The Design Museum celebrates the prolific career of the Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel in this, his first UK retrospective. Regarded as one of the leading designers of the twentieth century, Crouwel embraced a new modernity to produce typographic designs that captured the essence of the emerging computer and space age of the early 1960s.

Spanning over 60 years, this exhibition will cover Crouwel’s rigorous design approach and key moments in his career including his work for design practice ‘Total Design’, the identity for the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, as well as his iconic poster, print, typography and lesser known exhibition design. The exhibition will also explore Crouwel’s innovative use of grid-based layouts and typographic systems to produce consistently striking asymmetric visuals.

Born in 1928, Wim Crouwel studied fine art in Groningen before moving to Amsterdam in the early 1950s where he initially worked for an exhibition design company. Heavily influenced by architecture, Crouwel’s sense of spatial awareness and identity led to commissions for cultural institutions, most notably in 1956 for the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven. Commissions for the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam followed leading to Crouwel taking sole responsibility for the museum’s identity, posters and catalogues.  Whilst at the Stedelijk, Crouwel developed his unique grid system which acted as a museum template for its graphic identity, an approach which realised a visual consistency for the museum and in doing so defined a turning point for the world of graphic design.

Original sketches, posters, catalogues and archive photography will be on display alongside films and audio commentary. In addition to celebrating Crouwel’s career this exhibition will also explore his legacy and influence on contemporary graphic design with commentary from leading industry figures including Peter Saville and Stefan Sagmeister. In addition six designers will take inspiration from Crouwel’s career to produce a series of limited edition prints, a unique Wim Crouwel inspired wallpaper will also be sold exclusively in the Design Museum Shop.

Family workshops
Loopy Letters and Futuristic Fonts
Sunday 10 April, 2pm - 4.30pm
Sunday 1 May, 2pm - 4.30pm
Details and booking on the workshops page

Talks and Events
Designer Night: GraphicDesign&
Friday 15 April, 7.30pm, £15 / 7.50 members

Working With Wim
Monday 9 May, 7.30pm, £15 / 7.50 members

Rick Poynor on Graphic Design the Netherlands
Monday 23 May, 7.30pm, £15 / 7.50 members

Pioneers of Industrial Culture with Wim Crouwel
Thursday 23 June, 7.30pm, £15 / 7.50 members

PechaKucha X Wim Crouwel
Friday 1 July, 7.30pm, £15 / 7.50 members