The Prize
The Gerrit Noordzij Prize is an esteemed distinction awarded to type designers and typographers for their commendable work in the field of typography, type education, and type design. The award was established in 1996 by the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, Netherlands. As a tribute to the prominent Dutch Typographer, Type Designer, and Educator, Gerrit Noordzij the award has been named after him.
The award aims to recognize the talent of type designers and typographers who created lasting impact through their art, innovation, and creativity. A winner of this prize is selected every three years. The prize in itself is a piece of art. The previous winner designs the award for the next in line and tries to incorporate his style of work along with the future winner’s modus operandi.
1. Gerrit Noordzij : Awarded in 1996
Type Designer, Typographer, Researcher, and Author Gerrit Noordzij was a professor of letter, calligraphy, and type design at the Royal Academy of Art in the ’60s. Not just that, he was also an eminent graphic designer with multiple published books. His teaching and work were aimed at making type design more comprehensible for his scholars. Before becoming a world-acclaimed typographer he used to work as a graphic designer and a bookbinder’s apprentice. He established various new methods of typology that have now followed in the field for years. The Royal Academy of Art (KABK) established this award in 1996 and named it after Gerrit Noordzij to shed light on his contribution to modern typography.
2. Fred Smeijers: Awarded in 2001
Another Dutch Type Artist Fred Smeijers received this award after Gerrit Noordzij himself. He was the face of type design in the 1990s when he launched his type families, FF Quadrant, and FF Scala. He has developed three typeface designs in his career- the Quadraat(1992), the Arnhem (1999), and the Fresco. Smeijers is known for his historical research into punchcutting where he tried to bridge the gap between modern techniques and historical craftsmanship. Similar to Noordzij, Smeijers was also a professor at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in Hague along with many other eminent institutions. He is also the co-founder of OurType, a type foundry that creates typeface designs for various companies both in print and digital media.
3. John Downer: Awarded in 2003
A sign painter in the seventies John Downer had quite a journey that led to his to date type design work. He started working as a typeface designer in 1983 and has had commendable contributions making him the third recipient of this distinction. He spent most of his life advocating for designer’s rights. With almost nine typefaces launched, he is a celebrated typeartist globally. He has massively written about type design and type histories and is famous as a type critic. He teaches hand lettering and typing in various reputable institutions.
4. Erik Spiekermann: Awarded in 2006
Information Architect, Art Historian, Type Designer, and Author Erik Spiekermann is the face behind various mega brands’ designs. He has worked with brands like Audi, Bosch, VW, German Railways and Heidelberg Printing and many more. He launched his first typeface MetaDesign in 1979. The Gerrit Noordzij Prize is just one of the many accolades Spiekermann has to his name. In 2011 he was the recipient of the German National Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 2009 he was made the Ambassador for The European Year of Creativity. He has been writing about type design for the longest time and is an honorary professor at the University of Arts Bremen and ArtsCentre College of Design.
5. Tobias Frere-Jones: Awarded in 2009
An established leading typeface designer for over 25 years, Tobias Frere Jones was the fifth recipient of this award. Just like the others he has quite a few typefaces to his name, for example, Gotham and Whitney. As a recognition of his work, he recently received Cooper Hewitt’s 2019 National Design Award for Communication Design. Tobias has had his creations permanently housed in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. He also taught typeface design at the Yale School of Art’s MFA Program.
6. Karel Martens: Awarded in 2012
The talented Dutch graphic designer and self-acclaimed workaholic is on an unceasing journey to perfection. With a constant trial to better his work, Karel Martens has provided the type community with some of its best experimental designs. Famous for his type and design projects one of them being the OASE Journal for Architecture, Martins has tried to bridge graphic design, type, and architecture improbably. Beyond print and digital media, he also tried his hand at filmmaking where he presented his thoughts about the design community and his experiences with the rise of technology and the design methodology.
7. Cyrus Highsmith: Awarded in 2015
An American Typeface and Graphics Designer Cyrus Highsmith, is the founder of his typeface foundry called Occupant Fonts. His work can be seen through his list of famous clientele such as Rolling Stone, starwars.com, Ford Motor Company, Martha Stewart Living, and The Wall Street Journal. He published his first book on type design in 2012 called The Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Fundamentals. He also taught letter drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design for over a decade.
8. Peter Biľak: Awarded in 2018
The latest recipient of this distinction, Peter Biľak is a Slovak Type Designer and founder of his type Foundry Typotheque. Beyond that, he is also the co-founder of Dot Dot Dot, an art and cultural magazine and he also founded Works that Work, another magazine featuring creative approaches to design as never imagined before. Biľak also collaborated on a foundation called Make Move Think that facilitates interdisciplinary artist collaborations. He has written for a multitude of magazines and publications about design and type and has lectured about the same in various institutions.
The Legacy
This award is a reminder of the unimaginable work constantly rising in the field of type design and typography. It shines a light not only on talented designers but also strikes a conversation about the progress, innovation, and experimentation being done all across the world in Type Design. The Gerrit Noordzij Prize is a reminder of the historical contribution and the contemporary development made by outstanding individuals in the typography and design sector. It is a testament to those who have contributed before, their past achievements, and has built a legacy for the future idealist to hold up to.
REFERENCES:
1.(No date) Gerrit Noordzij 1931-2022. Available at: https://typemedia.org/noordzij/noordzijatkabk.html (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
2.TypeRoom (no date) In Memoriam: Gerrit Noordzij (1931-2022), TypeRoom. Available at: https://www.typeroom.eu/in-memoriam-gerrit-noordzij-1931-2022 (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
3.Feature: Reputations: Fred Smeijers (no date) Eye Magazine. Available at: https://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/reputations-fred-smeijers (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
4.Fonts by hoefler & co.. (no date) Fonts by Hoefler & Co. Available at: https://typography.com/blog/the-gerrit-noordzij-prize-part-1-outgoing (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
5. John Downer (no date) The Cooper Union. Available at: https://cooper.edu/academics/people/john-downer (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
6.Jones type (no date) Frere. Available at: https://frerejones.com/about (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
7. ‘ Absence in design is very important: Karel Martens on paying attention to the things we don’t see (no date) It’s Nice That. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/karel-martens-re-printed-matter-graphic-design-020920 (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
8.Peter Biľak (no date) KABK. Available at: https://www.kabk.nl/en/teachers/peter-bi%C4%BEak (Accessed: 24 August 2024).
