Lab'Bel: Rires en Boîtes

Bel Group is a multinational food company headquartered in France, best known for its branded cheeses, including The Laughing Cow®, a cheese with an iconic logo that, over more than a century, has become a symbol of joy, sharing, and creativity, inspiring numerous illustrators and contemporary artists. In 2014, its artistic laboratory, Lab’Bel, launched a project that brought together twelve artists who helped shape the brand’s image within the fields of design and contemporary art.

With the “Rires en Boîtes” catalogue, we wanted to bring the iconic cheese box, the foundation of the entire project, back to life, just as the artists had intervened on the product itself throughout the years. The recognizable packaging, featuring diagonal blue-and-white stripes and the smiling cow, was integrated into the catalogue design, which opens by pulling a strip, replicating the experience of opening a cheese box. The cover was created with a metallic finish, reflecting the shiny foil of individually wrapped cheeses. Like the Collector’s Edition Box, the catalogue also functions as a collectible object: some may wish to keep one copy untouched, while using another for active browsing. Inside the catalogue, shorter pages subtly evoke the French flag, while diagonal shapes and stars create a playful and dynamic composition aligned with the visuals and concepts of the individual artists.