Arve Båtevik | Arve Baatevik | Arve Batevik – Norwegian Type Designer, Typographer, and Founder of Store Norske Skriftkompani

Award-Winning Typefaces, Research-Driven Typography, and Visual Culture from Oslo, Norway

Arve Båtevik (b. 1991) is the principal designer and founder of Store Norske Skriftkompani, a foundry specialising in type design and visual culture. His practice is grounded in a deep respect for historical research and cultural preservation, and his typefaces often represent the tangible results of a deeper cultural inquiry. He pursues an inclusive and democratic approach to visual culture, focusing on bridging the gap between diverse visual heritage and contemporary needs. His work is characterised by a balance of technical precision, contextual analysis, and openness to play and experimentation.

Clients: Louis Vuitton, The New York Times Magazine, Adobe, Vogue, Bang & Olufsen, Harvard Art Museums, The Munch Museum, and More

Arve’s typefaces and design work are used by clients including Sunnfjord Waste Management, Louis Vuitton, Arbeiderpartiet, The New York Times Magazine, Gymshark, La Biennale di Venezia, Radiumhospitalet, Vogue, Cully Jazz, Adobe, Bang & Olufsen, Harvard Art Museums, Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie, Matias Faldbakken, Nationaltheatret, The Munch Museum, Fantasy Chess, W Hotels, Olafur Eliasson, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Humor på Torshov, Théâtre National de la Danse Chaillot, Eye Magazine, Fjæreheia Amphitheatre, Henning Larsen Architects, Museum of the Moving Image, Veeps, Designmuseum Danmark, Scribd, and many more.

Arve Båtevik BA thesis Subtle Expression in Typography, François Rappo, Erik Spiekermann, Christian Schwartz, Den Norske Bokstaven, Norwegian type design research, Norwegian poster exhibition, visual culture, advertising ephemera, overlooked design history

Arve’s first in-depth research project was his BA thesis, “Subtle Expression in Typography,” which featured interviews with François Rappo, Erik Spiekermann, and Christian Schwartz. This line of inquiry continued in “Otto,” his ECAL diploma project, which examined early twentieth-century geometric typefaces through reconstruction. He is currently leading “Den Norske Bokstaven,” a grant-funded research project focused on Norwegian type design, while also pursuing broader research into Norwegian visual culture, and overlooked design history.

Arve Båtevik exhibitions, Skrift i Oslo, Ingen veit kven Trygve er, Røyk, Grafill, hidden and overlooked Norwegian visual culture, Norwegian design history, Oslo lettering, Trygve M. Davidsen, Norwegian posters

Arve has created the exhibitions Skrift i Oslo, Ingen veit kven Trygve er, and Røyk at Grafill. Together, they form a three-part exhibition series on hidden and overlooked Norwegian form and visual culture. “Skrift i Oslo” surveyed a hundred years of handmade signs and lettering, highlighting the city’s unique visual dialect and the role of type in shaping Oslo’s identity. “Ingen veit kven Trygve er” explored the diverse legacy of Trygve M. Davidsen through archival material connecting illustration, advertising, type design, and the development of Norwegian graphic design. “Røyk” brings together Norwegian posters from 1886 to 1938, revealing a broad visual field shaped by advertising, public life, and overlooked makers.

Arve Båtevik education, Westerdals Oslo, ECAL Switzerland, Prix David Rust, Store Norske Nord, Store Norske Arkitekt, Grafill Visuelt Gold, Store Norske Gangster, Store Norske Eleganse, Store Norske Skandia, award-winning Norwegian typefaces

Arve holds a BA in Graphic Design from Westerdals in Oslo and an MA in Art Direction and Type Design from École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland, where his diploma project was awarded the Prix David Rust. His typefaces Store Norske Nord and Store Norske Arkitekt have received Gold at the Grafill Visuelt awards, with additional distinctions for Store Norske Gangster, Store Norske Litteratur, Store Norske Eleganse, and Store Norske Skandia.

Books by Arve Båtevik

• Erik Spiekermann, Christian Schwartz and François Rappo on Subtle Expression in Typography. Printed, hardcover. ISBN 978-82-690018-1-5. Published 2015. Out of print.
• Skrift i Oslo. Printed, softcover. ISBN 978-82-690018-4-6. Published 2020. Available from Baat Books.
• Røyk. Printed, softcover. ISBN 978-82-690018-6-0. Published 2026. Available from Baat Books.

