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Karel Martens
´I try to see everything as new—as a possibility for new work.´ Karel Martens
´I try to see everything as new—as a possibility for new work.´ Karel Martens
Karel Martens is one of the most influential figures in contemporary graphic design, internationally celebrated for his experimental practice, extensive body of publications and lasting contribution to design education.
Karel Martens (born 1939) finished as a student at the Arnhem School of Art (Holland) in 1961. Since then he has worked as a freelance graphic designer, specializing in typography.
Alongside this, he has always made free (non-commissioned) graphic and three-dimensional work. Among his clients have been the publishers Van Loghum Slaterus (Arnhem) in the 1960s, and the SUN (Socialistiese Uitgeverij Nijmegen) in the years 1975–81. As well as designing books and other printed items, he has designed stamps and telephone cards (for the Dutch PTT).
He has also designed signs and typographic façades for a number of buildings. In 1999 he made the design for the façade of the printing company Veenman in Ede in commission for Neutelings Riedijk Architecten in collaboration with the writer K. Schippers. In 2005 he designed the glass façades of the new part of the building for thePhilharmonie in Haarlem. This design was based on a music score by Louis Andriessen.
Karel Martens had his first major retrospective, Karel Martens – Unbound, at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 2025.
Karel Martens is one of the most celebrated and influential figures in contemporary graphic design, recognised through numerous international awards, including the H.N. Werkman Prize (1993), the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Art (1996), the Gerrit Noordzij Prize (2012) and the Piet Zwart Prize (2023). His influential monograph Karel Martens: Printed Matter received a gold medal at the 1998 Leipzig Book Fair, while his extensive publishing practice continues to document decades of experimentation in typography, colour and print, most recently through Unbound (2025) and Cloakroom Tickets (1–250) (2026). Alongside his independent practice, Martens has played a significant role in design education, teaching at institutions including the Arnhem School of Art, the Jan van Eyck Academie and Yale University, as well as co-founding the renowned Werkplaats Typografie in 1998. His contribution extends beyond his own work, influencing generations of designers through a sustained commitment to experimentation, education and the possibilities of graphic design.
Artist CV
Teaching
Karel Martens has taught graphic design since 1977. His first appointment was at the Arnhem School of Art (until 1994). He was then attached to the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht (1994–99). From 1997 to 2022 he has been a visiting lecturer in the graphic design department at the School of Art, Yale University. In 1998 he was the co-founder of the Typography Workshop (WT) for
postgraduate education within the ArtEZ, Institute for the Arts, Arnhem. From 2001 onward he shares the artistic supervision together with Armand Mevis and Paul Elliman. In 2006 the WT was accredited as a Master Programme. In 2014 he left the WT. 2015 and 2016 Mentor in the master’s program at the Design Academy Eindhoven (department Contextual Design).
Prizes
In 1993 KM was awarded the H.N. Werkman Prize for the design of the architectural magazine Oase.
In 1996 he received the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Art; as part of this
prize, a monograph on his work was published: Karel Martens: Printed Matter.
Desined in cooperation with Jaap van Triest.
His work has been nominated three times at the Design Prize Rotterdam: 1995, for the
design of the standard series of telephone chip-cards for PTT Telecom (this received
an honorary commendation); 1997, for the book Karel Martens: Printed Matter; 1999,
for the design of the façade of the Veenman printing works at Ede.
In 1998 at the Leipzig Book Fair, Karel Martens: Printed Matter was awarded the gold medal, as the best-designed book “in the whole world”.
In 2012 he got the Gerrit Noordzijprijs.
Over the years his books have featured regularly in the annual Best-Designed Dutch
Books competition.
In 2023 KM received the Piet Zwart The BNO award for great significance to the
profession and an example for new generations of designers.
Publications
Printed matter, 1996, 2001, 2010, Heineken Foundation, Amsterdam and Hyphen Press,London.
Counterprint, 2004, Lecturis Eindhoven and Hyphen Press, London
Full Color, 2013, DNF FOUNDATION for Cultural Promotion, Tokyo and Roma
Publications (#290), Amsterdam
Reprint, 2015, RoyalAcademy of Art, The Hague and Roma Publications (#237), Amsterdam.
Prints, 2016, Roma Publications #281, Amsterdam.
Motion, 2017, Kunstverein München Companion, Roma Publications (#290), Amsterdam Couleurs sur la plage 2017, Édition Non Standard, Paris Le Havre.
Still Moving, 2018, Platform-L, Seoul.
Re-Printed Matter, 2020, Roma Publications #372, Amsterdam.
Tokyo Papers, 2020, Roma Publications #394, Amsterdam.
A selection of portraits, 2020, Roma Publications #392, Amsterdam.
From the digital guest book, collected during the exhibition ‘Karel Martens: Still Moving’ at
Platform-L in Seoul.
Patters, 2021, Roma Publications #409, Amsterdam Uranus, 2021, Roma Publications, Amsterdam, Co- publischer: IS A GALLERY, Shanghai
Every day is a new day 2023, 2022, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walter König
Small prints, 2023, Roma Publications #445, Amsterdam
Every day is a new day 2024, 2023, Roma Publication #450, Amsterdam
Unbound, 2025, Roma Publication #492
Cloakroom Tickets (1-250), 2026, Roma Publication #512
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