Sem Valk
Graphic designer in Rotterdam. Identities, posters and typefaces for culture, mostly in black and white.
I make graphic design you can read from across the street, and again from ten centimetres.
I’m Sem Valk, a graphic designer working alone from a studio near the Delfshaven canal in Rotterdam, with a plan chest full of proofs and a Risograph I am not allowed to move.
Before 2019 I spent five years at Studio Kader, where I learned to draw a poster at 1:1 and to read a printer’s invoice. I still do both before anything else.
Most of my clients are small: a hall, a festival, a publisher, a label. I design the identity, the posters and the book, and I draw the letters when none of the existing ones will do. I take on four to six projects a year, and I am booking from February 2027.
Clients
Nieuwe Hal, Kade Film Festival, Uitgeverij Graniet, Lettervorm, Ruis Records, Instituut Stadsbeeld, Toneelhuis Vlak, Kunsthal Zand, Museum Havenkwartier, Stichting Fietsstad, Gaffel Poezie, Stichting Koorweek, Bakkerij Oost, Academie Noord
Recognition
Selected, Rotterdam Poster Biennale 2025 (Kade Film Festival)
Shortlist, Grafische Prijs Zuid-Holland 2025 (Atlas of Small Harbours)
Honourable mention, Letter & Lijn Awards 2026 (Valk Grotesk)