Chronology

Wim Crouwel and Dick Elffers

Wim Crouwel and Dick Elffers

1928 Born Groningen, 21 November, as Wilm Hendrik Crouwel


1941–1946 Rijks HBS (grammar school), Groningen


1946–1949 Art school Academie Minerva, Groningen


1949–1951 Military service


1951 Moves to Amsterdam, works as assistant to Dick Elffers


1952 Marries Emy Wijt


1951–1952 Evening course, IvKNO art school, Amsterdam


 Wim Crouwel and Kho Liang Ie, 1957

Wim Crouwel and Kho Liang Ie, 1957

1952–1954 Works for Enderberg, exhibition and trade fair stands etc. Member of Creatie, Groep '54 and Liga Nieuw Beelden


1954–1956 Independent design practice, teacher at Academie voor Kunst en Vormgeving (art and design school), Den Bosch. Member of GKf (1954)


1956–1960 Design studio with Kho Liang Ie; teaches at IvKNO art school, 1955-63


1957 Knight in the Order of Leopold II, Belgium; Member, Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI)


1958 Werkman Prize for his work for the Van Abbe Museum


1960–1963 His own design office, Amsterdam


Wim Crouwel at Total Design, circa 1965

Wim Crouwel at Total Design, circa 1965

1963–1980 Cofounder and partner in design agency Total Design, Amsterdam


1963–1966 Secretary General, International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA) 1965-1972 Lecturer, Industrial Design section, university of technology, Delft


1966 Duwaer Prize for his oeuvre 1969-1975 Member of editorial board, from 1972 also management board, Stichting Octopus


1970–1971 Vice president, later president, graphic designers association GVN (Grafisch Vormgevers Nederland)


1972–1978 Endowed Professor of Industrial Design, Delft


1974–1978 Board member, BKI Prize (Bond voor Kunst en Industrie)


Wim Crouwel Total Design, 1973

Wim Crouwel Total Design, 1973

1974–1984 Board member, Stichting Openbaar Kunstbezit (public ownership of art foundation); from 1979 to 1984 he was its president


1974–1990 Editor, Lecturis documentaries


1976–1983 Member and chairman, Foreign Exhibitions Commission, ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work (CRM)


1979 Marries Judith Cahen


1979–1982 President, Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI)


1980–1982 Lecturer in Industrial Design, Delft


1980–1985 Adviser, Total Design


Wim Crouwel in the Stedelijk Museum, 1979

Wim Crouwel in the Stedelijk Museum, 1979

1980–1985 Member, Advisory Committee, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam


1980–1991 President, Stichting Rietveld Schroderhuis, Utrecht


1980–1996 President, Stichting Van Doesburg Huis, Paris


1980 Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau


1981–1985 Visiting Professor, Royal College of Art, London


1982–1985 Professor and dean of faculty, department of Industrial Design, Delft


1984–1989 Board member, Netherlands Industrial Design Foundation (ION)


1985–1993 Director, Boymans-van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam


1986–1996 Board member, Prince Bernhard Fund


1986–2000 Member, Board of Advisers, Vereniging Rembrandt (Rembrandt Society)


1989 Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)


1991 BNO Piet Zwart Prize, Stankowski Prize (Germany)


1993 Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion


1987–1993 Endowed Professor, Art and Culture, Erasmus University Rotterdam.


1992 Member, supervisory council, Institut Neerlandais, Paris; adviser, art committee, Schiphal Airport


1993–1995 Chairman, judging panel, Rotterdam Design Prize


1993–1997 President, Mondriaan Foundation


Wim Crouwel during the Design Museum retrospective, 2011

Wim Crouwel during the Design Museum retrospective, 2011

1994–1996 Chairman, visitation committee, education in art and design


1994–2010 Freelance designer, Amsterdam


1994 Honorary doctorate, Delft; honorary member, Deutscher Werkbund


1996–1998 President, Society of Dutch Designers (Beroepsvereniging Nederlandse Ontwerpers (BNO))


1997 Honorary Fellow, Society of Graphic Designers, London


1998 Royal Designers for Industry (Hon RDI), UK


1998–1999 Interim Director, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, The Hague


2000–2003 Board member, Stichting Volten (sculptor Andre Volten, 1925-2002)


2003 Member, advisory committee and management committee, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam


2004 Oeuvre Prize, Fonds BKVB


2009 Gerrit Noordzij Prize, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague


2011 Retrospective, Design Museum, London


2019 Dies 19 September 2019