Interview with Fabien Barral
Originally published 2009. Updated March 2026.
“I am Fabien Barral. I am a graphic designer. I am passionate about images and graphic design. I am a husband and I love my wife. I am a father and I love my daughter. I am not the clients I work with, I am the art I create with them. I am what I create. I create what I am.”
Fabien Barral is a French designer who has been making distinctive, texture-rich work from a remote village in the French countryside for over two decades. Long before designers were scanning found materials and calling it craft, Fabien was raiding old papers, creating his own textures, and developing a visual language entirely his own.
He is known for his work on music and event branding — and for once being asked to redesign the Rolling Stones website. We caught up with him to hear about process, inspiration, and why not being able to draw turned out to be no problem at all.
For a broader look at French design talent, see our focus on French graphic design.
Welcome to The Graphic Design School blog. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Fabien Barral. I live in France, in an old country house that my wife and I restored together.
Our village is so remote and small that there are not enough houses to name the streets. I love the fact that I can work here on such amazing projects so far away.
I was not a huge fan of school, but while still studying I was introduced to design — and it appealed to me immediately. Once into it, I loved it, and I have made it my life ever since. I have been designing for over twelve years now. I learnt in a time without internet, and on Photoshop without layers!
We are a blog for beginners and graphic design students. Can you share the most important lesson you learned while studying?
The best lesson I have learnt is that design does not start on the computer. The computer is just a tool. You have to step away from it to get inspired.
One of my teachers told me that “the greatest ideas come from the subconscious”. When you need a big idea, fill your mind with all the background information you can about your subject — then step away from the project and let your subconscious do the work. Usually when you come back, the ideas flow much smoother.
How did that lesson shape what you do now?
I always step back from the computer to find ideas. Always.
Describe your style of graphic design in a few words. What advice would you give students who want to develop a similar approach?
Combining things — texture, font work, organics, colour treatment, watercolour effects, old imagery, handwriting — that is the best way to describe my style.
To develop this kind of style, I recommend finding your own sources. I always look for old papers and old materials to scan myself. These become my textures. The more personal your source material, the more personal your work becomes.
Do you use hand-drawn techniques in your design process?
Not at all. I do not know how to draw — I am genuinely bad at it. It was really hard at design school; my teachers told me I could not succeed without the ability to draw. They were wrong.
What matters more is your eye, your taste, and your willingness to combine things in ways that have not been seen before.
Do you keep an ideas journal?
I do keep a journal, but I use it for note-taking only — so it is not especially interesting to look at. I make my own journals because I never found the ones I wanted in the shops.
Do you have a special method for brainstorming?
Yes. I check my own graphic-exchange.com blog and choose images that fit the project I am working on. That is why I update it so often — the more images are in it, the more inspired I am. It is essentially a curated image bank for my own use.
What are your favourite websites at the moment?
Who are your five all-time favourite graphic designers?
What typefaces do you use most in your designs?
Disturbance variations, almost always.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
When I am as proud of the project as the client is. It is rare. But these days it happens more and more.
A moment to brag — who are your most prestigious clients?
I was asked to redesign the Rolling Stones website. Yes, you read correctly. I still can barely believe it myself. The project was never launched as the band changed their plans — but I hope it will be, someday.
Where do you see your career going?
Roaming the world. Working on more music and film projects. Having fun.
What advice would you give to graphic design students about building a great portfolio?
I like the Combinations Rule from James Webb-Young’s little book:
“Designing is basically the practice of combining stuff — ideally in ways that haven’t been seen before. So, the more stuff you know (about everything), the greater chance you’ll find a relevant, distinctive, and original combination.”
Read widely. Collect obsessively. Combine fearlessly. That is the portfolio advice that actually holds up.
For more on building your portfolio, see our guide to putting together an effective portfolio.
Finally — how do you feel when you are designing?
That is what I call an “Imaginary Moment”. I named my original website after the feeling. When I design, I feel absorbed by the images I am creating. In an imaginary world.
Any famous last words?
“Designers are meant to be loved, not to be understood.”
Fabien Barral
At The Graphic Design School, we have been teaching graphic design online since 2008. Our Certificate IV in Graphic Design is fully accredited, self-paced, and supported by our dedicated Support Angels — available seven days a week. If Fabien’s approach to combining imagery, texture, and type inspires you, that instinct is worth developing.
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