Joost Grootens Designing a dictionary lemma is a typographic challenge. Within a limited space, various types of content must be organised: the headword, phonetic transcription, grammatical category, definition, etymology, common phrases, and cross-references. These layers are typically distinguished using typographic variations such as different weights, italic styles, and the use of brackets.
Amsterdam-based studio SJG has designed several dictionaries for Dutch publisher Van Dale, including the Dikke Van Dale (“fat” Van Dale), the oldest and most comprehensive dictionary of the Dutch language, in 2015 and 2022, as well as a series of pocket dictionaries aimed at teenagers in 2018. Rather than relying solely on typographic strategies, the hierarchy within the lemmas in these dictionaries is primarily achieved through graphic means, including the use of colours, shades, white space, and symbols.
In addition to being a design solution to an organisational challenge, the use of the full range of graphic means was also a response to the changing role of the paper dictionary in the digital age, where the dictionary has become more of a cultural object than a functional tool. It was also the designer’s way to show, for the final occasion, the full potential of graphic production for the last paper edition of the Dikke Van Dale.