Bram de Does
Encyclopedia
Bram de Does is a graphic
and type designer. De Does studied at the Amsterdamse Grafische School in the 1950s. De Does came into contact with the printing trade at an early age, as his father had a printing office
in the east of Amsterdam
. From 1958 to 1988 he worked, with several intervals, at Joh. Enschedé
, a printing office in Haarlem
. He worked there primarily as a book designer. De Does was asked by his employer to design a typeface
, which was to become Trinité
.
died − De Does' predecessor at Enschedé − the production of quality books stopped being a top priority at Enschedé, and De Does decided to leave, to work for the Querido publishing house. He was asked to come back to Enschedé a year later, which he did. He designed annual report
s, commemorative volumes and type specimens. He also designed and printed his own books at his private press
, Spectatorpers. Around 1970, Enschedé developed a renewed interest in publishing, and Bram de Does could design several beautiful books. One of the most perfected is the book Typefoundries in the Netherlands. It was published in 1978, and is a prime example of fine Dutch printing and publishing. Incidentally, it was also the last book Enschedé published that was printed entirely by letterpress. De Does is known for his attention for detail and perfectionism; for the Typefoundries in the Netherlands, he personally supervised the production of the paper (produced with his own recipe) and he insisted that the book should be printed by one person in a specially equipped room.
typeface Trinité
, released in 1982. In 1978 Enschedé replaced their phototypesetting
machines, for which they wanted to adapt Jan van Krimpen
's typeface
Romanée. The company consulted with De Does, who was against it, fearing the typeface would lose its character in the translation from metal movable type
to phototype. He considered commissioning a new typeface, specifically designed for the new technology, a much better idea. Although it was not his intention, Enschedé invited him to design this new typeface. Trinité was developed from 1979 to 1982. It is currently available as a PostScript
Type 1 font from The Enschedé Font Foundry (TEFF). In 1991 De Does won the H.N. Werkmanprize
for the design.
Ten years after Trinité, De Does designed his second serif typeface, Lexicon
, for the Van Dale dictionary. This typeface was specifically designed for use at small pointsizes.
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and type designer. De Does studied at the Amsterdamse Grafische School in the 1950s. De Does came into contact with the printing trade at an early age, as his father had a printing office
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
in the east of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. From 1958 to 1988 he worked, with several intervals, at Joh. Enschedé
Joh. Enschedé
Royal Joh. Enschedé is a printer of security documents, stamps and banknotes based in Haarlem, Netherlands. Joh. Enschedé specialises in print, media & security. The company hosts the Museum Enschedé and has branches in Amsterdam, Brussels and Haarlem....
, a printing office in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
. He worked there primarily as a book designer. De Does was asked by his employer to design a typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
, which was to become Trinité
Trinité (typeface)
Trinité is a serif typeface designed by Dutch type designer Bram de Does. He worked on the design from 1979 to 1982. In 1991, he received the H.N. Werkmanprize for the design.-History:...
.
Book design at Enschedé
After Jan van KrimpenJan van Krimpen
Jan van Krimpen was a Dutch typographer and type designer. He worked for the printing house Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé.- Type designs :...
died − De Does' predecessor at Enschedé − the production of quality books stopped being a top priority at Enschedé, and De Does decided to leave, to work for the Querido publishing house. He was asked to come back to Enschedé a year later, which he did. He designed annual report
Annual report
An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance...
s, commemorative volumes and type specimens. He also designed and printed his own books at his private press
Private press
Private press is a term used in the field of book collecting to describe a printing press operated as an artistic or craft-based endeavor, rather than as a purely commercial venture...
, Spectatorpers. Around 1970, Enschedé developed a renewed interest in publishing, and Bram de Does could design several beautiful books. One of the most perfected is the book Typefoundries in the Netherlands. It was published in 1978, and is a prime example of fine Dutch printing and publishing. Incidentally, it was also the last book Enschedé published that was printed entirely by letterpress. De Does is known for his attention for detail and perfectionism; for the Typefoundries in the Netherlands, he personally supervised the production of the paper (produced with his own recipe) and he insisted that the book should be printed by one person in a specially equipped room.
Typefaces
Bram de Does' first typeface was the serifSerif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
typeface Trinité
Trinité (typeface)
Trinité is a serif typeface designed by Dutch type designer Bram de Does. He worked on the design from 1979 to 1982. In 1991, he received the H.N. Werkmanprize for the design.-History:...
, released in 1982. In 1978 Enschedé replaced their phototypesetting
Phototypesetting
Phototypesetting was a method of setting type, rendered obsolete with the popularity of the personal computer and desktop publishing software, that uses a photographic process to generate columns of type on a scroll of photographic paper...
machines, for which they wanted to adapt Jan van Krimpen
Jan van Krimpen
Jan van Krimpen was a Dutch typographer and type designer. He worked for the printing house Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé.- Type designs :...
's typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
Romanée. The company consulted with De Does, who was against it, fearing the typeface would lose its character in the translation from metal movable type
Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
to phototype. He considered commissioning a new typeface, specifically designed for the new technology, a much better idea. Although it was not his intention, Enschedé invited him to design this new typeface. Trinité was developed from 1979 to 1982. It is currently available as a PostScript
PostScript
PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
Type 1 font from The Enschedé Font Foundry (TEFF). In 1991 De Does won the H.N. Werkmanprize
Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman
Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman was a Dutch artist, typographer and printer....
for the design.
Ten years after Trinité, De Does designed his second serif typeface, Lexicon
Lexicon (typeface)
Lexicon is a serif typeface designed by Dutch type designer Bram de Does between the years 1989 and 1992. The typeface was specially designed for use at very small point sizes in Van Dale's Dictionary of the Dutch Language.-History:...
, for the Van Dale dictionary. This typeface was specifically designed for use at small pointsizes.
Publications
- Bram de Does, Kaba-ornament, Uitgeverij de Buitenkant (2006) (ISBN 978-90-76425-95-1)
- Bram de Does, Romanée en Trinité: historisch origineel en systematisch slordig, Uitgeverij de Buitenkant (1991)
Literature
- Mathieu Lommen & J.A. Lane, Bram de Does: letterontwerper & typograaf = typographer & type designer, Uitgeverij de Buitenkant (2003) (ISBN 978-90-7645-291-3)
Documentary
- In 2003 a documentary about Bram de Does, called Systematisch slordig (roughly translates to systematically sloppy) was released.