Henk van Assen

Henk van Assen, Senior Critic in Graphic Design

Mr. van Assen graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Department of Graphic Design and Typography) in The Hague, The Netherlands, in 1989. After working several years as a graphic designer in Amsterdam, he came to the United States, where he received his M.F.A. in 1993 from Yale University. Mr. van Assen has since worked on many projects in print, environmental, and screen-based media, ranging from book design to identity programs to Web design and signage systems. Clients include Abrams, New York; Rizzoli, New York; Malba, Buenos Aires; the GeGo Foundation, Caracas; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of the City of New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; FotoFest, Houston; the New York Public Library; and the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. He coauthored, with Daniel M. Olsen, Ranch Gates of the Southwest (Trinity Press, 2009). He has taught design at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas, at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Additionally, he has lectured internationally, most recently in Mexico, China, and Canada. He was awarded the 1999, 2000, 2004, and 2005 AIGA 50 Best Books award, the 2000 and 2002 AAUP Best Book award, and the 2005 New York Book Show award. Currently, he is a principal of HvAD, a design studio in New York City. Mr. van Assen was appointed lecturer in graphic design in 1999 and is currently senior critic in graphic design.