Akzidenz-Grotesk (Ask Me Anything assignment)

grotesk

akzidenz

carmen umbers ask me anything

it has only recently been established that ferdinand theinhardt s t wa was not your creator...so, d r a inh n by

e r e h w do

hmmm...

is thi

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......very int

...interesting s why

there are so many variations of akzidenz-grotesk?

eresting

In a small way, yes, but realistically, it came down to a different reason. Univers, a typeface created by Adrian Fruitiger at the French type foundry, Deberny et Peignot, was conceived as a typeface family. At its time of release, it encompassed twenty-one styles in a multitude of weights and widths. However, I was originally published by myself, and I didn’t find my Akzidenz-Grotesk family until much later on.

Royal-Grotesk was the first proper addition to my name. Berthold and Bauer & Co. released it in 1902, but I didn’t actually adopt it into my typeface family until the 1950s, when it was renamed Akzidenz-Grotesk Light. I did have more family members by 1911, though none were italic styles.

Berhold gradually released them in the 1950s. That’s the reason, everything was gradually released, and not all by the same foundry. There are sixteen members in my family, but each have a different skeleton to me. Even the original Royal-Grotesk has different angles and exact detailing to me.

When I moved into the American commercial system in 1957, I was renamed ‘Standard’. It was easier for English speakers to say. I think it was a very strategic move, and I made a lot of money - people just assumed that I was the default variety of sans-serif type.

where were you

dead

after the war?

or

alive?

alive... very much

alive

Everywhere, really. I dabbled with work in many places, but I spent a long time in Switzerland. That’s when it all picked up for me - The International Typographic Style, or Swiss Style, as it was known then. It is a graphic design style that first emerged in Germany, Russia and the Netherlands in the 1920s, but was further developed and largely popularised in Switzerland in the 1950s. It combined elements from other art and design movements such as Bauhaus, De Stijl and Die Neue Typographie (The New Typography), and emphasised cleanliness, objectivity and readability. The style could be identified through its asymmetrical balance in layouts, use of grid systems, flush-left type alignment and, use of sans-serif typefaces, like myself.

There was a “distinct arrangement of typographic and pictorial elements” (Muller-Brockmann, 1995) in the layouts, and photographs and illustrations were often removed from designs.

I had job requests near and far, so I was constantly on the move. Big ones, small ones, I really did a multitude of projects by the end. I met many famous designers over the years - Max Bill, Ernst Keller, Adrian Frutiger, Josef Muller-Brockmann, many more. It really was a great period for me.

I partnered many times with Josef Muller-Brockmann.

He did many projects across his career, but, if I recall correctly, he is most known for his advertisement posters for the theater productions at the Zurich Town Hall. Critics described his work as reflections of mathematical and musical harmony. His use of shape and colour is a still a reference point and inspiration for 21st-century designers.

josef muller brockmann? e h t y b d e c n e u fl in s a w

“father of swiss design”. how?

we were

partners.

My dear old friend left behind a graphic design apprenticeship to study the work of Ernst Keller…the ‘father of Swiss Design’ as you’ve called him, but I didn’t know him by that title. It wasn’t a name given to him for his own portfolios. It reflects his students...his ‘sons’ you might say, who graduated from his courses and became renowned designers of the Swiss Design Style.

One of them was Josef.

Beyond teaching at Kunstgewerbeschule (Zurich’s School for Arts and Crafts), Keller was also a pioneer of the Swiss Design Style. Nowadays, Keller’s work is remembered to have marked the beginning of grid systems in graphic design. But I think his 1918 teaching is more notable - it is regarded as one of the first systematic training programmes for graphic design in the world.

After graduating, Josef started his career. I was dragged along too - I didn’t know him well in the beginning, but after years of working together, we became partners and people knew it. He learnt a lot from Keller. After World War II, he was involved in the creation of a more flexible page structure - the modern typographic grid, which is now a hallmark of the International Typographic Style. I’ve always put Josef’s fascination with the grid system down to Keller. Josef even took over Keller’s job teaching at the Kunstgewerbeschule, and helped spread the Swiss Design aesthetic beyond the European borders, particularly into North America.

we were

friends.

did the international typographic style wear you out? did you give in to helvetica?

The International Typographic Style was a chaotic and busy part of my life, but more exciting than anything. Its end didn’t kill me...but I wasn’t so popular after it drifted from the human eye - I didn’t get as many clients. A lot of the world was moving on, exploring other typefaces, Helvetica being one, but I never felt threatened. I pre-date Helvetica, and many of its developments follow in my own footsteps, so really, I’m paving the way for it.

I am much older than I was then. Fifty-odd years have passed since the movement, so I have had time to brush my shoulders into other design styles. I am still the original and official face of the American Red Cross, even after so many years. Aspects of the International Typographic Style are still popping up here and there, tossing my name in the mix a fair bit.

Times have changed, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on things. I am still regarded as the classic sans-serif option after over one-hundred years. Recently, I took part in a study under Karl Gerstner about Grotesk typefaces and our futures in the contemporary world. I was also joined by some old friends - Futura 1927, Gill 1927, Univers 1957, Helvetica 1957, Folio 1957, and Mono 215 1926. We did a few tests, few comparisons, and I came out on top. My visually calm, almost, monotonous presentation has allowed me to outlast the changes in design over the last sixty years.

bibliography

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