Martens is not only an ingenious explorer, but also expertly makes the most of his budget. He avoids wastage and utilizes materials such as newspaper and old archive maps from the Stedelijk Museum. He freely deviates from traditional design laws; for instance, the text can begin on the cover or be placed in the margins. His experiments went to the extreme when designing the architecture magazine OASE: each edition is unique. He initially formed it with students from the Workshop Typography, which he co-founded, and now collaborates with his daughter, Aagje Martens.
Since 2019, when Karel Martens joined forces with his children, Klaartje and Diederik, under the name Martens & Martens, their work has expanded into fields such as textiles and collaborations. One such collaboration is with Suite702, which produces towels based on Martens’ color system for the beach cabins in Le Havre. Martens’ designs have also been incorporated into textile designs for companies like Liberty London, Maharam, Hermès, DUM, Pop Trading Company, and Pentagram.
www.ftn-books.com has many Martens designed titles now available and his Stedelijk Museum exhibition will be on view until the 26th of October 2025.
