Dutch modernism in graphic design is one of the most distinctive and sustained national traditions in the history of the discipline, a culture of rigorous formal thinking, typographic precision, and a willingness to question the role of the designer in public life.
Dutch modernism started with the experimental typo-photo of Piet Zwart and Paul Schuitema in the 1920s and 1930s, to the identity design of Total Design, the Stedelijk Museum catalogues of Wim Crouwel, and the practice of Jan van Toorn. The archive documents this movement through posters, publication covers, stamp designs, and the printed matter of the Dutch cultural and public sector. See also Dutch graphic design history and 1960s graphic design history.
Design Archive Feature, Magazines & Publishing, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
Each year, leading Dutch artists were commissioned to design the covers and inner pages of Drukkersweekblad en Autolijn. Including designers included Dick Elffers, Willem Sandberg, Jan van Toorn, Wim Crouwel, and Jurriaan Schrofer. The journal documented important design trends and developments in The Netherlands.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
This 1,500 word essay is about the life and work of Willem Sandberg and is illustrated with part of my collection of over 100 pieces of Sandberg’s work, including books, Stedelijk Museum catalogues, and various individual printed items.
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Design Archive Feature, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
The stamps for the 1970 editions were designed by Jan Slothouber and William Graatsma in collaboration with the Centre for Cubic Constructions (CCC) in Heerlen. Every stamp displays a different corner point of the same block, highlighting eight distinct corner points, with four chosen for their unique identities.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
Dick Elffers, had been the chosen designer for the printed matter of the Holland Festival for much of the festival's years, he used a painterly style for his work with the festival between 1954 and 1965 and later a more abstract style between 1969 and 1972. As well as publicity design, Elffers was commissioned to design the summer stamps to promote the Holland Festival in 1972.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
Ootje Oxenaar designed the summer stamps for the Netherlands using an assignment from De Nederlandsche Bank based on banknotes. The assignment resulted in the collaboration of Oxenaar, the printer, the laboratory and the banking specialist, in which they experimented with the design of securities on printed matter.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Magazines & Publishing, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Paul Schuitema emerged as one of the Dutch pioneers of new typography. This article features a selection of the cover designs and a few inner spreads from my collected issues of De 8 en Opbouw.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
This 1,500 word essay focused on the work of Jan Bons. One of the most prominent figures in Dutch design history. For over three-quarters of a century, he crafted a mass of work with many long-time collaborators.
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Corporate Identity & Branding, Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
Crouwel was the successor to Willem Sandberg who used an avant-garde approach in his work, utilising torn-paper montage, mixing of sans serif and old Egyptian typefaces and often off-center positioning. Crouwel steered away from this artistic approach and implemented a cohesive design system and a strong identity that emulated the corporate identity boom of the 1950s and 60s.
Read ArticleExplore designers central to Dutch modernism including Wim Crouwel, Jan van Toorn, Karel Martens, Jurriaan Schrofer, and Piet Zwart. See also Dutch graphic design history and Total Design.
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Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles, Ephemera, Members Only Content
Beyond his books, Dick Bruna's vivid colour and simplified forms found their way onto posters, packaging, murals and stamps, many of which feature in my growing collection.
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Members Only Content, Design Archive Feature, Designer Profiles
An article on Valentin Zietara , originally in German, published in Gebrauchsgraphik, 10, 1930, written by H K Frenzel translated by E. T. Scheffauer
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Members Only Content, Designer Profiles, Studios & Collectives
A 1903-1904 article on Die Steglitzer Werkstatt, originally in German, published in Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, Vol. XIII, October 1903–March 1904.
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Regional Histories, Ephemera, Illustration, Members Only Content
A collected visual record of the Kanto, Chubu and Tohoku Lottery tickets.
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Designer Profiles, Members Only Content, Movements
April Greiman is known for her experimental approach to graphic design, her role in the development of Californian New Wave and being one of the first designers to fully embrace the computer in her work.
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Illustration, Ephemera, Members Only Content, Regional Histories
A collected visual record of the first eight years of Japan’s Rural Medical Care Promotion Lottery.
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