Published in conjunction with an exhibition curated by Mathieu Lommen at the Special Collections facility of the University of Amsterdam, this book by design historian Frederike Huygen explores modernism in Dutch graphic design of the 20th century. Divided into three periods – pre-war, post-war, and from 1990 to the present – it emphasises the various aspects and meanings of the term “modernism”, and how its concept dominates the discourse on graphic design, through an extensive overview of the subject. Moreover, it questions the canon by including some less well-known examples of graphic design work, thereby giving recognition to an often underestimated complexity.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition curated by Mathieu Lommen at the Special Collections facility of the University of Amsterdam, this book by design historian Frederike Huygen explores modernism in Dutch graphic design of the 20th century. Divided into three periods – pre-war, post-war, and from 1990 to the present – it emphasises the various aspects and meanings of the term “modernism”, and how its concept dominates the discourse on graphic design, through an extensive overview of the subject. Moreover, it questions the canon by including some less well-known examples of graphic design work, thereby giving recognition to an often underestimated complexity.