Georges Calame, Switzerland

AGI member since 1967

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Georges spent some time in Paris, before opening his own graphic design studio in Geneva, 1953. In exhibition design he received major commissions: the Italian pavilion at ‘Graphic 1957’, pavilions at Swiss Expo 1964, Lausanne, at the Montreal World Fair 1967, the Swiss pavilion in Brno and a project for the Milan Triennale. From 1969–75 he was art director of the Pakistan Design Center in Karachi, but also designed the ‘Dybs 69’ design biennial and the travelling exhibition ‘Swiss Graphic Design’. From 1975 to 1993 he created the visual identity of the BCG bank and harmonized the look of all its branches. His posters for ‘A Japanese Summer in Geneva’ (1983) aimed to connect East and West as well as the past and the present. His posters were selected 15 times at the ‘Best Swiss Posters of the Year’ event. In 1998 he received an award at the Brno Biennale for his powerful and simple design for the Geneva furniture shop Tagliabue, which had been a client over 30 years.

Design work by Georges Calame


    Georges Calame, Switzerland (1967)

    Georges Calame spent some time in Paris before opening his own graphic design studio in Geneva in 1953. He received major exhibition design commissions: the Italian pavilion at ‘Graphic 1957’...

    Read full biography
    Georges Calame, Switzerland (1967)

    Georges spent some time in Paris, before opening his own graphic design studio in Geneva, 1953. In exhibition design he received major commissions: the Italian pavilion at ‘Graphic 1957’, pavilions at Swiss Expo 1964, Lausanne, at the Montreal World Fair 1967, the Swiss pavilion in Brno and a project for the Milan Triennale. From 1969–75 he was art director of the Pakistan Design Center in Karachi, but also designed the ‘Dybs 69’ design biennial and the travelling exhibition ‘Swiss Graphic Design’. From 1975 to 1993 he created the visual identity of the BCG bank and harmonized the look of all its branches. His posters for ‘A Japanese Summer in Geneva’ (1983) aimed to connect East and West as well as the past and the present. His posters were selected 15 times at the ‘Best Swiss Posters of the Year’ event. In 1998 he received an award at the Brno Biennale for his powerful and simple design for the Geneva furniture shop Tagliabue, which had been a client over 30 years.