Jan Tschichold is... well... was a typographer, teacher, book designer, and writer. He was the son of a sign painter and had been extensively trained in the art of lettering, which in return would set him apart from most all other typographers. Jan had dreams and ambitions of becoming an artist though his parents believed the profession to be unstable. Somewhat following in his parents’ beliefs, he set out to become a teacher of drawing though lettering and printing were really what caught his attention. After a visit to a Bauhaus exhibit in August of 1923 he was instantly impressed and completely devoted to the works of the “moderns”. Jan is very well known for designing a "universal alphabet" that simplified the written German language between 1926 and 1929. Tschichold revolutionized contemporary typography through the very unique and uncommon use of type styles on his fonts. He believed that typography was communication and wanted to take contemporary ideas and use those thoughts to transform and improve ordinary and routine printing. He believed and explained to people that the only way that this could be accomplished was through the use of asymmetrical design and sans serif type. Tschichold was considered by the Nazis to be a preacher of "Kultur-Bolschewismus" and for this he was hassled until departing from his home in Germany. Upon leaving Germany He paid great attention to the smallest details of typography and considered them to be more important than the actual basic laws. Tschichold wanted to get every single detail right with superior craft. He translated these beliefs into his teachings and is one of the most influential typographers of the twentieth-century. Tschichold holds his place in present day history as a very influential and significant figure in the story and history of graphic design.
Josef Muller Brockmann is… well, was… a Swiss graphic designer and teacher who was born in Rapperswil, Switzerland in 1914. Brockmann took interest in and went on to study architecture, art history, and design at both the University of Zurich and at the cities Kunstegewerbeschule. Josef began as an apprentice to the designer Walter Diggleman for a few years. Upon completing his apprenticeship, Josef established his own studio for the first time in 1936. The studio focused immensely on graphics, exhibition design, and photography and soon made him the most well known practitioner and philosopher of the Swiss manner. Josef began to obtain more and more fame of some very popular works such as “Musica Viva”. Brockmann later became head of a magazine called “New Graphic Design” that expanded the Swiss style of graphic design all over the world. Brockmann continued to become known all over the world and became the professor of graphic design at a few schools. As time went on he also worked as a European design consultant for a huge modern day company, IBM. He was eventually even awarded a gold medal from the state of Zurich for his “cultural contribution”. Brockmann is the role model of the modern day designer and a leader in the world of graphic design. His work still to this day has great influence on designers and is always studied for inspiration and understanding.
Here are some examples of his work:
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