On Wednesday 2 October 2024, Sara De Bondt, artistic researcher at KASK & Conservatorium, will defend her doctorate to obtain the title of Doctor of Arts. On behalf of the candidate and her promoters, prof. dr. Helena De Preester (Ghent University) and Luc Derycke (HOGENT – KASK & Conservatorium), we would like to invite you to this occasion.

The public defence will start at 16:00 in the auditorium Cirque on Campus Bijloke. Afterwards, you are welcome to attend the reception. Please confirm your attendance by sending an e-mail to sara.debondt@hogent.be

Off the Grid: Activating Belgian Graphic Design Histories

Off the Grid: Activating Belgian Graphic Design Histories is a PhD in the arts on the little-known history of Belgian graphic design – particularly between the period after Expo 58 and the advent of the personal computer in the mid-1980s – and its relevance to the field today. It activates the archival matter uncovered through writing, curating, graphic design, and publishing. In the process, it proposes new ways of sharing and teaching this history through accessible archives, exhibitions and public outreach.

Off the Grid uses alternative and collective ways of interpreting design heritage with a particular focus on practices that evade canonisation. These include work produced by women, non-Belgian designers based in Belgium, anonymous or collective authors, and designs made for educational and propaganda purposes, such as those that supported Belgian colonial rule. The research offers a close reading of the work and lives of particular designers, including Sophie Alouf, Jeanine Behaeghel, Multi Art and Herman Lampaert. It uses collaborative methods to involve historical figures, contemporary designers and students.

Sara De Bondt

Sara De Bondt is a lecturer at KASK & Conservatorium, the school of arts at HOGENT and Howest. The research project Off the Grid: Activating Belgian Graphic Design Histories was funded by HOGENT’s Research Fund for the Arts.

The reading committee consists of chairman prof. dr. Maximiliaan Martens, members prof. dr. Ruth Blacksell, prof. dr. Catherine Guiral de Trenqualye, prof. dr. Steven Jacobs, Armand Mevis, and prof. dr. Marjan Sterckx, and reporter Jaya Remond.

Ter gelegenheid van de lancering van Off the Grid: Histories of Belgian graphic design, nodigt redactrice Sara De Bondt auteurs en ontwerpers uit om persoonlijke hoogtepunten uit het boek te delen. Tot de bevestigde sprekers behoren Jo De Baerdemaeker, Jan Ceuleers, Katrien van Haute, Pia Jacques en Leroy Meyer (Belgisch Instituut Grafisch Ontwerp), Herman Lampaert, Jean-Michel Meyers, Hilde Pauwels, Hugo Puttaert, en Katarina Serulus.

Off the Grid biedt een collectief panorama van de Belgische grafische ontwerpgeschiedenis, met nieuwe teksten van wetenschappers en praktiserende ontwerpers over onderwerpen als letterontwerp, kolonisatie en arbeidsverhoudingen. Het boek bevat honderden nooit eerder gepubliceerde reproducties van affiches, bewegwijzering, typografie, verpakkingen, boekontwerp, logo's en ephemera.

Het boek wordt uitgegeven door Occasional Papers met steun van KASK - School of Arts Gent, Design Museum Gent en Vlaams Architectuurinstituut.

Sara De Bondt is een Gentse grafisch ontwerper. Haar onderzoek naar de Belgische grafische ontwerpgeschiedenis maakt deel uit van een doctoraatsproject aan KASK & Conservatorium / HOGENT en Howest.