ALICE GRAFF



ABOUT

helloalice.graff@gmail.com
Instagram

I’m a graphic and industrial designer based in Lausanne, with Brazilian and French roots.

After earning a degree in graphic design and graduating from ECAL in industrial design, I developed a practice centered on objects that are worn, jewelry, eyewear, garments, as markers of identity and culture.

My work often draws on hybrid visual languages, where personal memory meets collective history.

For my thesis, I explored popular Brazilian objects—chains, ornaments, ritual artifacts—and their power to express social belonging, resilience, and cultural fusion.

CONTACT

CURRICULUM VITAE



Education
Bachelor in Industrial and Product design (Ecal, Lausanne, Switzerland) 2020-2025

Formation in jewelry (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2021

Diploma in Graphic Design (Eracom & WGR Communication, Lausanne, Switzerland) 2016-2020

Baccalauréat artistique (Eracom, Lausanne, Switzerland) 2016-2019


Experience  Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Product Design  
2022–2025 / ECAL / Lausanne

Focus on object design, prototyping, and 3D modeling. Experience in model making, sewing, woodworking, metalwork, and 3D printing through both individual and group projects


Design Days Lausanne 
June 2024 / ECAL / Lausanne

Project presentation in collaboration with Freitag


Milano Design Week
 April 2024 / ECAL / Milan

Featured in Wohnrevue and 24 Heures. Project showcased to the press and public. Developed a design tailored to the given brief in collaboration with the brand Freitag


Café Manager
2022–2025 / El Gato / Lausanne

Team management, customer service, logistics, stock supervision, and client relations


Bad, Badd and Baddy
 2023-2025 / Lausanne

Founded a brand of upcycled vintage football jerseys. Customised pieces using sewing and crochet. Handled artistic direction, photography, and Instagram management


Jewelry Training
 2022 / Rio de Janeiro

Learned metalworking and jewelry-making techniques.


Freelance Graphic Designer
 2021–2022 / Rio de Janeiro & Lausanne

Worked on a music festival campaign and various external commissions


Graphic Design Apprenticeship
 2016–2020 / WGR Communication + Eracom / Lausanne

Four-year dual education program completed within a creative agency. Developed strong foundations in visual communication, layout, branding, and client work.


Freelance Graphic Design Instructor
Since 2020 / Switzerland

Teaching graphic design fundamentals to students and individuals. Developing personalized lessons in software (Adobe Suite), composition, and visual storytelling.

Skills
 French – Native language
Portuguese – Very good command (C1)
English – Very good command (C1)
Spanish – Basic understanding (A2)
German – Basic understanding (A2)


Prototyping

Excellent skills in sewing and metalwork. Experience with 3D printing, woodworking, and 3D modeling using Rhino, Fusion 360 and SolidWorks


Graphic tools

Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Procreate, illustration, and Keyshot


Soft skills

Team player, dynamic, autonomous, self-taught, cheerful, with a good sense of humor, diplomatic, punctual, pedagogical, and resourceful


Exhibitions
Design Days Lausanne
June 2024 / ECAL / Lausanne

Project presentation in collaboration with Freitag


Milano Design Week
April 2024 / ECAL / Milan

Featured in Wohnrevue and 24 Heures. Project showcased to the press and public. Developed a design tailored to the given brief in collaboration with the brand Freitag

SELECTED WORK 





Bad, Badd and Baddy
Lausanne, Switzerland (2023-2025)
World Cup Collection

A playful and subversive project that reworks vintage football jerseys through crochet, sewing, and customisation. Mixing craft techniques with streetwear aesthetics, it questions codes of masculinity, nostalgia, and fandom. Each piece becomes a wearable collage, blending identity and memory





Diploma – Tijolo
Lausanne (2025)
Ecal – Diploma 

    In regions where institutional support is scarce, building becomes an act of resilience. This project addresses the reality of self-built homes in precarious and rural areas of Brazil. It proposes a low-tech construction kit designed to empower those excluded from traditional housing systems. Once emptied, the kit becomes a mold for producing bricks made from raw earth and recycled paper. Some bricks feature built-in volumes to guide water and electrical networks—making it possible for non-experts to build safer, more functional homes. A tool for self-determination in the face of systemic neglect



    “Brésil, tu m’entends ?”
     Lausanne (2025)
    Bachelor Thesis, Ecal 

      This thesis opens a dialogue around the objects of Brazilian popular culture, exploring how they reflect identity, social dynamics, and collective memory. From religious artifacts and street adornment to handcrafted tools and symbolic materials, these everyday objects tell stories of resilience and self-expression. Drawing from Afro, Indigenous, European, and Latin influences, the research traces how ornament and functionality intersect within a context marked by both cultural richness and structural inequality. Through this lens, the project questions the political and emotional power of the material world


      Untitled Jewelry
       Rio de Janeiro & Lausanne (2024)
      Xmas market 24 collection 

        Exploring the symbolic and emotional weight of ornament, this series of handmade pieces draws from Brazilian popular culture, ritual objects, and street aesthetics. Crafted in metal using traditional techniques, the jewelry blurs the boundary between adornment and identity




        Collaboration avec Freitag
        Milan Design Week, 2024
        Ecal X Freitag

        Developed in response to the brief Access over Ownership, this project explores nomadic living through a series of lightweight aluminum furniture pieces designed to move with the user. Each element fits into a custom Freitag bag and integrates recovered AirBags, highlighting mobility, reuse, and the emotional value of temporary ownership




        Hinge-Free Glasses
        Lausanne, 2025
        Ecal

        By 2050, half the global population is expected to need glasses—yet resources are increasingly scarce. This project rethinks conventional eyewear through a sustainable, minimalist approach: a single-piece frame with no hinges, screws, or added parts. Functionality emerges from the shape itself—its arms and bridge are designed to flex, adapting to the user through pure form. The prototyping was entirely done using 3D printing, allowing for fast iterations and material efficiency in the development process.




        Banana Hook 
        Lausanne, 2022
        Ecal

        Designed during the first year at ECAL, this bag combines textile construction with a custom-made metal component. The project marked an early exploration of pattern-making and sewing, while revealing a growing interest in metal as both structure and ornament




        Workstation with Micasa & ECAL
        Lausanne, 2024
        Ecal

        As part of a collaboration with Micasa, this desk project explores full-scale furniture design through industrial processes and material contrast. The structure combines custom metal legs with a linoleum-covered multiplex top. A cut-out detail on the legs allows hooks to be added freely, offering modular storage and flexibility in everyday use




        Tu m’aimes, un peu,...
         Lausanne, 2022
        Ecal

        This modular plant stand was inspired by a childhood game with daisies—pulling petals while chanting “he loves me, a little, a lot…”. The structure lets you add one, two, three or four additional pots like petals unfolding around a central bloom. Handmade in metal, the piece blends emotional memory with functional design




        Ceramic Extrusion Tools
         Lausanne, 2022
        Ecal 

        Developed in collaboration with a local ceramist, this project investigates waste recovery and tool-making in ceramic practice. Using an industrial extruder, typically used to recycle discarded clay—custom dies were designed to produce decorative elements such as bathroom tiles or housewarming gifts, turning surplus material into meaningful new forms