[1] Initially de Fouw studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague where he learnt Bauhaus design principles.

[3] In 1951 de Fouw moved to Ireland on the advice of Guus Melei, a former colleague at KLM, who had started working on the Aer Lingus account for Sun Advertising.

Ireland was an attractive option because de Fouw was able to get a house with a garden, which was not as easily available in his home country in the aftermath of World War II.

[3] A small group of other Dutch graphic designers were also recruited to Irish advertising agencies such as Gerrit van Gelderen, Piet Sluis and Cor Klaasen.

[5] Working as a freelance designer in Ireland, de Fouw applied his knowledge of modern Bauhaus principles, using flat colours, grid layouts and sans-serif typography.