Lex Reitsma studied graphic design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam from 1978 to 1983. He is self-employed. Most of his commissions come from the cultural sphere and many of these publications deal with photography, architecture, art, cinema or the graphic profession. He has designed exhibition catalogues and posters for museums such as Museum Overholland and the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum. For Dutch Royal PTT he has created postage stamps, diaries and annual reports. As of 1990, he is the regular graphic designer for De Nederlandse Opera. In 1994, Reitsma won the Dutch Theatre Poster Award. In 2002, he received the H.N. Werkman Award from the Amsterdam Art Fund for his designs for De Nederlandse Opera. Over twenty of his books were included in the annual selection of the Best Book Design by the CPNB. Lex Reitsma has a character trait that dominates his life: he is self-willed, critical and mistrustful of the latest fads.