Wim Crouwel- Dutch Graphic Designer

Wim Hendrik Crouwel is a well-known dutch graphic designer and internationally known for his preliminary typeface called New Alphabet. Crouwel experimented with the restricted cathode ray tube technology that made it difficult to produce curvature letterforms. He wanted to reconstruct the letterforms only using straight lines and diagonals. He never intended to publish the typeface or would have thought that it would succeed. The typeface became extremely popular and changed the way of typographic tradition. The Museum of Modern Art in New York made Wim Crouwel’s New Alphabet a permanent collection as well as his other designs. He also faced negative criticism for its over rendition and its bizarre form. His “negative” critiques are also what makes it so unique and desirable to the traditional typeface. The new pop culture era was on the rise and Brett Wickens used the New Alphabet for his album cover Substance by Joy Division. Crouwel is one of the founders of Total Design which involved multiple graphic designers to produce a wide range of dutch designs for a variety of clientele. They were most successful in the 1960s and had loyal partners such as Randstad and the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum.

In my opinion, the New Alphabet fits into the era at that time as well as now. It has a futuristic style as well as a modern vintage look that could still be used today. It fits in with modern-day movie titles and album covers but connects with an old-school vintage style. Total Design was a great idea for these well-known graphic designers to offer multiple design options to their clients. That’s what made them so successful because they were open to multiple styles which brought in more clients.