Nouveau espace 1970

This original 1970 poster was designed by the celebrated Swiss-French graphic designer Jean Widmer for Nouveaux espaces, a project presented by the Centre de Création Industrielle in Paris.

The composition is built around a series of interlocking circular and organic forms set against an intense blue background. Gradual transitions from yellow to green and blue introduce an impression of depth, while the overlapping shapes evoke planets, modular structures or objects moving through an undefined space. Widmer reduces the image to colour, geometry and movement, creating a remarkably modern design without relying on conventional illustration.

This example is an avant la lettre impression, printed before the addition of the title and institutional information appearing on the standard version. Freed from its explanatory typography, the image becomes a purely abstract composition and allows Widmer’s sophisticated use of form and colour to take centre stage.

Founded in Paris at the end of the 1960s, the Centre de Création Industrielle was dedicated to contemporary design, architecture and new approaches to everyday living. It was later incorporated into the Centre Georges Pompidou. Widmer played a central role in establishing its innovative visual identity, producing a series of minimalist posters that departed radically from traditional French advertising.

Born in Switzerland and trained in the principles of modernist graphic design, Jean Widmer moved to Paris in the 1950s and became one of the most influential designers working in France. His later achievements included the celebrated Centre Pompidou logo and the visual language developed for France’s cultural and tourist road signage.

Printed in colour by screen printing, this rare avant la lettre version of Nouveaux espaces is an important example of post-war European graphic design, combining Swiss precision, optical abstraction and the experimental spirit of early 1970s France.

Original Poster

Design - Abstract

Before the letter

Good condition