Jan Tschichold

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607663/Jan-Tschichold Jan Tschichold, (born April 2, 1902, Leipzig, Germanydied August 11, 1974, Locarno, !itzerland", German typograp#er and aut#or !#o played a seminal role in t#e de$elopment o% 20t#&century grap#ic design and typograp#y' (#e son o% a sign painter, (sc#ic#old trained as a calligrap#er and designer at t#e Leipzig Academy o% Grap#ic Arts and )oo* +roduction (1919,21" and t#en %reelanced as a lettering artist and designer' (#e 192- e.#ibition o% t#e )au#aus at /eimar introduced #im to 0odernist design, and #e 1uic*ly 2oined t#e mo$ement, re2ecting traditional %onts and symmetrical composition and instead embracing sans&seri% type%aces, geometric construction, and asymmetrical composition' 3is !or*, intended to represent t#e rationalism o% t#e modern age, !as %unctional, aest#etically satis%ying, and designed %or reproduction by mac#ine&type composition and ne!er printing tec#nology' (sc#ic#old mo$ed to t#e %ore%ront o% modern design !it# 4elementare typograp#ie,5 a special issue o% t#e trade 2ournal Typographische Mitteilungen in 1926, and !it# #is boo*, Die neue Typographie (19278 The New Typography; A Handbook for Modern Designers ", !#ic# e.pounded t#e principles and %unctional uses o% 0odernist typograp#y to printers, type compositors, and designers' 9n Germany, !#ere blac* letter, or Got#ic script (called :ra*tur in German", remained in use until t#e 20t# century, a simpli%ied type%ace !as bot# !elcome and necessary' (sc#ic#old;s !ritings and !or* #elped spread 0odernist grap#ic design t#roug#out t#e !orld' A%ter (sc#ic#old !as arrested in 19-- by t#e <azis %or being a 4cultural )ols#e$i*,5 #e %led to !itzerland and !or*ed as a boo* designer' :or t#at reason, #is Typographische Gestaltung (19-68 Asymmetric Typography" and ot#er !or*s !ere %irst publis#ed in )asel' :inding t#at some o% t#e absolute rules o% modern typograp#y !ere too close in spirit to t#e %ascist mo$ement, #e at t#is time began to !or* !it# more traditional type%aces and layout arrangements' (sc#ic#old designed boo*s %or numerous !iss and German boo* publis#ers, became design consultant to t#e 3o%%man&La =oc#e p#armaceutical company, and designed t#e !idely used abon type%ace' :rom 1947 to 1949 (sc#ic#old !as typograp#ic designer %or +enguin )oo*s in London, !#ere #e designed more t#an 600 title pages and speci%ied t#e %uture typograp#y %or t#e +enguin series o% paperbac*s' Among t#e later boo*s o% t#e #ig#ly in%luential typograp#er are Meisterbuch der Schrift (19>>8 Treasury of Alphabets and ettering " and t#e post#umously publis#ed Ausgew!hlte Aufs!t"e #ber $ragen der Gestalt des %uches und der Typographie (19768 The $orm of the %ook& 'ssays on the Morality of Good Design"'