Dararith Pach, multidisciplinary designer

Graduating from the Concepteur Réalisateur Graphique course in 2014, Dararith Pach began his career as an art director. A true jack-of-all-trades (graphic design, illustration, publishing, video, etc.), he is now a multidisciplinary designer. He specializes in sports, designing basketball courts for the 2024 Olympic Games.

I took the course following a master's degree in art direction at Sup de Pub. I was already self-employed, so I started working as a freelance art director as soon as I graduated from GOBELINS.

At the same time, I was working on the genesis of the Maison Château Rouge brand with my friend Youssouf Fofana, a prêt-à-porter brand for women.

I then moved on to a period of salaried work, notably for the Le Coq sportif brand . This position enabled me to work with the French Rugby Federation, the Tour de France and soccer clubs such as AS Saint Etienne and ACF Fiorentina, for whom the brand was equipment supplier at the time. I gradually began to specialize in sports.

Today, Warner Bros. Discovery is one of my biggest clients. I work for them on campaigns for the sports competitions they broadcast.

The Maison Château Rouge brand ©Pierre Bdn

The job of art director is very broad, and can change enormously depending on the sector in which you work. I define myself as a multidisciplinary designer.

I still work as an art director, but I' ve also diversified a lot over the years. I've done a lot of illustrations, I've designed clothes, I've directed and produced films, and today I design sneaker fields.

My work continues to revolve around images , but the medium can be different depending on the needs and service providers I work with.

Lookbook Le Coq Sportif

I started out working exclusively in advertising. My first clients were former colleagues I'd met during internships or my first DA jobs. These initial contacts then enabled me to work with other agencies.

These were mainly campaigns for product launches, which are essentially one-off requests. I quickly broadened my scope, accepting all projects that revolved around image.

As time went on, I was offered slightly different things, such as interface design, and with the advent of social networks, I received more and more digital requests.

I told myself that if I stayed in advertising, at some point I'd be overtaken by the younger generations who know how to do more things and are more connected to trends. That's what prompted me to broaden my skills.

The industry is changing very fast. It's vital to keep a constant watch on technological and creative developments, and to be able to learn on the job so as not to miss any opportunities.

Today, I specialize more in sports and I've narrowed my spectrum to digital, which is a very complete medium. I think it's imperative to have a "Swiss army knife" profile when you're starting out, but then you have to know how to specialize. On more ambitious projects, with larger budgets, customers tend to favor a profile that is an expert in its field.

Visual for Warner Bros. Discovery

I met Paul Odonnat during my training at GOBELINS. He came to submit a visual identity project. He liked my graphic proposal and contacted me again to work on the All Parisian Games, a basketball competition that pitted the best players from the Left and Right Banks of Paris against each other.

The event quickly grew to include the whole of the Ile de France region, and was sponsored by Jordan.

It was against this backdrop that I was approached by Paris City Hall and the French Basketball Federation for a court renovation project. They entrusted me with the design of the Jules Ladoumègue gymnasium courts, the first of a small series.

Ladoumegue basketball court, designed by Dararith Pach

The design phase! The feeling of euphoria when you come up with an original idea is very powerful. It's something I'll never tire of.

Today, even after many years of experience, I still get the same pleasure out of coming up with a good idea.

The course is very comprehensive, going into great depth on the various subjects covered. It enabled me to tackle certain issues with greater confidence.

It helped me a lot with the launch of the Maison Château Rouge brand. We did everything ourselves, and it was reassuring to be able to rely on the operational skills I'd acquired during the training.

Collection Maison Château Rouge for Monoprix

I was lucky enough to work again with Martin Huleux, who was in the same class as me. I was looking for someone to support me at Coq sportif and his name quickly came to mind.

I had him recruited and he's still working there as Senior Creative Manager. I knew I could count on him.

We had access to a laboratory where we could experiment with certain technologies, and I was particularly impressed by a workshop on the theme of design by thought.

Electrodes were placed on a student's head and he could move objects and draw by thought. I thought it was revolutionary.

Victor Hugo basketball court, designed by Dararith Pach

I'd like to give three pieces of advice:

• Be rigorous: it's all very well to have creative and original ideas, but it's important to be exacting in their execution. What you deliver to the customer is the signature of your work.

• Be resilient: some battles aren't worth fighting. If a customer insists on a detail you don't like, you have to know how to let go. It's better to save a relationship than a good idea.

• Demonstratesocial intelligence: once you've reached a certain level, what will make the difference between two very good profiles is your bonhomie. It's very important to know how to make friends - you're your own agent before you're creative.