Wim Crouwel: 'A Graphic Odyssey' - the exhibition

An exhibition dedicated to the work of the Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel opens at the Design Museum, London this week (30 March-3 July). Spanning over 60 years of Crouwel’s career, A Graphic Odyssey showcases an extensive body of work encompassing iconic posters, original sketches, catalogues and archive photography by one of the leading graphic designers of the twentieth century.

Crouwel's grid-based layouts, typographic designs and asymmetric visuals have become symbols of modern design. Nicknamed by his friends and colleagues as 'Gridnik' - owing to the grid-based layouts and geometrical typeface he designed - Crouwel’s work was also inspired by Bauhaus typography. Unlike the Weimar-trained artists and designers however, Crouwel found himself fascinated by mass production: "We need the machine since we have no time," explained Crouwel, "but the machine cannot replace the precision of the human eye and human feeling."

Crouwel became an acquaintance of the Dutch designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld (and most recently designed the latest English monograph Gerrit Rietveld, published by Phaidon).

Crouwel became famous for his innovative approach to typography, especially his 1967 ‘New Alphabet’ font. In 1963, together with his colleagues Benno Wissing, Friso Kramer and brothers Dick and Paul Schwartz, Crouwel founded Total Design, a design practice that was later commissioned to devise a visual identity for the Amsterdam-based Stedelijk Museum.

Works for Stedelijk, as well as archive films and audio material, will be on display at the Design Museum's exhibition, along with specially commissioned Crouwel-inspired prints, produced by six contemporary designers. Peter Saville, the graphic designer who in the late 80s redrew the 'New Alphabet' font for Joy Division's album Substance, together with the graphic designer and typographer Stefan Sagmeister, will provide commentary exploring Crouwel’s work and his continuous influence on contemporary graphic design.

A number of special events including talks and workshops are also scheduled, with the highlight being a public conversation with Wim Crouwel, interviewed by Deyan Sudjic, the director of the Design Museum on 23 June.

Malgorzata Stankiewicz