A small project built around the part of practice that often goes unexplained.
The project began with a recurring frustration: learners could find beautiful finished calligraphy and endless alphabets to copy, but it was harder to find a structured way to explain why their own spacing, countershape or pressure felt inconsistent.
Counterform Atelier was developed around diagnostic comparison. Instead of asking whether a form is simply “good,” each activity asks what changed, where the difference appears and what a learner could test next.
Short B.V. operates the educational platform from Schotersingel 91, 2023 AA Haarlem, Netherlands for online learners in the Netherlands.
Small editorial team
Marieke de Boer
Learning editor. Builds diagnostic exercise sequences and checks that each activity has one clear visual question.
Joris van Leeuwen
Stroke studies editor. Develops pressure, release and curve cases and reviews how movement examples are compared.
Eva Smit
Form & spacing editor. Creates countershape and rhythm exercises using controlled variations of related forms.
Thomas Vermeer
Materials editor. Structures comparative trials involving nib flexibility, ink flow and paper behaviour.
Noor Jansen
Learner support. Handles access questions and identifies instructions that need clearer examples or pacing.