An exhibition dedicated to the work of Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel opened today at the Design Museum in London. Spanning over 60 years of his career, A Graphic Odyssey showcases an extensive body of work encompassing iconic posters, original sketches, catalogues and archive photography by one of the most important and influential graphic designers of the twentieth century.

Crouwel’s work embraced a new modernity, producing typographic designs that captured the essence of the emerging computer and space age of the early 1960s; especially his 1967 New Alphabet font. According to the designer, New Alphabet was “over-the-top and never meant to be really used.” However, as unreadable as it was, the font made a comeback in 1988 when Ammunition partner Brett Wickens and Peter Saville reworked a version of the font on the sleeve of Substance by Joy Division. The font was later digitized and made available for use in 1997 by The Foundry.

For more information about the exhibition, read the Design Museum press release and events page. A Graphic Odyssey will run March 30 until July 3, 2011.