Known as ‘Jos’, Rovers was born in Utrecht, studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp under the direction of Isidore Opsomer. He worked as an artist but also as a book cover designer for the De Spaarnestad publishing house in Haarlem. He enjoyed a successful career as a poster designer. He produced the posters for the 1928 Dutch Olympiad – the first to feature the five ring motif – and a number of highly regarded images promoting shipping lines. He won the Royal Grant, the St. Lucas Prize in 1939, and the silver medal of the city of Paris in 1955 at the Dutch exhibition. He was a member of Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam, serving as chairman from 1946 to 1948 and of the Saint Lucas Association in Amsterdam. He was a professor at the Rijks Academy in Amsterdam for 15 yrs.