Diversity in designers
The collection shows how diverse Total Design's clients and designers were. Other than the founders, more than 100 Dutch designers worked for the agency through the years. Among them were Anthon Beeke, Ben Bos, Daphne Duijvelshoff, Jurriaan Schrofer and Jolijn van de Wouw.

Diversity in clientele
Total Design's clientele comprised governement ministries, municipal councils and many large companies, such as the employment agency Randstad, the major supplier of office, school and hospital furniture Ahrend, the Dutch Post Office PTT, IBM, the department store De Bijenkorf, the SHV concern, Rabobank, Amsterdam airport Schiphol and the Dutch touring club ANWB. Other clients included cultural organizations such as the Holland Festival and both the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum and the Museum Boijmans - Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Many of these clients stayed with the agency for years on end.

Diversity in types of material
On view are many images of finished articles produced on the basis of designs by Total Design and individual designers: posters, books, catalogues, annual reports, brochures, office stationery and logos.

Many sketches have also been included in the collection; they are a good illustration of the way designers worked from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Analogue photographs of designs of spatial applications are also part of the collection; they feature lettering on facades, the layout for an exhibition and signage. A number of photographs taken by employees of Total Design are on view as well.

Selection
The selection was made on the basis of one to six images that are representative of a given commission, and even more in the case of major clients. The images feature the front side, but in many cases also the rear and the inside of the finished article, for instance in the case of books or brochures.

Consulting the archives
The original archives may be referenced at the Amsterdam Stadsarchief (municipal archives) and the Graphic Design Museum Beyerd in Breda. Wim Crouwel's archives (including part of Benno Wissing's collection) are in the care of the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. Jurriaan Schrofer's are at the Amsterdam Universiteitsbibliotheek (university library) and, finally, Jolijn van de Wouw's archives have been entrusted to the Amsterdam Stadsarchief.

Descriptions of the archives are available on the website of the Dutch Graphic Designers Archives (Nederlands Archief Grafisch Ontwerpers-NAGO).