French Illustrator Simon Bailly's Ligne Claire Style Merges Comics and Editorial Art

Simon Bailly, a French illustrator and graphic designer from Lyon born in 1993, creates work that combines the ligne claire style of Franco-Belgian comics with editorial illustration and poster design. After graduating from École Supérieure d’Art de Lorraine in 2015, he has produced illustrations for publications including Libération, Le 1, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, as well as clients like Hermès and Kiblind. His practice also includes risograph posters and album covers. Bailly's visual approach features clean linework, flat or textured color, and settings ranging from everyday scenes to retro-futurist environments, often serving as single-image metaphors for articles or moods. Influences include Hergé, Sempé, Saul Bass, Joost Swarte, Daniel Clowes, and Adrian Tomine. He typically sketches and inks by hand before coloring digitally for commissions, while some personal works remain ink on paper.