piet gerards (1950) started out as a designer and printer of activist materials in the 1970s. he moved on to become a publisher and designer of literary works. in 1985 he initiated signe arts center in his home town of heerlen, where he organized exhibitions and multi-disciplinary projects. he had a hand in the creation of numerous publications in the fields of art, music, photography, design and history. during the 1990s, architecture became increasingly important as a topic. as the number of clients increased gerards surrounded himself with co-designers in order to deal with all the commissions and the accompanying production requirements. although the focus was on (often award-winning) book design, there was also room to take on other commissions. In 2003, working title: piet gerards, graphic designer was published. three years later he established himself in amsterdam under the name ‘piet gerards ontwerpers’. in 2018 he decided to close shop. he occasionally still produces designs under his own name. gerards’ extensive body of work is included in various archives. contact: pietgerards@planet.nl