Ann has a MA in graphic design. Her typographic graduation project was awarded. In October 2012, she defended her PhD (Type Design for Children with Low Vision), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Gerard Unger. She was granted two scholarships by Microsoft.
She works as a researcher at the PXL-MAD Shcool of Arts (Media Arts & Design), where she also teaches graphic design, typography, and type design. Recently she was awarded a grant from Microsoft for a project on visual prosody. Ann was a finalist in the New Scientist Wetenschapstalent 2015 competition, which recognizes early career researchers in the sciences. Recently Ann set up a Research Institute called READSEARCH. Ann is also involved in European COST Action that studies the evolution of Reading in the age of Digitisation. She has presented papers and gave workshops on several occasions both in Belgium and abroad. Ann Bessemans was elected member for the following five years of the Young Academy (an initiative of the Royal Flemish Academy of Sciences and Arts of Belgium to foster scientific/artistic communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and debate with policy makers). Since 2013, Anne is also an award winning independent designer. In 2014 she designed a postage stamp for the Belgian postal company that contained 606 words, a Guinness World Record. In March 2016 Ann was one of the TEDx speakers.
Her research and design interests: typography, font design, legibility, reading, graphic design, book design, letter press and modular systems.