With their most recent project Affiches Artifices, French designers Marion Pinaffo and Raphaël Pluvinage might have sparked a new poster trend with a little extra flare. The duo created a dozen geometric motifs that, at first glance, appear as simple glittering arches and circular patterns. Once ignited by a match, though, the forms light up in a spectacular blend of incandescent bursts and multi-color flames.

To produce the controlled burns, Pinaffo and Pluvinage coated fire-resistant paper with distinct markings that when lit on one end, create a clear path for the flame to follow, and although the posters are left charred, the original design remains. “As ‘pyrotechnic ink’ doesn’t exist as such, we spend a lot of time in our workshop looking for the right way of mixing and printing such chemicals. After hundreds of failed attempts, we finally found the right way,” the duo told Creative Boom. “The visuals and sound effects are physically programmed on paper directly, depending on the length and path of gunpowder.”

Watch the short video below to see the incendiary creations in action, and explore more from Pinaffo and Pulvinage on Instagram.

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