Jul 30, 2015 ferdinand ulrich is a berlinbased typographer and type historian. Here he talks with elliot jay stocks about how typography is used in the digital domain and what digital designers can learn from. In 2014, botio founded his own type foundry lettersoup. She developed more than 300 text and display typefaces with such respected and worldrenowned type designers as sumner stone, erik spiekermann, jill. Sep 25, 2014 erik spiekermann, born 1947, studied history of art and english in berlin. Since 2015 he pursues a phd on the history of digital type design technologies at the university of reading.
He founded the multidisciplinary design consultancy metadesign in berlin, 1979. Erik spiekermann talking with gestalten tv about the process of designing typefaces. In the words of graphic designer and typographer erik spiekermann, typography is incurable but not lethal. In 1979 he cofounded metadesign, followed by fontshop in 1989 with joan spiekermann and edenspiekermann in 2002 with susanna dulkinys. They then imported these into graphicdesign program adobe illustrator, and worked to fill in the gaps. Erik spiekermann makes a deep impression by marrying new to old. Erik spiekermann, greek version by panos haratzopoulos. May 16, 2018 a typical type design desktop situation from the late 1980s. Spiekerman manages to convey his mindset and thoughts over typography in a brief and humorous manner, without compromising on substance. Spiekermann worked with type designer christian schwartz to develop bosch sans and serif as part of a. Type legend erik spiekermann designs graph paper you can wear. Erik spiekermann in a visual biography of his life in type and design, erik spiekermann is interviewed about his work we have an extract, along with a spiekermann timeline 01112014 12. A traditional graphic design agency or something different.
He had already finished designing a book for louis rossetto, one of the founders of wired magazine and a longtime friend. Jurg lehni interviews erik spiekermann about the legal definition of typefaces. A typical type design desktop situation from the late 1980s. For erik spiekermann, it came down to the color of black and a kiss of type. Even as a child, spiekermann was drawn to the typographic arts. It consists of a series of practical designrelated tools for achieving this. After an extensive career as graphic designer, typeface designer, author, and entrepreneur, erik spiekermann returns to his beginnings. He is behind the design of wellknow brands such as audi, bosch, vw, german railways and heidelberg printing. He is author, information architect, type designer ff meta, itc officina, ff info, ff unit, lotype, berliner grotesk and many corporate typefaces and author of books and articles on type and typography. Linotype germany na linotype is the source for original typeface design and font software. He is responsible for corporate design programs for audi, skoda.
Erik spiekermann, born 1947, studied history of art and english in berlin. Berlin and erik spiekermann linkedin learning, formerly. In 1984 the deutsche bundespost west german post office commissioned a typeface from sedley place design, the office where spiekermann worked. Watch erik spiekermanns type is visible language talk design. Erik spiekermann internationally renowned graphic designer, typographer and type designer. Erik spiekermann creates digital fonts from unfinished. He is an honorary professor at the university of the arts bremen and artcenter college of design. Erik spiekermann erik spiekermann is one of the most renowned german designer and typographer. Making four aluminium bases to get the thin plates to the height of metal type 23. How a brand speaks, how it presents itself, cannot be left to the unpredictable mood of the marketplace or some design trend.
Once we had finished restoring our johannisberger stopcylinder press from 1924, we were looking for projects to test the machine. See more ideas about typography, lettering and font shop. As a methodology, its aim is to nurture emergence of the previously unthinkable as possibilities or prospects through. Looking at type from the basic shapes to the finest details is the first step toward understanding how type works.
He was founder 1979 of metadesign, germanys largest design. Erik splits his time between berlin and san francisco and london, where his son dylan lives. It is a slightly wider and calmer adaptation of spiekermann s typeface meta, optimized for legibility on small. Ferdinand ulrich is a berlinbased typographer and type historian. Sep 25, 20 14 responses to the hidden power of typeface from design legend erik spiekermann rick jacobs september 27, 20 some may view this as arcane, but this level of sensitivity to the value contribution of the right font seems to be a diminishing in relation to the attention paid to dimensional symbology and overbearing design system elements. Erik spiekermann ideasondesign design is difference. The exhibition, erik spiekermann, the face of type recently took place at the bauhausarchive museum of design in berlin. Speaking at gigaom s roadmap, he explained what he meant and offered other insights into how he sees the world of design. It looks at a single typefaceone that, for better or worse, has dominated the graphic arts world since its creation in 1957in a conversation about the way type affects our lives.
