Piet Zwart: Brand Architect on view at the Letterform Archive is a rare chance to explore how one designer used typography, color, and photography to invent a modern visual language for brands.

Discover Piet Zwart (1885–1977), the Dutch modernist who called himself a “typotekt” to reflect his fusion of architecture, industrial and interior design, graphic design, typography, and photography. Drawing on Zwart’s groundbreaking work from the 1920s to the 1960s, this exhibition shows how type alone can carry a brand’s voice and how architectural thinking can shape graphic identity.

Featuring 200 objects from Letterform Archive’s deep holdings and Zwart’s own archive, the show highlights iconic programs for Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft (NKF), the Dutch Postal Telegraph and Telephone Company (PTT), Bruynzeel Lumber Company, and others. Zwart’s photomontages, playful typographic compositions, and bold color fields turned everyday industrial products—especially cables—into vehicles for avant-garde experimentation, redefining the visual culture of modern technology.

Piet Zwart: Brand Architect runs through September 6, 2026, at Letterform Archive, 2339/2325 Third Street, San Francisco, and is open Thursday through Sunday with free admission on Thursdays. For details on hours, tickets, and guided tours, visit letterformarchive.org.