Verena Gerlach chooses Postea and Bely for a feminist art catalogue, for a reason

Berlin-based graphic designer Verena Gerlach recently designed a 216-page catalogue for an extensive exhibition of the German feminist artist Hanna Nagel (1905–1975), held at the Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany April–July 2022.

As the title of the show suggests, Hanna Nagel was one of the first 20th century feminist artists in Germany. She dealt more intensively than any other artist of her time with the relationship between man and woman, as well as the problematic life situation in the conflict between professional activity and motherhood. A large part of her work is privately owned and has so far only been published in fragments.

Verena Gerlach used TypeTogether’s Postea and Bely type families in the exhibition catalogue. While Roxane Gataud’s Bely (2016) has become a long-time favourite seen in use around the world, this is one of the first type in use examples of our recent release Postea, a contemporary geometric sans serif designed by Veronika Burian and José Scaglione in 2020.

As Verena Gerlach puts it, “Matching the feminist topics of Hanna Nagel’s art, I decided to go for two typefaces designed by female type designers: Postea, by Veronika Burian (& José Scaglione — yes, José is always welcome to be a lady of honour) for the German texts, with Bely and Bely display designed by Roxane Gataud for the English translations.”

Hanna Nagel Exhibition Catalogue (2022)
Exhibition curator: Dr Inge Herold
Designer: Verena Gerlach
Language: German and English
Hardcover, 216 pages, 196 illustrations
Dimensions: 225 × 270 mm
https://www.kuma.art/en/hanna-nagel