For people, by people
ABOUT
Mark Zeilstra (Utrecht, 1961) is a graphic designer and photographer with over thirty years of professional experience. After graduating from the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU), he honed his skills at leading agencies such as Vorm Vijf, Studio Dumbar in The Hague and Samenwerkende Ontwerpers in Amsterdam, before co-founding a design studio in Utrecht in 1991. In 1994, the studio has continued in
's-Hertogenbosch. From 2012 onwards, he has operated his office under the name Mark Zeilstra | photography and graphic design including photography as an extra service.
His work operates at the intersection of graphic design and photography. As a designer, he serves a wide range of clients. In 2019, he was invited to contribute to several pitches for wayfinding concepts in car parks.
Drawing on his personal experience that travelling can often be stressful—navigating poorly designed car parks in particular—he found the motivation to create a complete set of pictograms, first for parking facilities and later also for airports.
Research shows that pictograms, as part of our visual language, are subject to constant change driven by technology, innovation and culture. Existing pictogram databases often fail to address these current and future developments.
A visual language that resonates with people in today’s context reduces stress and makes travelling more efficient.
In 2024, Pictogramtoday was launched, with the aim of contributing to the optimisation of pictograms within modern wayfinding strategies. A database of over 800 pictograms has been designed and assembled in response to the need for easily accessible, contemporary pictogram sets developed from a human-centred perspective. Industry-specific sets have been created and are in progress from this resource, ready for direct application in practice.