Récit’Cité

Mortard is a neighborhood in Lure, Franche-Comté—a place with a rich and complex history, where immigration, intercultural relations, and collective memory are central threads. Over three years, author and storyteller Julien Staudt conducted a residency in Mortard, gathering residents' stories and transforming them into a collection of tales. The book was supported by the City of Lure and the French Ministry of Culture.

The design sought to stay close to reality—carrying emotional weight, a rootedness in memory and lived experience, something the residents themselves could recognize as their own.
Each chapter opens with a full-page composition—photographs from the residents themselves, personal and vernacular images of everyday life layered with more descriptive views of the neighborhood, unified by a color field that shifts the material into something more poetic. A bold typographic title anchors the whole. The graphic intervention echoes the literary one: just as Staudt transformed gathered testimony into fiction, the images are lifted into imagination without ever losing their rootedness in the real.

A matte, slightly textured paper stock creates a common patina, softening contrasts and reinforcing the memorial dimension. The modest format fits in the hand, refusing ostentation while affirming its legitimacy.

Récit'Cité

Author: Julien Staudt
Book design & art direction: Pascal Liénard
Supported by: City of Lure & French Ministry of Culture
Release Date: 2024
Volume: 68 Pages
Format: 15 × 24 cm
Paper: Munken Lynx Rough
Binding: Perfect bound
Fonts: PP Acma, PP Rader, PP Writer (PangramPangram)
Language: French

More informations can be found here.