My name is Ines Cox and I run my own independent graphic design studio in Antwerp. In 2009 I graduated at Luca School of Arts (Ghent) with a degree in graphic design and continued studying for a second Master course at Werkplaats Typografie (The Netherlands). During our studies Lauren Grusenmeyer and I founded the studio Cox & Grusenmeyer. After 5 years of working together, at the end of 2014, I started working on my own. My work has a focus on print and typography within a wide variety of projects. Clients range from independent artists and galleries to brands, schools and museums. I also started teaching typography at the Royal Academy of Antwerp.

Antwerp, that’s in Belgium.

I like to think it started with the arrival of the copy machine. My father is an accountant and has his own home office. Since I was little I loved to play ‘office’; I was making piles, walking around with folders, making fake phone calls with my sister while maniacally marking, stapling and perforating. Then I discovered how the copy machine in my father’s office worked. I started copying random objects, manipulating the darkness of images and making my own magazines, mostly fanzines. A few years later I realized that what I liked doing could also become my job, so off we went to art school.

My interest in typography, which was something new to me, was sparkled there and grew over the years. It became more and more a personal focus. Since I’m now teaching typography, I feel the constant need to ask myself what good  and relevant graphic design should be and what that means to me. This deliberate focus, the conversations with students and fellow teachers feed and inspire my practice intensively.

If you had to choose, which would you say your favorite thing to design is?

I like projects where I can execute multiple designs with one idea. For example an exhibition design that needs a scenography, a poster, a booklet, etc. It’s satisfying to be able to show different (visual) aspects within one complete whole.