VAi reading room puts women designers in the spotlight
In our reading room, discover a carefully curated selection of publications from our collection and the library depot. These works often unveil forgotten voices, invaluable perspectives, and groundbreaking contributions by women* in architecture, design and urban planning.
We warmly invite you to come and discover these sources in our reading room in the month of March, and to draw inspiration from the rich heritage that they reveal.
Most books are arranged in the reading room, where they are freely accessible to every visitor. We are happy to fetch books from the library depot for you.
Book designer in the spotlight
The cover design of Onze Hollandse Molen (1926) was created by the Dutch graphic designer Tine Baanders (1890–1971). The striking design closely reflects the taste of that period, but is exceptional because Baanders’ name is explicitly mentioned on the title page, which was unusual at that time.
Architecture, art and printed material
While she was studying, Tine Baanders was supported financially by her brothers, Herman and Jan, who continued their father’s architectural practice, and later also commissioned her to work for them. As a graphic designer, she designed the book covers for a number of publishers. For the Stedelijk Museum, Tine Baanders created the poster for the Amsterdamsche tentoonstelling van woninginrichting [Amsterdam Exhibition of Interior Design] (1921) and for Wendingen, the magazine of the architectural association Architectura et Amicitia, she designed the cover four times between 1924 and 1929.
From the 1920s onwards, Tine Baanders created a versatile graphic oeuvre for a variety of clients, ranging from museums, publishers and paper firms to the Municipality of Amsterdam. These garnered her international recognition, and her participation in the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris (1925) also raised her profile.
Baanders’ involvement in the women’s movement came to the fore in her contribution to the Applied Art section of the exhibition The Woman 1813–1913 [De Vrouw 1813-1913] and in her work for the graphic presentation of statistics for the same exhibition.
From 1949, Tine Baanders taught calligraphy at the Academie voor Kunst en Industrie [Academy of Art and Industry] (AKI) in Enschede, later becoming head of the Publicity department. Upon her retirement in 1955, she went on to found the Tine Baanders Prize for Young Talent at the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs [Institute of Applied Arts Education] in Amsterdam.
(Source: Huygens Instituut)
