catastrophe

[ka.ta.stʁɔf]n.

ETYMOLOGY From Greek katastrophē, from kata, “downwards, all the way”,
and strophē, “the act of turning”.

  1. 1.In ancient tragedy: the final turn that carries the plot towards its resolution.
  2. 2.In mathematics (René Thom): the point where the slightest change can alter a form.
  3. 3.Art direction and visual strategy studio for fine crafts, design and the art of living.

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The material was already there.

And give it a system.

It had to be read.

A brand image that keeps the promise of your creations

A piece is seen before it is read.

Studio Catastrophe shapes the brand worlds of workshops and houses working in fine crafts, design and the art of living, through strategy, visual identity and online presence.

the founder n.

Nahir Sarsur, art director. With a background in the humanities, she made images her profession.

In 2018, she founded an artisanal fashion label. She designed its collections and shaped its photography, video content, online shop and approach to selling. Starting from a foundation of identity, she developed her own way of moving from words to images, building a visual identity that reflected the work itself.

Today, she is the founder and art director of Studio Salin, a curatorial house for lighting and objects by European designers.

From that journey came Studio Catastrophe, and with it the kata · strophe method, bringing this way of seeing and this system to other houses.

Studio Catastrophe shapes the brand worlds of workshops and houses working in fine crafts, design and the art of living, through strategy, visual identity and online presence.

Nahir SarsurNahir Sarsur, in profile
Nahir Sarsur, walking
Knowing who you are, where you come from, what sets you apart from others, and putting it into words: that is one world. Making it visible through images, with the value it deserves, is another. Between the two, I know that feeling of vertigo.Nahir Sarsur

contact n. · write

Introduce your house. A few lines, a photograph of one piece: that is enough to begin.

or directly: contact@studiocatastrophe.com

cata

catastrophe n.

The moment your image crosses over to what you create.

catastrophestaged study · an imagined workshop · before
catastrophe
  1. kata
  2. the turn
  3. strophe

the method n. · kata · strophe

katastrophe

A method developed within several houses, including those founded by its creator.

What a house already holds, its archives, its gestures, its images, is examined, untangled and brought into a system, until its image crosses over to what it creates.

scroll

1.kata

the reading

To look deeply into everything a house knows about itself, and everything it leaves unsaid.

A brand scarcely explains itself any more: it shows itself. What it says about itself does not disappear. It finds its way into its images, the path that leads to its pieces, and the relationship that forms around them. That is where its perception takes shape. When the two come together, the brand no longer needs to speak.

  • the history
  • the craft
  • the gestures
  • the material
  • the origins
  • the circle

A brand can scarcely explain itself anymore : it has to show itself. What it says about itself does not disappear, however.

It lives on in its images, in the path that leads to its pieces, in the relationship that grows around them.

That is what shapes how it is perceived. When the two align, it no longer needs to speak.

The reading

A drop of ink spreading through water

What is shown, and what is kept to oneself.

Two ways of seeing

From within, you see the gesture.the house’s perspective
From outside, you see the image.the perspective of its circle
2.the turn

the heading

After the reading comes the finding: what the house needs, said in a single sentence.
3.strophe

the system

From that heading, type, colours, symbols and the light in the images become a system. Your visual identity crosses over to what you create.

the letters

The typography that carries your name.

the colours

A palette drawn from the material.

the signs

What recurs, and why.

art direction

One light across all your images.

The system, piece by piece.

what you receive

the foundation

as an extension

Every element has another side.

view the workwrite to us
The heading: one sentence.strategy
Aa
visual identity
photography direction
Aaname · craft · address
stationery
online presence
social media
catastrophe

selected work pl. n. · and one study

Curatorial house, Paris

  1. The contextA Parisian curatorial house born from a journey through fashion, art direction and craft. At its origin, a curiosity for objects, materials and light, alongside a conviction: the value of a creation is measured neither by its renown nor by function alone. The house grew from a desire to discover distinctive pieces, bring different sensibilities into conversation and share the pleasure of these encounters.
  2. kata · the readingHow could a house bringing together designers with distinct worlds have an identity of its own? The task was not to impose a common aesthetic, but to reveal what could connect them without erasing their individuality. Coherence had to come from the way the pieces were seen, the affinities between them and how they were presented.
  3. the turn · the headingLet encounters between distinct creative voices shape a recognisable curatorial identity.
  4. strophe · the systemA visual language built around light, material and presence. Mineral tones, oxidised earth colours, deep shadows and photography that places the pieces within architecture. Restrained typography, compositions attentive to proportion and a voice that favours curiosity over assertion. A system in which each creation keeps its identity, while the relationships between them give the house its own.

catastrophe

[ka.ta.stʁɔf]n.

ETYMOLOGY From Greek katastrophē, from kata, “downwards, all the way”,
and strophē, “the act of turning”.

  1. 1.In ancient tragedy: the final turn that carries the plot towards its resolution.Ancient tragedy: the final turn, leading to the resolution.
  2. 2.In mathematics (René Thom): the point where the slightest change can alter a form.Mathematics (R. Thom): a tiny change can alter a form.
  3. 3.Art direction and visual strategy studio for fine crafts, design and the art of living.Art direction and visual strategy studio.