Maarten Renckens is a multidisciplinary person. He combines several functions in graphic design (design researcher, designer, Linotype technician), as landlord (facilities manager), as an Environment Expert (urban planning & building permissions), and carillon player. Above all, he does the things he likes to do.
As a design researcher, and as someone who used to have light reading difficulties himself, he took the task to enlarge the knowledge about the design parameters that could influence the reading comfort of texts. Within this context, he tests different design parameters with different audiences create more awareness of proper text design.
As a design researcher, he has an interest in typesetting technology, for which he started the Linotype.wiki project. This website collects all possible information about mechanical typesetting machines. Seeing how many organisations struggle to keep their typesetting machines running, he started this article to put the requirements to provide hot metal typesetting a sustainable future into words and actions.
Maarten further is active in architecture, more specific urban planning and building permissions. He maintains several buildings by himself.
And while not a very active carillon player anymore, he still involves himself with those instruments, currently focussing on the restauration of the carillon in the city of Damme, Belgium.
- RENCKENS, M. (2024). "An Exploratory Study Evaluating the Influence of Taller Stripe Patterns on Reading Comfort Using Ranking Tests, Reading Tests, EEG’s, and Eye Tracking." In: Visible Language 58(1). DOI: 10.34314/w29ewx38
- RENCKENS, M.; DE RAEVE, L.; NUYTS, E.; PEREZ MENA, M.; BESSEMANS, A. (2021). "Visual prosody supports reading aloud expressively for deaf readers." In: Visible Language 55(1). DOI: 10.34314/vl.v55i1.4603
- RENCKENS, M.; DE RAEVE, L.; NUYTS, E.; PEREZ MENA, M.; BESSEMANS, A. (2021). "Preliminary study exploring the relation between visual prosody and the prosodic components in sign language." In: Visible Language 55(1). DOI: 10.34314/vl.v55i1.4604
- RENCKENS, M. (2021). "Consequently Positioning the Rhythm in Type Based on the Letters’ Longest Continuous Black Mass." In: Visible Language 54(3): 32-47.
- BESSEMANS, A.; RENCKENS, M.; BORMANS, K.; NUYTS, E.; LARSON, K. (2020). "Visual Prosody Supports Reading Aloud Expressively." In: Visible Language 53(3): 28-49. DOI: 10.34314/vl.v53i3.4653
- RENCKENS, M. (2018). "Letter variations to train social skills. Expression in speech transcriptions." [Peer reviewed Conference Paper] Second Conference in Graphic Design, Bilbao, Spain.
- WALKER, S.; BLACK, A.; BESSEMANS, A.; BORMANS, K.; RENCKENS, M.; BARRAT, M. (2018). "Chapter 2. Designing digital texts for beginner readers: Aspects and processes". In: thompson, J.; SCHROEDER, S., BARZILLAI, M. & VAN DEN BROEK, P. (2018). "Learning to Read in a Digital World." John Benjamin’s • e-read Book Project • https://benjamins.com/catalog/swll.17
- RENCKENS, M,; DELEU, F.; HAUTEKIET, J-P. (November 2023). Adviesrapport voor de restauratie van de beiaard van Damme [Report with advices for the restoration of the carillon of Damme]. For the city of Damme.
- RENCKENS, M.; PULMANS, S.; GOOSSENS, P.; VAN DEN BERGH, S. (2022). "Waarderingsdossier Mixer-letterzetters (Appraisal file of the Mixer-typesetter)", written for the Industriemuseum Gent (Industrial Museum Ghent).
- RENCKENS, M.; PULMANS, S.; LUYTS, N.; & VERBOVEN, M. (2022). "Waarderingsdossier voor de Linotype letterzetter van het speelkaartenmuseum (Appraisal file of the Linotype Typesetter from the Playing Cards Museum)", written for the Speelkaartenmuseum Turnhout (Playing Cards Museum Turnhout).
- 2022: The Flemisch Government provided a grant for a master-pupil traject to transfer the knowledge as a Linotype Technician, preserving this knowledge for the future.
- 2020: Fameus funded the project Type Platform, an educational platform to provide insights in how other designers are using type. (The project was for the largest part cancelled due to Corona).
I didn't do this work all alone. I received support from:
C 2021-2024 Maarten Renckens.
