Underware

We have a new typeface! Kermit is for kids of all ages. Friendly, approachable, round, bulby, low contrast, casual, having a versatile style palette. Aims to help kids with reading challenges. Comes inside Microsoft 365 & joins to celebrate their 50th anniversary! You can also get a license at www.underware.nl.

In the past year we had 2 solo exhibitions (the Netherlands and Japan) and participated in 2 group exhibitions (United States and China). Currently our work is shown again in another group exhibition, the Tokyo TDC exhibition @tokyotdc at Ginza Graphic Gallery @ginzagraphicgallery in Tokyo, briefly showing the holographic principles of the typeface Herby. Have a look if you’re around! Tokyo TDC Exhibition 2026 Dates: April 03, 2026 – May 16, 2026 Venue: Ginza Graphic Gallery (ggg) Hours: 11:00-19:00 Address: DNP Ginza Bldg. 1F/B1F, 7-7-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo tokyotypedirectorsclub.org/en/news/tdc2026_ggg/ #tokyotypedirectorsclub #tokyotdc #ginzagraphicgallery

We’d love you to us online or in-person on 23 April to hear type designer, Bas Jacobs’ lecture ‘Circular Reasons’. It’s not one to miss! Ticket link in bio! - - - - - - Circular Reasons With Underware’s Bas Jacobs Thursday 23 April St Bride Foundation and Online via Zoom Doors 6.15pm | Talk 7–8.30pm Tickets £9–14 Booking: Link in bio! In today’s world of Unicode standards and QWERTY keyboards, the uniform approach to text can create the impression that writing is fixed: that letters are static, that typography is a fully developed discipline, and that the work of type designers will remain fundamentally unchanged in the decades to come. This associative lecture on writing, language and letters invites to question the dominant, rational, constructed narrative. If history, too, is a constructed narrative, then perhaps it need not only be written, but can also be assembled. What follows is not a straight line. Through a series of uninhibited thought experiments, this lecture explores whether not just the history of writing, but maybe also its future, can be ambivalent en multiplied. While doing so, it proposes design as a form of historiography, and asks how alternative perspectives can shape our understanding of letterforms, of language and of typographic practices. After all, if a circle is round because it is a circle, where does it actually begin? The European design collective Underware focuses on designing letters from a formalistic and formative perspective. Their practice manifests itself in design, performance, publication, education and installations. In this lecture, they attempt to offer a different perspective on their own work by placing it in a different context each time. www.underware.nl If you have any access requirements, please contact [email protected] ahead of the event. @underwarefoundry #TypographyTalk #DesignLecture #TypeDesign #GraphicDesignEvents #CreativeCommunity #DesignInspiration #TypographyLovers #LondonEvents #DesignThinking #TalksAndLectures #WhatsOnLondon #ThingsToDoLondon #BookNow #LimitedTickets #DontMissOut

News! We’ll give a lecture on Thursday 23 April 2026 at St Bride @stbridefoundation in London, UK. Title: Circular Reasons Approach: Using circular reasoning as a starting point to arrive possibly at a new perspective. (Trying something new also means that it may fail) We’ll present 5 alternative stories, or should I say histories of writing, in order to see our own work from a different perspective. More info & tickets: https://www.underware.nl/blog/2026/03/circular-reasons/

