of work that reflects my taste for beautiful books and thoughtful layouts, for (im)pertinent ideas that challenge conventions while retaining a strong attachment to certain graphic traditions. It also highlights my approach to structuring content and developing brand narratives.
Do you want to know more, to discuss a project, to request a quotation, in English or in French? Feel free to get in touch...
Industry:
Architecture
Client: VA-NG (Van Aelst & Nguyen)
Location: Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
238 mm x 300 mm
332 pages
(In progress) TEN:26 stands out for its editorial approach and its structure. But above all, for its title. After all, it is the first thing you see.
In advertising — and a book cover whose purpose is to grab attention can certainly be considered part of an advertising approach — the most effective communication is not the kind that tells you something, but the kind that suggests it. The kind that makes you want to know more, that sparks curiosity.
TEN:26, both in its name and in the way it is written, intrigues and suggests an architecture studio capable of surprising. Don’t say We are creative. Make your audience figure it out.
Just as with a good advertising campaign or an effective visual identity, it is a succession of relevant creative decisions that leads to the design of a distinctive architecture book. Portfolio books are most often structured by year or by theme. An anniversary book could hardly avoid a chronological reading. Ten years. It’s 2026. How do you get creative with that?
That is where Dawa’s approach comes in. The idea was to develop the mechanics of the main title and use them to introduce the book’s chapters.
The art direction, meanwhile, is built on a thorough command of layout principles and typographic choices that anchor the book in the tradition of landmark architecture books. These choices suggest excellence and good taste. The colours and papers selected for production are consistent with the atmosphere of the studio itself — a space that sets VA-NG apart from other architecture studios in Saigon. Dawa saw in this space a distinctive brand experience that had been underestimated by the founders, and an interesting foundation on which to build the identity of the book.