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Graphic Design History from Design Reviewed
Wim Crouwel

Keerpunten in de Nederlandse schilderkunst, 1920-1960, 1960

Details

  • Format Exhibition Catalogue
  • Designer/s Wim Crouwel
  • Year 1960
  • Client/Publisher Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum and Groninger Museum voor Stad en Lande
  • Size 200mm x 270mm
Wim Crouwel
Willem Hendrik Crouwel was born in 1928 in Groningen, Netherlands. He studied at the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Groningen and took evening classes at the Institute of Arts and Crafts, now the Rietveld Academy. His teacher, Charles Jongejans, was trained by notable Dutch designers Paul Schuitema and Gerard Kiljan. In 1952, Crouwel began his design career at Enderberg, designing exhibitions and trade stands, gaining valuable experience. After leaving Enderberg in 1956, he founded a studio with industrial designer Kho Liang Ie, working on various projects across design disciplines, including graphic and exhibition design. Influenced by mid-century Swiss typography, Crouwel explored letterforms and graphic systems, using fonts like Helvetica and Univers. His early clients included the Van Abbe Museum, where he designed catalogues and posters. In 1963, he co-founded the influential design agency Total Design and also started working for the Stedelijk Museum, collaborating with Edy de Wilde until 1986. Explore the Design Reviewed archive to discover artefacts connected to Wim Crouwel. The Dutch Modernism movement collection showcases the visual culture he helped define, while the Netherlands archive reflects the broader design scene he worked within. Browse the 1960s and 1970s decade pages to see the period in which his most influential work was produced, or explore the poster format collection to find work that shares his commitment to grid-based typographic clarity.

Linked Information

Keerpunten in de Nederlandse schilderkunst, 1920-1960, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum | Groninger Museum voor Stad en Lande, 1960 designed by Wim Crouwel
Keerpunten in de Nederlandse schilderkunst, 1920-1960, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum | Groninger Museum voor Stad en Lande, 1960 designed by Wim Crouwel
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