Last year I'd had the pleasure of engaging in a roundtable conversation with Lies Ros, a graphic designer known for her activist works, and Thomas Castro, a graphic designer turned curator for the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. This conversation and interview centred on the medium of the poster and its relevance for todays practices and cultural environments. Next to the interviews of Cengiz Mengüç (@c3n_g1z ), Marinus Augustijn and Serana Angelista (@serana_angelista ), it made a contribution to the poster book containing 1000 works from the collection, splurging over 560 pages and resulting in quite the impressive colour gradient.
Shout out to the Stedelijk Museum (@stedelijkmuseum & @stedelijkdesign ) and Hannibal Books (@hannibal_books ) for the publishing of this book.
Prutsen in de praktijk
Less then a year ago I was asked to write a piece about the current state of affairs in graphic design: with a particular focus on young graphic designers. I happily complied with one conditio, namely that it would be fair and take into account that it ain't easy these days. I was granted this freedom by the Keep an Eye Foundation and delved into discussions with some designers that I've met and befriended over the years. The outcome is the article 'Prutsen in de praktijk' [Tinkering in practice], published in Dutch in the magazine Mag je Zien en Horen! #9.
Thanks to everyone who made this fair reflection possible;
Keep an Eye Foundation (and in particular Catherine Clavaux) @keepaneyefoundation
Benjamin McMillan @benmcmillan
Céline Hurka @celinehurka
Trang Hà @terrafic.soup
Katharina Nejdl @katharinanejdl
And Graphic Matters @graphicmatters and Page Not Found @____page_not_found____
So much of the writings on visual culture and graphic design are concerned with discussing great works. Yet actually, so much of actual communication images are hardly considerable great works at all. So, what happens if we would take a closer look at some of these edgy images? More particularly, what can we unveil when examining posters or communicative graphics made by generative artificial intelligence? To dive into discussing kitch images, I've had a look at the tragic case of a poster advocating a illusionist show deprived of all it's magic. You can find the article on substack.
That the economy is catastrophically affecting the living world is well known. But how exactly the financial world operates remains shrouded in ambiguous terms for many. Astroturfing, cube farms, concentrated liquidity, sweat equity, pig bellies, floating debts, and double witching. In the book "Collapsed Mythologies" (2025), artists Eline Benjaminsen and Dayna Casey attempt to map this financial world. I worked on a review article discussing this recent publication within the broader context of speculative fiction for the magazine Metropolis M. You can find the article online (in Dutch).
Thanks to @metropolism_mag , @____page_not_found____ , @spectorbooks , @dayna.casey , @elinebenjaminsen
As part of the fellowship at the Wim Crouwel Institute, closely working together with Richard Niessen, we published the initial stage of our research on the field of graphic design in the newspaper format ‘Het Mechaniek van de Mediërende Discipline.’ The research feeds directly into the development of a master course on graphic design taught at the University of Amsterdam, and insights are shared via the website of the Wim Crouwel Institutes. While currently still exploring the field of graphic design, I am working on an article proposing the field as a theoretical framework for understanding the variations in visual communications.
Graphic design by Mareen Mooren (@maureen.mooren )
Text in collaboration with Richard Niessen
Published by the Palace of Typographic Masonry
Herewith I welcome myself to the realm of substack where I will be sharing some writings and reflections on our day to day environment. What's the role of design and material culture in shaping our habits and lives, and how does it relate to a broader socio-historical scope? While of our reflections are published in polished journals—often focussing on art—i'll be using substack's environment as a space for the raw reflections.
First, is an reflection on the vending machine. While it may not be the most urgent case of how techno-capitalism is taking hold of our lives, the banality of the object may reveal a thing or two on how it works. Feel free to read all about it in the substack.
Did I ever tell you that I collaborated on a book? While assisting the curator industrial design Ingeborg De Roode of the Stedelijk Museum for the exhibition ‘Modern’ in 2024, I worked on several object studies, assisted in the editing of texts and wrote an article on how Japanese woodblock printing influenced art nouveau graphic design; while revealing traces of European influences itself. It was a joy to work on and am still very proud on the exhibition and publication we achieved.
Special thanks to the team of Stedelijk Museum, Ingeborg de Roode, Maurice Rummens, Ginger van de Akker and of course Janna Meeus & Hilde Meeus for the fantastic design of the book.
