Born in the Netherlands in 1928, Wim Crouwel trained at the Art Academy Minerva (1946–49) and after completing his military service, started his professional life as an abstract painter. He studied at the Amsterdam Art Academy (1952–53) and during that time joined an exhibition design firm (1952), where he gained his first experience of the possibilities of graphic design. Inspired by Swiss design, in 1954 he stopped painting and sought work as a freelance designer in Amsterdam.
During the 1950s, Crouwel traveled to Switzerland, meeting with other designers and witnessing the emerging International Style. An avid proponent of international debate, he became the first general secretary of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) in 1963. In the same year, Crouwel, product designer Friso Kramer, and architect and graphic designer Benno Wissing, together with Paul and Dick Schwarz, founded Total Design, the Netherlands' first multidisciplinary design studio, which was to become a dominant force in Dutch design. Through their work, Crouwel and his colleagues had significant influence on the national and cultural identity of the Netherlands. Crouwel’s portfolio ranges from postage stamps for the Dutch Post Office (1968) to an extensive body of work for the Stedelijk Museum (1964–85)—all testimony to his achievements in the refinement and application of the grid. Crouwel is also especially recognized for his innovative systematic approach to design thinking. In 1967, as a response to early digital typesetting, he designed the experimental typeface New Alphabet (in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York), devising a matrix within which letterforms were constructed as units on a grid.
In 1972, Crouwel became a part-time professor at Delft Technical University (TU Delft), and in 1980 he left Total Design when he was appointed a full-time professor at TU. In 1985 he was named Director of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He consolidated his longtime commitment to education in assuming the Private Chair at Erasmus University, Rotterdam (1987–93).
Wim Crouwel holds a number of honorary positions, including Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE); Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion; Honorary Royal Designer for Industry, UK; Honorary Fellow of the Society of Typographic Designers, UK; and Honorary Member of the Deutsche Werkbund. His work, which has received many European design awards, has been exhibited internationally, most recently in the 2011 retrospective “Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey” at the Design Museum, London and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Crouwel's achievements are the subject of several books, including Wim Crouwel Alphabets by Kees Broos and David Quay (2003) and Wim Crouwel: Mode en Module by Frederike Huygen and Hugues Boekraad (1997). His lectures and essays have been collected in Wim Crouwel: In His Own Words, edited by Toon Lauwen (2010).
Announcements
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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