Niels Shoe Meulman

Born in Amsterdam in 1967, Niels Meulman is an internationally famous artist, designer, and art director. He also co-founded and ran several companies for graphic design and brand communication.

Meulman began tagging in 1979, and became a graffiti legend by the time he was 18. Known as Shoe within the graffiti community, his work evolved into a business for decorative lettering and he furthered his technique by apprenticing under the Dutch graphic design master, Anthon Beeke.

Meulman ran his own design company, Caulfield & Tensing, before joining the large advertising agency BBDO. In recent years, he has been a Creative Director for MTV Europe, while also freelancing in typographic design. Meulman revolutionized the art of writing with Calligraffiti, an art form that fuses calligraphy and graffiti. He launched this movement in 2007 with a successful exhibition in Amsterdam, to which the graffiti pioneer and graphic artist, Eric Haze, also contributed along with the sneaker retailer Patta. Meulman has also teamed up with the international record label Rush Hour to mount a Calligraffiti exhibition entitled Different Strokes. In the beginning of 2010, he co-wrote the book Calligraffiti – The Graphic Art of Niels Shoe Meulman with Adam Eeuwens. Meulman has been exhibiting, book signing and lecturing all over the world since its publication by From Here to Fame, Berlin.

Widely acclaimed, Meulman’s designs and artwork are in the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His essential works also include a signature shoe design for the British sports brand, Umbro; the re-styling of the Dutch television channel, TMF; packaging calligraphy for Bols Genever, and a line of luxury silk scarves which he designs for Unruly.

Niels Shoe Meulman lives and works in Amsterdam.