Bean grinders, mixers, food processors, blenders, yoghurt makers, toasters, egg boilers, citrus presses, hairdryers, shavers, (portable) radios, televisions, batter mixers, irons, knife sharpeners, can openers, mayonnaise makers and remote controls. For the magazine Metropolis M I wrote an article (a while ago) reviewing the exhibition 'Mannen, vrouwen en hun apparaten' [Men, Women and their appliances] which focused on the electrical appliances that entered many households in the 1970s and 1980s and how they fostered gender divisions.
While exhibiting a extraordinary range of interesting objects, the Design Museum neglected the opportunity to discuss gender inequalities residing in designed objects. You can read the full article (in Dutch), on the website of Metropolis M.
Platform Pudding is a reflective platform on design that fosters cross-pollination between theory and practice. We understand design in its broadest sense, spanning from historical to speculative, from fashion to architecture, from the Senseo coffee machine to Marcel Breuer’s S-32 dining chair.
Through this wide range of perspectives and writing styles, Platform Pudding explores how design can contribute to sustainability, an inclusive society, the gender debate, or decolonization.
Pudding is not a hierarchy but a coherent form. We propose a search for new ways of sharing knowledge where exchange, depth, interaction, inclusion, and accessibility are the essential ingredients.
Until the end of the month, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam ( @stedelijkmuseum )is hosting the exhibition "Karel Martens: Unbound." This retrospective reflects over 65 years of work and legacy: from book covers to posters, stamps, calendar pages, paper reliefs, telephone cards, and road signage. Martens's distinctive character lies at the intersection of applied and artistic practice, resulting from a continuous interplay between commissioned work and free experimentation. But what does this liberal approach reveal about the importance of the interplay between free and applied work? What role does free research play in honing a personal signature or vision within a professional practice?
For the Wim Crouwel Institute ( @wimcrouwelinstituut ), I worked on an in-depth article that, based on the work of Karel Martens, examines the role of unbound work for the graphic designer. The article is available online in Dutch on the Wim Crouwel Institute website.
On productive archiving as a discursive graphic design approach
In this essay, published by the Wim Crouwel Institute, I brought theoretical approaches to the archive in relation to graphic design with the aim to develop an understanding of how today's designers can respectfully engage with our collective memory.
The article is available online and was printed in a pamphlet published by The Palace of Typographic Masonry for the event It's All Graphic: Between Archive and Urgency.
Special thanks to Richard Niessen
Design by Angèle Jaspers @angele.jaspers
Published by Wim Crouwel Institute @wimcrouwelinstituut
![Prutsen in de praktijkLess then a year ago I was asked to write a piece about the current state of affairs in graphic design: with a particular focus on young graphic designers. I happily complied with one conditio, namely that it would be fair and take into account that it ain't easy these days. I was granted this freedom by the Keep an Eye Foundation and delved into discussions with some designers that I've met and befriended over the years. The outcome is the article 'Prutsen in de praktijk' [Tinkering in practice], published in Dutch in the magazine Mag je Zien en Horen! #9.Thanks to everyone who made this fair reflection possible;Keep an Eye Foundation (and in particular Catherine Clavaux) @keepaneyefoundationBenjamin McMillan @benmcmillanCéline Hurka @celinehurkaTrang Hà @terrafic.soupKatharina Nejdl @katharinanejdlAnd Graphic Matters @graphicmatters and Page Not Found @____page_not_found____](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6742503971425738645753_0_e31abd665c696c052d7614ca73510290.jpg?o=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&h=00745f1d0e5196a49c62145082f55a9e)
![Bean grinders, mixers, food processors, blenders, yoghurt makers, toasters, egg boilers, citrus presses, hairdryers, shavers, (portable) radios, televisions, batter mixers, irons, knife sharpeners, can openers, mayonnaise makers and remote controls. For the magazine Metropolis M I wrote an article (a while ago) reviewing the exhibition 'Mannen, vrouwen en hun apparaten' [Men, Women and their appliances] which focused on the electrical appliances that entered many households in the 1970s and 1980s and how they fostered gender divisions.While exhibiting a extraordinary range of interesting objects, the Design Museum neglected the opportunity to discuss gender inequalities residing in designed objects. You can read the full article (in Dutch), on the website of Metropolis M.](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6720485865313038641326_0_7ecd1180ba24e232e31bea91563b3ce0.jpg?o=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&h=186c79e9f86e65f0db719538775852fb)
