Michiel Schuurman (NL) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2002. As a graphic artist Schuurman specializes in typography, pattern and poster design, embracing a fearless and bold approach.
Schuurman’s career took off with his remarkable poster design – challenging the medium’s restrictions and communicative value. Boundaries between the second and third dimensions are pushed, blurred, and combined into original typographic statements.
Hacking the prismatic colour wheel, Schuurman creates new colour schemes that have strong references to pop-culture – cartoons, graffiti and skateboarding. Often screen-printed by himself, these graphics created a strong fan base. Many of his designs are part of public collections such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. His illustrations have been featured in publications such as tech-magazine Wired and the Dutch quality newspaper De Volkskrant.
In 2012 Schuurman was asked to contribute as a textile designer for the legendary Dutch wax fabric company Vlisco - known for their intricate prints. Rather than working from their heritage, Schuurman applied his skills to create abstract and radically new designs for the company. With success – his prints are being worn across the world. Currently, Schuurman is interested in applying his skills in the third dimension – ranging from collaborations in exhibition design to fashion. Schuurman has been teaching at our Graphic Design department since 2016, focusing on workshop themed classes discussing the basic properties of images, colour and printing.