We are delighted to announce that @underwarefoundry ’s Bas Jacobs will be joining us on 23 April. We’d love to see you there! Circular Reasons Thursday 23 April St Bride Foundation and Online via Zoom Doors 6.15pm | Talk 7–8.30pm Tickets £9–14 Booking link in bio! In today’s world of Unicode standards and QWERTY keyboards, the uniform approach to text can create the impression that writing is fixed: that letters are static, that typography is a fully developed discipline, and that the work of type designers will remain fundamentally unchanged in the decades to come. This associative lecture on writing, language and letters invites to question the dominant, rational, constructed narrative. If history, too, is a constructed narrative, then perhaps it need not only be written, but can also be assembled. What follows is not a straight line. Through a series of uninhibited thought experiments, this lecture explores whether not just the history of writing, but maybe also its future, can be ambivalent en multiplied. While doing so, it proposes design as a form of historiography, and asks how alternative perspectives can shape our understanding of letterforms, of language and of typographic practices. After all, if a circle is round because it is a circle, where does it actually begin? The European design collective Underware focuses on designing letters from a formalistic and formative perspective. Their practice manifests itself in design, performance, publication, education and installations. In this lecture, they attempt to offer a different perspective on their own work by placing it in a different context each time. www.underware.nl If you have any access requirements, please contact [email protected] ahead of the event.

Last week our exhibition Sensorium Motorium opened at Weerdruk gallery in Amsterdam. Tomorrow we’ll be present at 14:00 o’clock for an artist talk. All curious people are welcome in person with any question. Artist talk Sensorium Motorium Saturday 22 Nov 2025, 14:00 o’clock Weerdruk gallery Entrepotdok 42A, Amsterdam

Join us for the opening of our exhibition if you’re around! Today in Amsterdam, right now!

Exhibition Sensorium Motorium Amsterdam 15–30 Nov 2025, Sat & Sun 13:00–17:00 o’clock Opening: Friday 14 Nov 2025, 17:00 (doors open 16:30, RSVP) Address: Weerdruk gallery, Entrepotdok 42A, 1018 AD Amsterdam What does the future of writing look like? The design collective Underware poses this question in the exhibition Sensorium Motorium, which will be on display in Amsterdam in November 2025. The focus is on the Fluxographer, a 7-dimensional writing instrument that turns writing into a sensory experience. Writing is so much more than just putting letters on paper. With this project, Underware builds on ideas developed by scientist Heinz von Foerster, who researched the connection between perception and movement in the 1970s. Knowledge does not arise solely in the mind, but rather in the interaction between the senses and actions. Von Foerster experimented with higher dimensions, just as Underware developed a new writing instrument that makes use of higher dimensions. The Fluxographer invites visitors to play with language and experience that writing can be physical, musical and visual at the same time. A future writing Sami Kortemäki, one of the initiators: “Major technological changes in the 1960s forced designers to present new visions of the role of text in society. Wim Crouwel’s New Alphabet is an example of this, a statement that text should no longer be readable by humans but first and foremost by computers. The current technological changes are at least as urgent, and designers must once again reflect on this by developing their own vision. The future does not just happen to us; we can realise it ourselves.” Means of communication have been radically transformed over the past 30 years, and there is no indication that this development will stagnate any time soon. At a time when artificial intelligence and digital communication are changing the way we write, Sensorium Motorium shows that the future of language can also look different: playful and challenging. #typography #dimensions #writing #writinginstruments #fluxographer #underwareinmotion #typeinmotion #futureoflanguage #dynamicfont

Exhibition Sensorium Motorium Amsterdam 15–30 Nov 2025, Sat & Sun 13:00–17:00 o’clock Opening: Friday 14 Nov 2025, 17:00 (doors open 16:30, RSVP) Address: Weerdruk gallery, Entrepotdok 42A, 1018 AD Amsterdam What does the future of writing look like? The design collective Underware poses this question in the exhibition Sensorium Motorium, which will be on display in Amsterdam in November 2025. The focus is on the Fluxographer, a 7-dimensional writing instrument that turns writing into a sensory experience. Writing is so much more than just putting letters on paper. With this project, Underware builds on ideas developed by scientist Heinz von Foerster, who researched the connection between perception and movement in the 1970s. Knowledge does not arise solely in the mind, but rather in the interaction between the senses and actions. Von Foerster experimented with higher dimensions, just as Underware developed a new writing instrument that makes use of higher dimensions. The Fluxographer invites visitors to play with language and experience that writing can be physical, musical and visual at the same time. A future writing Sami Kortemäki, one of the initiators: “Major technological changes in the 1960s forced designers to present new visions of the role of text in society. Wim Crouwel’s New Alphabet is an example of this, a statement that text should no longer be readable by humans but first and foremost by computers. The current technological changes are at least as urgent, and designers must once again reflect on this by developing their own vision. The future does not just happen to us; we can realise it ourselves.” Means of communication have been radically transformed over the past 30 years, and there is no indication that this development will stagnate any time soon. At a time when artificial intelligence and digital communication are changing the way we write, Sensorium Motorium shows that the future of language can also look different: playful and challenging. #typography #dimensions #writing #writinginstruments #fluxographer #underwareinmotion #typeinmotion #futureoflanguage #dynamicfont