Typefaces by Arve Båtevik — Typefaces and fonts designed by Arve Båtevik

• Store Norske Arkitekt – A geometric typeface shaped by Norwegian functionalist architecture and the lettering found on its buildings. Awarded Gold in Visuelt.
• Store Norske Baguette – An all-caps headline typeface drawing on French signage, Norwegian typographic traditions, and Japanese reinterpretations of Western letterforms, with upright and variable inclined styles.
• Store Norske Ballong – A bold display typeface constructed from five strictly arranged circles, with small connections between the forms creating a lively, shifting rhythm.
• Store Norske Bass – A strictly monospaced display typeface developed from a lettering alphabet in Lettera (1954–72), where each character works as a uniform graphic building block.
• Store Norske Bygg – A two-weight monospaced typeface developed from 1930s Oslo construction-company lettering, originally drawn for Skrift i Oslo.
• Store Norske Eleganse – A display typeface rooted in Ehmcke’s Elzevir and early twentieth-century calligraphic traditions, combining ornamental forms with a measured geometric structure. Received Diploma in Visuelt.
• Store Norske Funksjon – A geometric colour typeface rooted in 1930s Oslo shopfront lettering, constructed from circles, squares, and triangles and split into modular layers for colour.
• Store Norske Gangster – A Renaissance-inspired serif drawing on Garamond, Jannon, Granjon, and Grandjean, translating complex historical curves into cleaner contemporary forms. Received Diploma in Visuelt.
• Store Norske Geita – A geometric grotesque developed through close study of the original display cuts of Akzidenz-Grotesk, with consistent geometry and a natural, slightly irregular tone. Store Norske Geita Mono carries the same expression into a typewriter-inspired form.
• Store Norske Graut – A typeface based on a 1930s monospaced lettering alphabet attributed to Bruno Frost, available across a variable range from monospaced to proportional spacing.
• Store Norske Ja – A low-contrast geometric sans serif with a generous x-height, balanced proportions, and a clear, open tone. Store Norske Ja Mono carries the same qualities into a typewriter-inspired form.
• Store Norske Jazz – A contrasted sans serif shaped by rational modernist grotesques and warmer lettering traditions, balancing clarity and composure with a softer tone. Store Norske Jazz Mono carries the same voice into a typewriter-inspired form.
• Store Norske Jernskrift – A typeface developed from the numerals and limited lettering of Norway’s 1929 Vertikal Jernskrift number-plate standard, extended into a complete alphabet for contemporary use.
• Store Norske Leif – A contemporary serif developed from three interpretations of Times, with character built through asymmetrical contrast and slightly irregular forms. Store Norske Leif Mono carries the same character into a typewriter-inspired form.
• Store Norske Litteratur – An old-style serif rooted in Norway’s literary golden age, combining historical warmth with a crisp contemporary drawing. Store Norske Litteratur Text is its heavier, low-contrast text version. Store Norske Litteratur Mono and Store Norske Litteratur Text Mono carry the two designs into typewriter-inspired forms.
• Store Norske Magi – A geometrically constructed sans serif shaped by a Nordic idea of everyday design, where simplicity, function, and longevity form the basis of good design. Store Norske Magi Mono carries the same clear and measured voice into a typewriter-inspired form.
• Store Norske Maleri – A display typeface based on Ehmcke’s Mediaeval, combining calligraphic forms with a geometric construction of circles, triangles, and squares, with monumental capitals and flowing lowercase.
• Store Norske Mekaniske – A typeface developed from workshop lettering at Aker Mekaniske Verksted, carrying a specific piece of Oslo’s shipyard history into a complete alphabet.
• Store Norske Minimal – A constructed geometric sans serif rooted in the utilitarian lettering of number plates, street signs, and industrial panels, with visible modular logic and restrained optical correction.
• Store Norske Neon – A typeface based on Metall Standardbokstaver used by Neon Electric Limited AS, preserving the geometric forms and routing holes of the original lettering, and expanding the design into four digital styles.
• Store Norske Nora – A modular variable typeface expanding Nora Gulbrandsen’s geometric lettering alphabet and her idea of formlek, with forms that shift from widely spaced to condensed configurations.
• Store Norske Nord – A northern interpretation of the classic turn-of-the-century grotesque, shaped by Scandinavian ideas of simplicity, function, longevity, and character. Awarded Gold in Visuelt. Store Norske Nord Mono carries the same voice into a typewriter-inspired form, while Store Norske Nord Plakat develops it into a poster-focused display cut.
• Store Norske Samvirke – A typeface developed from gold-leaf window lettering for Oslo Samvirkelag.
• Store Norske Skandia – A rational geometric typeface rooted in Scandinavian modernism and the NSB Skiltskrift. Received Diploma in Visuelt. The family includes Store Norske Skandia Mono, Store Norske Skandia Narrow, and Store Norske Skandia Condensed.
• Store Norske Stempel – A typeface based on the bold, wide lettering used for words such as Rutevogn, Leievogn, and Drosje on early Norwegian vehicle plates.
• Store Norske Stilig – A colour typeface inspired by Andy Song’s Indigo from 1972, built from layered components and available in colour and four monochrome styles.
• Store Norske Tango – A geometric typeface inspired by Intertype Vogue, with primitive geometric forms, minimal optical correction, and two italic slants.
• Store Norske Trafikk – A constructed sans serif rooted in Trafikkalfabetet, Karl Petter Sandbæk’s 1965 alphabet for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.