Jan De Fouw

Jan de Fouw (15 July 1929 – 1 February 2015) was a Dutch graphic designer and illustrator who lived and worked in Ireland. He was influential on Irish design in the 20th century.

Early life Jan de Fouw was born in The Hague on 15 July 1929. He was one of three sons to Adriaan de Fouw and Jacoba Kramer.

Work as a designer in Ireland In 1951 de Fouw moved to Ireland on the advice of Guus Melei, a former colleague at KLM, who had started working on the Aer Lingus account for Sun Advertising. Ireland was an attractive option because de Fouw was able to get a house with a garden, which was not as easily available in his home country in the aftermath of World War II. He was actively involved in many printmaking organisations in Dublin such as Graphic Studio Dublin, the Black Church Print Studio, and the National Print Museum.

Working as a freelance designer in Ireland, de Fouw applied his knowledge of modern Bauhaus principles, using flat colours, grid layouts and sans-serif typography. These techniques were not commonly used in Irish design up to that point. Along with other Dutch designers, de Fouw helped to fill a gap in professional design standards that existed in Ireland at that time. He died on 1 February 2015.