Jan de Fouw (15 July 1929 – 1 February 2015) was a Dutch

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

who lived and worked in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was influential on Irish design in the 20th century.

Early life

Jan de Fouw was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

on 15 July 1929. He was one of three sons to Adriaan de Fouw and Jacoba Kramer. Initially de Fouw studied at the

Royal Academy of Art The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in The Hague where he learnt

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

design principles. He then worked as a freelance designer for

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

before undertaking military service from 1949 to 1951.

Work as a designer in Ireland

In 1951 de Fouw moved to Ireland on the advice of Guus Melei, a former colleague at KLM, who had started working on the

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

account for Sun Advertising. Ireland was an attractive option because de Fouw was able to get a house with a garden, which was not as easily available in his home country in the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

. A small group of other Dutch graphic designers were also recruited to Irish

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

agencies such as

Gerrit van Gelderen Gerrit van Gelderen (1926–1994) was a Dutch-born naturalist, wildlife broadcaster, film-maker, illustrator, and cartoonist, who lived and worked in Ireland for a large part of his life. He is famous for his television work on ( Irish: "Out Und ...

, Piet Sluis and Cor Klaasen. As well as designing posters for Aer Lingus, de Fouw was the art director of ''Ireland of the Welcomes,'' from 1952 to 1996, a magazine published by the

Irish Tourist Board Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

, which promoted Ireland as a tourist destination to an international market. He was actively involved in many

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

organisations in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

such as Graphic Studio Dublin, the Black Church Print Studio, and the National Print Museum. He was a member of ICAD (Institute of Creative Advertising and Design), a professional body which provided support and instigated debate within the advertising and design industry''.'' Working as a freelance designer in Ireland, de Fouw applied his knowledge of modern Bauhaus principles, using flat colours, grid layouts and sans-serif

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

. These techniques were not commonly used in Irish design up to that point. Along with other Dutch designers, de Fouw helped to fill a gap in professional design standards that existed in Ireland at that time. According to the art historian, John Turpin, the work of this group, "crystalized the advent of modern design in Ireland."

Later life

In 2001 at the age of 72, de Fouw was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, which impaired his ability to draw. He began making sculptures as a creative outlet. He died on 1 February 2015.

References

External links

National Treasures - Linda King on Ireland's design history

Irish Times obituary

Jan de Fouw Collection at NIVAL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouw, Jan De 1929 births 2015 deaths Dutch illustrators Artists from The Hague Dutch graphic designers Royal Academy of Art, The Hague alumni