Arve Båtevik (b. 1991) is a type designer and the founder of Nortype, a type foundry dedicated to creating accessible and visually enduring typefaces. He has worked with type design for more than ten years.
He holds a BA in Graphic Design from Westerdals in Oslo. His thesis, Subtle Expression in Typography, included interviews with François Rappo, Erik Spiekermann, and Christian Schwartz. He later completed an MA in Type Design at ECAL in Lausanne. His diploma project, on geometric typefaces, received the Prix David Rust.
At Nortype, Arve’s type design work is grounded in research, with a focus on universal design, readability, and visual durability. His work starts from the view that accessible and functional type need not come at the expense of visual character. The typefaces are made as practical tools for designers, with an emphasis on clarity, usability, and range.
His typefaces and custom work have been used by 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, 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, Henning Larsen, Emne Studio, Veeps, Designmuseum Danmark, Scribd, and many more.
His typefaces SN Nord and SN Arkitekt received Gold at Grafill Visuelt. SN Gangster, SN Eleganse, and SN Skandia were also recognised at Grafill Visuelt.
He designed the exhibitions Skrift i Oslo, Ingen veit kven Trygve er, and Røyk at Grafill. Skrift i Oslo surveyed 100 years of handmade signs and lettering, highlighting the city’s unique visual dialect and the role of type in shaping its identity. Ingen veit kven Trygve er explored the legacy of Trygve M. Davidsen through archival materials that connect illustration, advertising, type design, and the development of Norwegian graphic design. Røyk presented a selection of Norwegian posters from 1886 to 1938, looking at how printed forms moved between art, commerce, and everyday use.
He is currently leading Den Norske Bokstaven, a grant-funded research project on Norwegian type design. Alongside Nortype, he also runs Store Norske Skriftkompani, a foundry focused on Norwegian visual heritage.
Arve Båtevik’s typefaces for Nortype
Sanna