Designmuseum Danmark
The missing link in Danish typography history
Services
Custom Typeface
Production
Design Research, Typeface Design
Design Museum Denmark calls itself “the design memory” of Denmark. When looking through the museum’s extensive archives, we stumbled upon one particular, almost forgotten memory belonging to the Danish history of typography – and breathed new life into it.
When working on the re-branding and visual identity of Design Museum Denmark, Creative Partner Mads Quistgaard had the pleasure of a guided tour through the museum’s archives and it was here that he literally stumbled upon a collection of typographical sketches and material belonging to Naur Klint, the son of legendary designer Kaare Klint. The typo was called Flexibility and it turned out to be the proverbial hidden treasure – and some might even say “the missing link” in the Danish history of typography.
Flexibility was designed in the early 1960’s at a time when the traditional craftsmanship of Engelhardt and Bindesbøll was going throught the grinder of modernism, producing new and complete systemic typographies with a different take on usability and well, flexibility.
Urgent.Agency has enhanced and digitalized Flexibility and it can now be seen in all its modernistic glory on all visual and communicative surfaces of the Danish Design Museum.
Original type speciment from the archive, showing uppercase and lowercase samples.
Original type speciment from the archive, showing the Flexibility system. Flexibility clearly references Univers from 1957 by Adrian Frutiger.
Original type specimen from the archive. Probably showing C7.
”Urgent.Agency has created a new corporate visual identity, that reflects our development from a historical arts & crafts-museum to a modern design museum. Urgent.Agency has revitalised an important chapter of the Danish typography history by enhancing and digitizing the typography – Flexibility – from original designs by Naur Klint. A Typography that is adding a strong sense of character to our visual identity”
– Anne-Louise Sommer, Museum Director
Black is the original drawing. The white outline is the new digitalized version.
Early samples aimed at signage.
Designmuseum Denmarks wordmark
More info
Status
2017 Completed
Contact
Mads Quistgaard
Team
Kasper Pyndt
Mads Quistgaard
Designmuseum Danmark
The missing link in Danish typography history
Services
Custom Typeface
Production
Design Research, Typeface Design
Design Museum Denmark calls itself “the design memory” of Denmark. When looking through the museum’s extensive archives, we stumbled upon one particular, almost forgotten memory belonging to the Danish history of typography – and breathed new life into it.
When working on the re-branding and visual identity of Design Museum Denmark, Creative Partner Mads Quistgaard had the pleasure of a guided tour through the museum’s archives and it was here that he literally stumbled upon a collection of typographical sketches and material belonging to Naur Klint, the son of legendary designer Kaare Klint. The typo was called Flexibility and it turned out to be the proverbial hidden treasure – and some might even say “the missing link” in the Danish history of typography.
Flexibility was designed in the early 1960’s at a time when the traditional craftsmanship of Engelhardt and Bindesbøll was going throught the grinder of modernism, producing new and complete systemic typographies with a different take on usability and well, flexibility.
Urgent.Agency has enhanced and digitalized Flexibility and it can now be seen in all its modernistic glory on all visual and communicative surfaces of the Danish Design Museum.
Original type speciment from the archive, showing uppercase and lowercase samples.
Original type speciment from the archive, showing the Flexibility system. Flexibility clearly references Univers from 1957 by Adrian Frutiger.
Original type specimen from the archive. Probably showing C7.
”Urgent.Agency has created a new corporate visual identity, that reflects our development from a historical arts & crafts-museum to a modern design museum. Urgent.Agency has revitalised an important chapter of the Danish typography history by enhancing and digitizing the typography – Flexibility – from original designs by Naur Klint. A Typography that is adding a strong sense of character to our visual identity”
– Anne-Louise Sommer, Museum Director
Black is the original drawing. The white outline is the new digitalized version.
Early samples aimed at signage.
Designmuseum Denmarks wordmark
More info
Status
2017 Completed
Contact
Mads Quistgaard
Team
Kasper Pyndt
Mads Quistgaard