Book design for Prof. Dick Swaab

Book design for the 80th birthday of Prof. Dick Swaab ✨



Two years ago, I came into contact with the “Stichting vrienden van het Herseninstituut” through de Nieuwe Gevers, an organization that connects volunteers with charities to leverage the skills of these volunteers.A few months ago, the Foundation approached me with a new request: designing a Liber Amicorum (friendship book) for Professor Dick Swaab’s 80th birthday.Professor Dick Swaab is a renowned neurobiologist and brain researcher, known for numerous influential books (such as We Are Our Brains).

He has dedicated many years (and continues to do so) to the Brain Institute (Herseninstituut) and the Brain Bank (Hersenbank).
50 hardcovers with gold foil were printed, 1 for Prof. Dick Swaab in a luxurious custom box and the rest of the books were for the people who’ve send their stories about their time with Dick Swaab.
400 paperbacks for the guests of the symposium. A simplified version of the hardcover edition.


I created one custom box with a special design at the front. The box is handprinted at my home studio and I created an inlay for the book to be displayed.


Very happy that the project is finished and the book/box was gifted to Prof. Dick Swaab during the first symposium ‘Our vulnarable brain’ in Amsterdam for his 80th birthday.