🔠 How many dimensions can a letter truly exist in? Our ‘Practice is Critical’ lecture series continues with Bas Jacobs from Underware, a pan-European design collective specializing in type and writing systems.⁠ ⁠ Writing is a three-dimensional act that leaves a two-dimensional imprint where the pen meets the paper. While fully comprehending all dimensions of writing remains a challenge, Underware is excited to introduce additional dimensions to type. In their ongoing research into new ways of writing – which has led to grammatography, among other things – Underware will discuss where their quest has currently taken them, demonstrated by hypothetical and experimental work, as well as commissioned and applied projects.⁠ ⁠ 📅 Tuesday 14 October 2025⁠ ⏰ 5:30pm–7pm BST⁠ 📍 In-person for UAL students and staff, streamed online for all.⁠ 🔗 Link in bio⁠ ⁠ ‘Practice is Critical’ is the lecture series from MA Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins @csm_news . In this programme of talks and discussions, designers, artists, and researchers from a range of disciplines are invited to reflect on the multiple meanings of ‘practice’ (at once a noun and a verb) and ‘critical’ (describing work that is both necessary and discerning).

Underware is a pan-European design collective specializing in type and writing systems. Known for pushing the boundaries of typography, their work blends graphic design, linguistics, technology, and performance. With projects ranging from experimental typefaces to conceptual installations, Underware investigates the cultural, physical, and emotional dimensions of writing. With studios in The Hague, Helsinki, and Amsterdam, the team is happy to speak in English, Dutch, German, Finnish, some local dialects, and a bit of Spanish. -- IG: @underwarefoundry Mastodon: typo.social/@underware Don't miss Underware's talk at our next event! Join us on Thursday 9 October. Event in partnership with The Art House by Acrylicize @thearthouselive Tickets from 🔗 in bio!

🗯️ In how many dimensions can we work, watch or write? // @underwarefoundry 🗓️ 12th June, 17:30-19:30 at Habitat 👤Presenter: Bas Jacobs from Underware ⏱️ Time: 45 mins + Q&A 💘 Suitable for: Visual designers, artists, developers, writers, or anybody who wants to write or work in higher dimensions. If you wonder what artistic research might add to your practice, you’re also more than welcome. — The pan-European type collective @underwarefoundry has been designing typefaces since 1999, among them Bello, Dolly, and Zeitung. In this lecture, they will share their insights and inside stories about type design, a field of work that has rapidly evolved in the past 25 years. Underware explores the question: how many dimensions can a letter truly exist in? Text consists of two-dimensional letters within a one-dimensional sequence. And while we navigate a para-dimensional reality within a three-dimensional world, we already struggle to conceptualize a four-dimensional space. So, in how many dimensions can a letter exist? In their ongoing research into new ways of writing – which has led to grammatography, among other things – Underware will discuss where their quest has currently taken them, demonstrated by hypothetical and experimental work of their artistic research, as well as commissioned and applied projects. Until this lecture, you can think of the question: What does it mean that letters exist because they are written? The event will be in English 🇬🇧 EVENT LINK IN BIO 🔗 @grafill_