Klaus Krogh, cofounder of the graphic design company 2K/Denmark, died October 6 at age 74, Christianity Today reports. He spent more than four decades creating beautiful and accessible Bibles, and his typefaces appear in Bibles around the world. Krogh believed that a Bible that looks good and reads well leads people to open it more often. "If you are about to publish a Bible, you have no excuse not to make it readable," he said.
Krogh began as a graphic designer and production manager for the Norwegian Bible Society from 1982 to 1987, where he made hymn books and Bibles, according to Christianity Today. In 1987 he and his wife founded a company called 2Krogh, later renamed 2K/Denmark. In a 2021 interview he laughed that the old name sounded like 2 Crooks to English speakers, so it had to change.
Through 2K/Denmark, Krogh developed three typefaces that many Bible readers would recognize: Bible Sans, Bible Slab and Bible Serif. The designs balance beauty with the tight space that Bible printing demands. The company says Bible Slab's low contrast holds up under even the toughest printing conditions and can produce a fully readable Bible in no more than 600 pages. The magazine reports that the company worked with customers in more than 43 countries, including HarperCollins Christian Publishing and United Bible Societies.
Krogh wanted the Bible to be within reach of every kind of reader. In 2024 he helped Lifeway Christian Resources and Crossway Publishing release dyslexia-friendly versions of their Bibles. Christianity Today reports that 2K/Denmark worked for years with Cambridge University researchers to develop the Grace typeface, with letters and words that are easier for people with dyslexia to read.
Tributes came from across the church. Ascension, a Catholic study materials company and a 2K/Denmark client, praised his attention to detail and said he knew what was at stake in every page. Pastor and Bible teacher Tim Wildsmith said Krogh "devoted his life to making God's Word more readable." Lea Rathje, the company's chair of the board and Krogh's daughter, and CEO Sune Andersen said in a statement that he died "suddenly" and that they were in shock. They promised to carry on his life's work, which they described as making the next Bible their best one yet. Nehemiah 8:8 shows how much it matters that God's Word is read clearly and understood, and quiet craftsmen like Krogh serve that end.
Read Nehemiah 8:8
