Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff is a graphic designer/art director in Amsterdam.
He studied at the Royal Academy of Art and Design in The Hague and subsequently at the Royal College of Art in London.
He was art director of the Government Printing and Publishing House of the Netherlands and art director at Total Design in Amsterdam for twenty years. In 2002 he continued as an independent designer under his own design company QuinX
j.vandertoornvrijthoff@gmail.nl
I pursued my education in graphic design at the Royal Academy of Art and Design in The Hague from 1961 to 1965, achieving a cum laude Bachelor’s degree. I commenced freelancing right after graduation at the age of 19, initially working from my parents’ home. In 1996, following my marriage, I relocated to Voorburg and continued my freelance career. During my engagements with the Department of Aesthetic Design of the PTT (Dutch postal and telecommunications company), I developed an interest in computers and the automation of graphic design, which extended my involvement in various aspects of the design profession.
In 1969, I was granted a scholarship from the British Council, prompting my move to London for three years of study at the Royal College of Art, culminating in a Master of Arts degree in 1973. The Royal College further fostered my interest in automation by offering a programming course in collaboration with the Imperial College of Science and Technology. Armed with this knowledge, I crafted software capable of simulating typographical designs. My association with the Royal College’s collaboration with MIT in Boston allowed me to witness the early stages of Artificial Intelligence research.
Upon completing my studies at the Royal College, I assumed the role of Research Fellow at The Experimental Cartography Unit in London. There, I contributed to one of the first computer-generated maps for the Royal Institute of Oceanography. Subsequently, I engaged in teaching at Hornsey College, which is now Middlesex University.
Returning to the Netherlands, I collaborated for a period with Ab Gratama and Sjoerd de Vries, after which I assumed the role of Creative Director at Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverijbedrijf (State Printing and Publishing Company) in 1976.
In 1982, I was approached by Total Design to fill the vacancy left by Wim Crouwel. After two decades, I concluded my tenure at Total Design in 2002 and established my own consultancy, QuinX BV.
In 1978, I became a member of Alliance Graphique, an affiliate of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, and in 2010, I was elected its president.
