LWLies Sixties

LWLies Sixties Presents… Playtime reimagined

Words by Adam Woodward

Illustration with abstract shapes, patterns, vehicles, and figures arranged in a chaotic, busy composition. Prominent use of orange, black, and blue colours. Includes text "Little Sixties" and "99designs".
Illustration with abstract shapes, patterns, vehicles, and figures arranged in a chaotic, busy composition. Prominent use of orange, black, and blue colours. Includes text "Little Sixties" and "99designs".
Laurène Boglio wraps up our partnership with 99designs by Vistaprint with a colourful tribute to Jacques Tati’s surrealist masterpiece.

LWLies Sixties is part of #99DaysOfDesign, from 99designs by Vistaprint. Check out all the posters in the series and discover more at 99designs.com

In order to make Playtime, French filmmaker Jacques Tati created a handmade metropolis in the suburbs of Paris that became known as “Tativille”. The film itself is an astonishing feat of production and set design in which Tati’s on-screen avatar Monsieur Hulot navigates a disorienting urban landscape of clanking machinery and never-ending traffic jams.

Despite presenting a rather gloomy vision of contemporary city living, with all its bureaucratic apparatus and utilitarian architecture, Playtime is above all a work of light-hearted comic genius. Bursting with visual humour and inventiveness in every frame, it stands as one of the most frequently imitated – but never bettered – films ever made.

Capping off our partnership with 99 Days of Design, a celebration of the power of design from 99designs by Vistaprint, LWLies Art Director Laurène Boglio has put a playful spin on this enduring ’60s masterpiece, channelling her love for period design and all things Tati.

Playytime: Illustration featuring a collage of vibrant, geometric shapes, patterns, and figures representing various elements of play and entertainment, such as vehicles, people, and amusement park rides, all set against a turquoise background.

“I often feel like Monsieur Hulot in my day-to-day life and can, therefore, relate to his experiences throughout Playtime,” says Boglio when speaking about how she approached her design. “I love Jacque Tati’s critical vision of modern life-turned-eerie circus.

“I used a Penrose triangle and MC Escher’s surrealist architecture to place characters in an impossible schema. While Monsieur Hulot is pictured at the centre of the machine, he is the one operating it – drawing the audience’s attention to the ridiculous nature of the system.”

Look back over all six LWLies Sixties posters and discover more about 99designs by Vistaprint at 99designs.com

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