Pieter Brattinga was born on January 31, 1931 in Hilversum, Netherlands. He studied in Leiden, Paris and London. In 1951, at the age of 20 he became a design director at his family's printing house Steendrukkerij de Jong & Co, Hilversum. At the same time he published Kwadraatbladen, a series of square brochures on various design and art related subject including Wim Crouwel and Anthon Beeke. In 1955, he was hired by Quardrat Prints as an editor and worked there for 19 years. From 1966 to 1970, he was the secretary general of Icograda and from 1966 and 1970, he was a president of ADC Netherlands. Between 1966 and 1970 he coordinated the editing of Noivorm, the design manual for the chemical concern DSM
Brattinga designed stamps for the Netherlands PTT in the year of 1969, 1971, 1973, 1980 and 1981. He designed logos, book covers, exhibition, posters and catalogues for the exhibitions at the Kröller-Müller Museum. In 1974, he did experimental prints in his Gallery in Amsterdam. In 1968, he received the Grand Prix of the international survey of exhibition design. His solo exhibitions in Minneapolis (1963), Lodz (1974), Berlin (1976), Otterio (1980). Dick Dooijes and him wrote about A history of Dutch Posters 1890-1960.