This text was written during the temporary Graphic Design Museum Gent, installed in the DiNG vitrine. During two months, Bingo investigated the archives of the Design Museum Gent. Different archive documents were shown in the vitrine, while we researched more about the context within they were created and their makers. The following text was part of the booklet published at the end of the installation.
In 1997, the first exhibition on graphic design took place at Design Museum Gent. The initiative came from the design department of VIZO, the Flemish Institute for Independent Entrepreneurship, and was supported by graphic designers as well as printing and packaging companies. This period is very interesting because the computer allowed to experiment in unique ways. The use of special digital effects and the liberation of type from the typesetter gave life to a new way of designing, which we can strongly feel in the catalogue. The publication has an unusual square format, combining text in Dutch and English with a wide variety of pictures, logos, signage systems and more. The poster, a fluorescent pink cow combined with fluorescent orange, is an eye-catching image.
The exhibition was a great success, with 15.000 visitors and the book had to be printed a second time. It exhibited the works of many contemporary graphic designers, but also older works, by figures such as Julian Key, Michel Olyff, Fernand Baudin and Luk Mestdagh.
A first historical overview of Belgian graphic designers is written in the catalogue by Herman Lampaert. This article is a first wake-up call for researchers and graphic designers to learn more about the history of graphic design in Belgium and about the work of many designers present throughout the country.
VIZO was founded in 1991 with different missions: firstly, to guarantee the quality of the education of the ‘independent entrepreneur’, secondly, to offer them technical advice and thirdly, the impact that design could have on entrepreneurship. For this third purpose, the design department was established , which had a broad vision of the term design. VIZO was a governmental organisation which distributed a quality label to designers through a jury commission happening two times a year. They could then enjoy being part of the network and be promoted by the organisation.
VIZO published the magazine Kwintessens four times a year, with English and Dutch text, highlighting the different works by Flemish designers from their network. Each issue was designed by a different designer or studio, promoting graphic designers in what they do best. From 1992 until 2006, Kwintessens is a wonderful collection of what a magazine design can be, from sober to more exuberant choices.
VIZO also organised various exhibitions at home and abroad to promote and research Belgian design. They had a gallery space in Brussels, where they also exhibited the winners of the Henry van de Velde Awards, initiated in 1993. In 2004, VIZO became Design Vlaanderen under the authority of the Ministry of Finance, with the aim to promote designers and their productions until 2016. Design Vlaanderen then merged into Flanders DC for the promotion of creative entrepreneurship, which is still active today with a broader focus on design and fashion.