SDC du Village / Manifesto

Louis Gagnon

During the summer, "Aires Libres" transforms Sainte-Catherine St into a pedestrian street and open-air gallery to promote the Gay Village neighbourhood. This year's installation featured a series of tubes crowned with luminous letters of different sizes. Strategically placed, the letters line up to form the quote “A time will come when you can express yourself freely”. Taken from a manifesto, the sentence reminds us that everything takes on its full meaning in community.

Images of SDC du Village / Manifesto

  1. Image 1 — PARC 02 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  2. Image 2 — PARC 04 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  3. Image 3 — PARC 09 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  4. Image 4 — PARC 13 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  5. Image 5 — PARC 14 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  6. Image 6 — PARC 20 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  7. Image 7 — PARC 22 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)
  8. Image 8 — PARC 23 (SDC du Village / Manifesto)

    Louis Gagnon, Canada (2010)

    After completing a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications from Laval University in Québec City, Louis Gagnon began his career as an art director at Graphème (Cossette), where he became creative...

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    • SDC du Village / Manifesto, 2011

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    During the summer, "Aires Libres" transforms Sainte-Catherine St into a pedestrian street and open-air gallery to promote the Gay Village neighbourhood. This year's installation featured a series of tubes crowned with luminous letters of different sizes. Strategically placed, the letters line up to form the quote “A time will come when you can express yourself freely”. Taken from a manifesto, the sentence reminds us that everything takes on its full meaning in community.

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    • SDC
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    • Installation

    After completing a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications from Laval University in Québec City, Louis Gagnon began his career as an art director at Graphème (Cossette), where he became creative director. After then working at design agency Nolin Larosée, Louis cofounded Paprika with Joanne Lefebvre in 1991. Today, as vice-president of creation, Louis has more than 1,000 national and international awards to his name. The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec has acquired over 20 of his works for its permanent collection.

    In 2007, Pyramyd released Paprika, the first book dedicated to a North American agency, in its “Design & Designer” collection. Three years later, the Parisian gallery Anatome, paid tribute to Paprika with an exhibition of its work.

    For the last 18 years, Louis has been a course instructor at the Ecole de Design of the University of Québec at Montréal, where he has been sharing his passion for timeless design that sparks the imagination with students.

    In 2023, he received the highest Canadian distinction, the Les Usherwood Award, for a lifetime of excellence in the field of design and communication.

    Exhibitions

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    The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec

    20 works were acquired by the museum for its permanent collection

    Paprika-Seripop. Un regard graphique sur Montréal

    2010

    Anatome, Paris

    Parisian gallery Anatome, one of Europe's leading centers for contemporary graphic design, pays tribute to two Montreal-based graphic design firms, Paprika and Seripop, with an exhibition of their work.

    Agencies

    plus
    • Nolin Larosée, Montreal

    • Graphème (Cossette), Québec

    Awards

    plus
    • 2023

    Les Usherwood Award

    Other Professional Activities

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    • Course Instructor at École de Design of the University of Québec at Montréal

      2003 – present

    • Jury President of the Grafika Annual Graphic Competition

      2000, 2016 – present

    • The One Show, Jury member

      2011 – present

    • Judge for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

      2010 – present

    • Judge for the Art Directors Club of New York

      2004, 2010 – present

    • Judge for Communication Arts

      2001 – present