Dear friends,
yesterday I went to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam to see the first major retrospective of Karel Martens, one of the most influential post-war graphic designers in the Netherlands. He's celebrated for his inventive, playful, and experimental style.
The exhibit included a film where one of Martens' former students, Job van Bennekom, shared a key lesson he learned: When starting a new design project, you should first choose the physical materials before even thinking about the design itself. This approach seems both radical as logical, as it puts the user's real-world experience at the center of the creative process. Karel Martens, Unbound is on display till October 26, 2025.
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Help give a voice to those who need to be heard!
Graphic Matters, based in Breda, is looking for volunteers to help paint a special mural on 2 and 3 October. This is no ordinary painting job: together, we will give a voice to those who have been silenced.
What will we be doing?
Anton de Kom (Paramaribo, 1898–1945) was a writer, resistance fighter, and anti-colonial activist. His work and ideas remain relevant today, yet are unknown to many people in the Netherlands. With CHARACTERS: Voices in Type, we are making a statement about freedom, inspired by De Kom.
At the request of Graphic Matters, American type designer Tré Seals (Vocal Type) created VTC Anton, a brand-new typeface that draws inspiration from De Kom's life and values. This typeface will form the basis of a 100-metre-long typographic mural designed by Civilisation.
Would you like to support Graphic Matters alongside us? You can sign up here.
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