Custom typographic design that drives business outcomes
If you're looking for hand lettering with a retro vibe, you've come to the right place. I am Martijn Wiertz and my lettering studio is called "Ooh..Kijk!"
A few years ago I decided not to take a job that I was offered, but instead spend my energy on something that had always had my interest, but I stopped doing along the way: graphic design. Midlife crisis? Perhaps, but I figured this would be more productive than a motor cycle or trophy wife :-) I literally lost a night of sleep over it, and when I got out of bed I had made up my mind, and I had come up with a company name.
What's in a name?
I didn't want to simply call it "Martijn Wiertz Design" like so many other people do, because… what does that even mean to you? It means that you get something designed by someone with that name. So what?!?
So instead I chose something that represents the outcome I'd like to achieve, a promise of what a design by me should do for you. "Ooh, kijk!" is Dutch and it means something like "wow, look!". Whether you are looking at the aesthetics of a design, or the business results it produces (this is not art for art's sake), if this is your reaction, then I will know I have done my work right.
I got this!
Now, those results don't magically appear of course, so since 2012 I have put in many many hours to be really good at this stuff. I have spent two years on a course to master the principles of design and two masterclasses with experts in the field of hand lettering (seanwes and Jon Contino). I have spent hundreds of hours learning to use professional design software, bought and read more than 40 books and have curated a collection of more than 10,000 reference pictures.
I have selectively taken on commissions and have started two self-initiated projects to refine my skills and my process. I learned an awful lot, and had to unlearn even more, and I am ready to achieve great result together with you.
You can view my portfolio here.
Let's talk!
As said above, I don't make art for art's sake. The design is the means, not the end. The better I understand "the end" you are after, the more likely you are to say "ooh..kijk!" when we get there. If you have a project in mind, let’s start the conversation here.