About

Behind ICONEMIA.

François Giard, PhD, is a professor, researcher, designer, and filmmaker working at the intersection of animation, visual culture, generative AI, and the ecology of images.

François Giard is Professor of Design at Université Laval, where he teaches animation, visual communication, and artificial intelligence. His research investigates the ecology of images, generative AI, mediated empathy, animation, and visual literacy, leading to the development of the concept of ICONEMIA.

Before entering academia, he worked at Softimage and Microsoft, experiences that continue to inform his thinking about digital imaging technologies, 3D animation, computational tools, and the cultural consequences of image-making systems.