Fré Cohen: Form and ideals from the Amsterdam School

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Book design
Museum 't Schip

Background

Fré Cohen (1903 - 1943) was a Dutch graphic designer known for her groundbreaking graphic work for the Dutch Social Democratic Party. She was influenced by art movement De Stijl and the Amsterdamse School of architecture. Her work is part of art collections all over the world, i.e. MOMA in New York and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Objective

In November 2021 the Amsterdam museum Het Schip opened an exhibition on her life and works called ‘Fré Cohen: Form and ideals of the Amsterdam School’. We were asked to design the extensive publication that accompanies the exhibition.

Approach

The work is of Fré Cohen extremely versatile. With a wide variety of book covers, ex-libris, paintings, drawings, lithographs and woodcuts, the first challenge was to photograph all originals on HD quality. Museum Het Schip gave us access to a gold mine of originals, allowing us to dive deep into the works she created over the course of her life. For the design of the inside we used clean, modern typography with outline variations for the headings. Chapters are opened with specific years, number arrangements we have based on the iconic FC monogram design.

The book offers an overview of Fré Cohens life and work and shows her in all her different guises. As a feminist, as a Jewish woman and as a socialist, but above all as an exceptionally talented artist.

Ton Heydra - Fré Cohen: Form and ideals from the Amsterdam School
Paperback, 200 pages
full colour
ISBN 9789082921144

Fré Cohen – Form and ideals from the Amsterdam School is available at Museum Het Schip, your local bookstore or click HERE