NKF: Piet Zwart’s Avant-Garde Catalog for Standard Cables

A founding masterpiece of modern typography from one of the twentieth century’s most ambitious designers.

Widely regarded as the most important Dutch designer of the last century, Piet Zwart helped rewrite the rules of modern typography. His best-known work, an 80-page catalog for the electrical cable manufacturer Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft (NKF), is a remarkable case study in visual communication: combining razor-sharp photos, playful type compositions, expressive montages, and bold fields of color to transform the humble cable into a subject for experimental graphic design. The result was unprecedented: a commercial catalog that functioned simultaneously as a modernist design manifesto.

Received in avant-garde circles as a model of modernist New Typography, the catalog remains a sought-after touchstone of art and design history. This first-ever facsimile of Zwart’s NKF catalog reproduces the complete book with exacting details and in its original format. An accompanying critical supplement includes fascinating essays by design scholars Philip B. Meggs and Paul Stirton, a rich selection of rarely seen projects from Zwart’s decade-long relationship with NKF, and a translation of Zwart’s original manifesto.

Hardcover slipcase housing two paperback volumes:
- Complete facsimile of the original 80-page catalog
- Critical companion with scholarly analysis and archival materials
8.25 x 11.5"
160 pages

Piet Zwart (1885-1977): Trained as an architect, Zwart brought spatial understanding and systematic thinking to graphic design. His integration of photography, typography, and modernist principles demonstrated how avant-garde approaches could serve commercial needs while advancing visual communication. Named "Designer of the Century" by the Association of Dutch Designers in 2000.