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

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

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 complicat ...

who lived and worked in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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

Early life

Jan de Fouw was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

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 on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in The Hague where he learnt

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

design principles. He then worked as a freelance designer for

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij Naamloze vennootschap, N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with i ...

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 , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

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 was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

. 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 or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

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 Amuigh Faoin Spéir w ...

, 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 may refer to: Common meanings * 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 isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating 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 processed techniq ...

organisations in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

such as Graphic Studio Dublin, the Black Church Print Studio, and the

National Print Museum The National Print Museum in Beggar's Bush, Dublin, Ireland, collects, and exhibits a representative selection of printing equipment, and samples of print, and fosters associated skills of the printing craft in Ireland. It was opened in 1996. M ...

. 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 arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

. 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 long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, 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