Exhibition Tour: Piet Zwart: Brand Architect

The brilliant Dutch modernist Piet Zwart described himself as a “typotekt”. The term captured his multidisciplinary approach, creating a legacy that bridged architecture, industrial design, interior design, graphic design, typography, and photography. Drawing from Letterform Archive’s deep collection of Zwart’s work, this exhibition explores his iconic graphic identity programs for Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft (NKF), Dutch Postal Telegraph and Telephone Company (PTT), Bruynzeel Lumber Company, and others.

From the 1920s to the 1960s, Zwart profoundly influenced both the Netherlands and the international graphic design community, and many of his works are celebrated as milestones in design history. His signature photomontages, playful type compositions, and bold color fields elevated everyday subjects into platforms for graphic experimentation, leaving a lasting imprint on future generations of designers.

Your guide for this special tour is Associate Curator of Exhibitions, Jon Sueda.

Jon Sueda, Associate Curator of Exhibitions (he/him), Originally from Hawaii, Jon has practiced design everywhere from Honolulu to Holland. After earning his MFA in Graphic Design from CalArts, and an internship at Studio Dumbar, Sueda founded the design studio Stripe, specializing in print and exhibition design for art and culture. Jon was Director of Design at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts for seven years, is currently Chair of the MFA Design program at California College of the Arts, and was recently selected as an AGI member. He brings his extensive graphic design, curation, and education experience to develop and run our exhibition program.