In Memoriam – Wim Crouwel, graphic designer, emeritus professor and former dean of Industrial Design Engineering
Born in Groningen in 1928 and trained at Academie Minerva in his hometown and at - what is today - the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Wim Crouwel quickly gained a reputation for his modern and functional form of graphic design. He was one of the founding members of the agency Total Design and developed a number of distinct typefaces including the New Alphabet (1967), an experimental typeface meant for monitors at that time. From the mid-sixties onwards, Crouwel’s distinctive work could be seen on posters, stamps and in museums across the Netherlands.
Wim Crouwel’s involvement with the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering began in 1965, when he taught typography in the Industrial Design Department of the Architecture Faculty (then part of Delft’s Technical College). From 1973, he taught Design (Vormgeving) and Art History. In 1978 he left the Department, returning in 1980 as a full-time professor of Industrial Design, chairing the Design Department from 1980 to 1982 and becoming dean of our faculty in 1984. After leaving the faculty in 1985, Wim Crouwel went on to become the director of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
Looking back at his time on at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering during an interview in 2004, Wim Crouwel said: “I am proud of having played a part in the foundations of our faculty. A general education with the chance to specialise with a graduation project which usually took place in design practice. That was a fantastic model. It was valued internationally.” [1]
On 26 September AvroTros will broadcast the Lex Reitsma documentary Wim Crouwel on NPO2. Wim Crouwel’s work will be celebrated in an exhibition opening on 28 September in Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition is entitled Mr Gridnik, a reference to the typeface of the same name which was employed on Dutch postage stamps.
Wim Crouwel was also a member of merit of ID, the study association of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.
[1] Arthur Eger – ‘Van het eerste uur. Grondleggers van de Faculteit Industrieel Ontwerpen’ (Delft, 2004)