François Caspar was born in 1967 to parents who were both artists and teachers. He has lived in various locations including France (Paris, Alsace, and the Center region), Algeria, Canada, Poland, and currently lives in Czechia. These multicultural experiences have significantly influenced him, as well as his travels to 35 countries* in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe.

François Caspar holds a master’s degree in communication design with a focus on the art market. In 1989, he established with a colleague his first business in Orléans, France—a design and communication agency named Zinzoline. The agency brought a fresh taste of visual culture to the people, introducing innovative designs and creative communication strategies. His early work as a designer included commissions on the theme of human rights or music festivals, and visual communication for French public and private companies. After two years of success, he moved to Paris, where he worked for 28 years as self employed designer, followed by 2 years in Warsaw. Now based in Prague, he dedicates his time to art and photography.

During his student years at Art and design school, François Caspar was notably influenced by French graphic artists such as Cassandre for image construction and Raymond Savignac for humor. In Germany and Austria, he found inspiration in John Heartfield and Raoul Hausmann for their pioneering work in photomontage. He also drew inspiration from Polish artists like Henryk Tomaszewski for his poetic approach and Roman Cieslewicz for his direct engagement with current affairs. Additionally, the Japanese artist Shigeo Fukuda influenced him with his pursuit of simplicity.

François Caspar then had the chance to meet his mentors Cieslewicz and Fukuda, as well as exchange ideas with numerous colleagues and friends, including Mirko Ilić and Cedomir Kostović from Bosnia, Andrew Lewis from Canada, Marta Granados from Colombia, René Azcuy from Cuba, Neville Brody from England, Pekka Loiri and Kari Piipoo from Finland, Alain Le Quernec from France, Holger Matthies from Germany, Massimo Vignelli from Italy, Mieczyslaw Wasilewski from Poland, Milton Glaser and Paula Scher from the United States, among many others.

Over the course of 30+ years, François Caspar’s posters have received numerous awards and have been featured in over 250 international exhibitions across 40 countries. They have become additions to public and private collections, including institutions like the Bibliothèque nationale de France François-Mitterrand and the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. His work has been published in renowned magazines and books worldwide, such as Art and Design (China), Domus (Italy), Étapes and Signes (France), Experimenta (Spain/Latin America), Idea (Japan), and New Masters of Poster Design (USA).

François Caspar has made significant contributions as a guest professor at design schools and as a jury member for design competitions in various countries across Asia, America, and Europe. His instruction in the art of poster design for multicultural student groups has gained international recognition.

François Caspar is a pioneering figure and a leader in design best practices in France. In 2000, he served as the vice-president of the French graphic designers trade union (Syndicat national des graphistes), and in 2003, he co-founded the Alliance France Design-AFD, where he has held the position of president for many years. This Alliance, which merged five major designers associations, has now become the largest multi-disciplinary professional organization of designers in France. François Caspar has been actively involved in overseeing design fees, intellectual property (IP), and European matters. He is the author of the manifesto Dites non aux idées gratuites (Say no to free ideas) in 2007, which was adopted by the Alliance graphique internationale-AGI under the title Pour une culture visuelle en France (For a Visual Culture in France) in 2008. He has also mentored design students for their professional careers, conducted conferences and seminars on the rights and responsibilities of professional designers in France. Furthermore, in 2013, he led the development of the first Code of Ethics for Professional Designers in France, which was recognized by the international design associations International Council of Design and World Design Organization.

Together with his partners, François Caspar has spearheaded two significant social innovations. Firstly, the integration of fair trade principles in design public procurements, as evidenced in publications such as the Charte AFD des marché publics de design (2012), the Guide de la commande publique de design (2014), the Circulaire Fleur Pellerin relative aux règles et bonnes pratiques sur les marchés publics de design (2015), and most recently, the Lignes de conduite pour des consultations publiques plus responsables et attractives (2023). Secondly, the establishment in 2020 of access to artist social security for all self-employed designers, as outlined in decree Décret n° 2020-1095 du 28 août 2020 relatif à la nature des activités et des revenus des artistes-auteurs.

François Caspar has also played a critical role in the publication of the design pricing guide Calkulator.com, which resulted from a collaboration in 2006 between the Alliance France design-AFD, the Alliance of German Designers-AGD, Design Luxembourg and the Union of the Designers in Belgium-UDB. Furthermore, François Caspar is the French translator of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto, “a manifesto of business practices for those who sell ideas and advice” written by the Canadian Blair Enns.

François Caspar has organized various design conferences and exhibitions, including the Rencontres des designers à Moulin in 2012 and 2013, as well as the Rencontre du Design Graphique in Marseille, France, and the NewYork-Sarajevo-Marseille exhibition in 2014. Through his active involvement with design associations in Europe, François Caspar has played a pivotal role in nurturing and making substantial contributions to one of the most comprehensive networks in the region. He has facilitated cultural exchanges with a specific focus on French design, exemplified by initiatives like Face-to-Face in 2009 and 2010 in Lutwigsburg, Germany. Furthermore, he served as a partner for the World Design Summit in Paris in 2018.

In addition to his accomplishments, François Caspar served in 2019 as the General Delegate and event organizer of the international film festival Cannes 1939 in Orléans, France, which re-enacted the inaugural edition of the Cannes International Film Festival that was disrupted by the Second World War. This event, held 80 years later, paid tribute to Jean Zay, a native of Orléans and the French Minister of Education and Fine Arts, who established the Cannes Festival in 1939 as an international film festival for the “free nations.” This venture into the film industry provided him with the opportunity to honor the legacy of the father of modern “Author’s right”—promulgated by the Minister André Malraux in the Intellectual Property Act of 11 March 1957—whose profound influence continues to resonate across Europe to this day.

* Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czechia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Swiss, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Photo © 2022 Portrait by Christian Chamourat