Adolphe Mouron was born in the Ukraine in 1901. He went to school in Paris, where he passed his Baccalauréat with distinction at the Lycée Condorect and discovered his passion for poster design. In 1919 already, he won third place in a competition organised by Michelin.


Cassandre’s best-known typeface, “Peignot”, was released to coincide with the Paris World Fair in 1937 (Montage: FontShop)

The poster “Au Bucheron”, designed in 1923 for the large Paris furniture store Hachard & Cie., was distributed throughout Paris as a “Monumentaldruck”, and made the artist famous overnight. From then on – on the advice of a friend – Mouron went by the name of A. M. Cassandre.

His first typeface, “Bifur”, was designed for use in advertising and established his international reputation in 1929. On the occasion of the Paris World Fair in 1937, he released another successful typeface, “Peignot”. Cassandre then devoted himself to painting.

After the Second World War, he and several friends founded the Alliance Graphique International (AGI). He later worked with varying success as a stage designer, director, and – from 1963 – graphic designer again. After a series of disappointments, he committed suicide in his Paris apartment in 1968.