Co-founder and design director of Bonhomme
Emmanuel Cruellas co-founded Bonhomme in 2013 with Morgane Urbain. A designer trained in Lyon, he has more than twenty years of experience in the creative industry and leads the studio's design.
Together with Morgane Urbain, he oversees the art direction and strategy of every project Bonhomme leads for premium and luxury houses.
LinkedIn · Instagram (Bonhomme) · Behance (Bonhomme) · CSS Design Awards judge · FWA interview · Awwwards interview
20+ years of experience · Since 2013 · 125+ co-directed projects · 200+ international awards for the studio, including 92 Awwwards and 65 CSS Design Awards · CSS Design Awards judge 2015 · 17 articles
1. Background
A graduate in graphic and digital arts, Emmanuel has more than twenty years of experience in digital. After working with some of Europe's leading agencies and for major advertisers such as Audi, Chanel and Google, he co-founded Bonhomme with Morgane Urbain, with whom he shares a clear ambition: to build a creative studio that renews the relationship brands have with digital.
Passionate about brand identity, motion design and digital production, he works alongside each of the studio's art directors to raise their aesthetic and creative standards to the highest level. Nothing is left to chance: every pixel is weighed and every choice justified, across all the deliverables designed for clients.
Education: BTS in Visual Communication, Multimedia option, École de Condé, Lyon, 2007-2009.
2. Areas of expertise
3. Awards and press
- Awwwards 2026 interview
- FWA 2026 interview
- Font Ninja 2026 interview
- Lenodal 2025 interview
- YouTube 2020 interview
- FWA interview: Emmanuel Cruellas 2018
- CSS Design Awards 2015 interview
- CSS Design Awards Design Stories 2015
- Contributed to the more than 200 international awards won by the studio: 92 Awwwards, 31 FWA, 65 CSSDA and 35 Behance.
4. Talks and juries
- Jury: judge at the CSS Design Awards, 2015
- Media: Fonts Fonts Fonts, the studio's typography media
5. Articles by Emmanuel Cruellas
11. What is a premium digital experience?
12. Luxury UX: which mistakes destroy desirability?
13. Why do overly complex websites convert poorly?
14. How do you design an immersive website without hurting performance?
15. What is the future of the immersive web in luxury?
16. How do animations improve brand perception?
17. How do you balance aesthetics and conversion on a premium website?
18. What are the UX principles of premium brands?
19. What is a premium design system?
20. How do you create consistent art direction on the web?
31. What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
32. How do AI systems understand a brand?
33. SEO vs. GEO: definitions, differences and an integrated strategy
34. How do you optimize a website for ChatGPT and Google AI?
35. Why do premium brands need to work on their AI visibility?
36. How do you structure a website for AI engines?
37. Which SEO mistakes hurt visibility in LLMs?
38. Why does expert content dominate AI engines?
39. How do you become a source cited by ChatGPT?
40. How do AI systems choose which brands to recommend?
41. Why is designing branding and digital separately a mistake?
42. How do you design the UX of a premium brand?
43. How do you design an immersive digital experience?
44. Why does visual consistency build trust?
45. How do we balance aesthetics, performance and SEO?
51. Branding agency or freelancer: which should you choose for a premium brand?
52. WordPress, Framer or Sanity: which CMS should you choose for a premium brand website?
53. How does a branding or website project work?
54. Website redesign: the checklist before you start
6. Projects led
- TAGHeuer.com (2020): e-commerce, UX/UI, design system. +400% conversion rate, Awwwards Honorable Mention and Developer Award.
- Duroc (2025): immersive website and corporate film. Lovie Gold, FWA of the Day, Awwwards Site of the Day.
- France Télévisions channel branding (2025): video branding and motion design. Best of Behance, Bronze at the Club des D.A.
- Lacoste Heritage (2023): immersive website. Selected by Communication Arts (Webpick).
- Bonhomme 10 years (2024): the studio's anniversary immersive website. Lovie Gold.
- LVMR (2024): design system.