Erik spiekermann creates digital fonts from unfinished bauhaus. Madeleine morley visits the berlin studio of revered typographer erik spiekermann for a master class in letterpress printing erik spiekermann in his berlin home. He is an information architect, type designer ff meta, itc officina, ff info, ff unit, lotype, and berliner grotesk plus many exclusive corporate typefaces, and the author of books, articles, and regularly appearing columns on type, typography, and other cultural issues for magazines such as. He is responsible for corporate design programs for audi, skoda, volkswagen. Reconstructed from erik spiekermanns collection, photographed by. Since 2010 he has been collaborating with ralph du carrois and erik spiekermann as type designer and art director at carrois type design, focusing on cyrillic, greek and arabic language extensions and ci projects. In partnership with adobe, a german designer has resurrected. This month, the preeminent type designer erik spiekermann, together with software company adobe, revealed the first half of a pioneering campaign to revive. Interviewees in helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including erik spiekermann, matthew carter. The story of erik spiekermanns ff meta not to be confused with. Erik spiekermann claims that the web is more type than anything.
A typical type design desktop situation from the late 1980s, comprised of an apple macintosh that runs ikarus m software, keyboard and mouse, letterform. Since 2008 she is a managing partner of type tailors a design firm specialised in custom typeface design, software, and typographic consultancy for brands and product manufacturers, serving a wide range of the worlds leading enterprises and brands. Erik spiekermann ff meta 19841991 not on view in 1984 the deutsche bundespost west german post office commissioned a typeface from sedley place design, the office where spiekermann worked. Fonts from the type designer erik spiekermann in use. Erik spiekermann born 30 may 1947 in stadthagen, lower saxony is a german typographer, designer and writer. Erik spiekermann is art historian, information architect, type designer and author. As the company expands across the globe, db type is now also available for the cyrillic and greek alphabets. Erik spiekermann makes a deep impression by marrying new.
He is an honorary professor at the university of the. The fonts were developed by a team of international typographers and design students, led by renowned type designer erik spiekermann. Dont expect a handson book, but rather a book that will layon the foundations for your further involvement with typography. Throughout his illustrious career as a designer and typographer, erik spiekermann has created dozens of commercial typefaces ff meta, ff metaserif, itc officina, ff govan, ff info, ff unit, lotype, berliner grotesk and many custom typefaces for worldrenowned corporations. Its nice that some design colleges still have metal type alongside the macintosh, even if they have nothing in between. Erik spiekermanns name is ubiquitous in graphic design and the world of typography, perhaps hes best known for the signage berliners see everyday he created the passenger information for the bvg berlin transit and the current deutsche bahn aesthetic as well as campaigns for audi, volkswagen and nokia. He worked as a freelance graphic designer from 19721979 before returning to berlin to cofound metadesign.
With erik spiekermann he explores the possibilities of postdigital letterpress printing at p98a. Swinburne university of technology prahran 2011 this is my first ever kinetic typography project, completely done by after effects. Born in 1947 in stadthagen, erik studied art history at berlins free university, selffunding his degree by running a letterpress in the basement of his home. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day. See more ideas about font shop, typography poster and lime green paints. Erik spiekermann calls himself an information architect.
Spiekermann is an honorary professor at the university of the arts in bremen, the author of the adobe press title, stop stealing. Internationally renowned graphic designer, typographer and type designer. Spiekermann is considered a very influential personality in the field of typeface design and information design. Design adobe is releasing five fonts based on designs by prolific bauhaus figures, which have been revived by german typographer erik spiekermann and a group of students. Metadesign or metadesign is an emerging conceptual framework aimed at defining and creating social, economic and technical infrastructures in which new forms of collaborative design can take place. New eden a book celebrating great game environment design. A brief overview of developments in digital type design medium. Typographer and designer erik spiekermann in discussion with adobe product vp jeff veen about the importance of typeface in the digital age. Adobe has created five fonts from the lost lettering of. Education erik completed his degree in art history at the berlin free university.
The hidden power of typeface from design legend erik. Nov 17, 2017 for erik spiekermann, it came down to the color of black and a kiss of type. Erik and lilith printing the orbit poster for a client at galerie p98a. Robert wakeman usa na robert wakeman is a wellknown and respected type director. Apple font beautiful as typeface, totally sucks as an. Currently, he works as a professor at the university of arts bremen. Helvetica is about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. In 1979 he cofounded metadesign, followed by fontshop in 1989 with joan spiekermann and. Top 11 quotes of erik spiekermann famous quotes and sayings. Type legend erik spiekermann designs graph paper you can wear its the german typographers first foray into fashion design. Jul 11, 2014 interviewees in helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including erik spiekermann, matthew carter, massimo vignelli, wim crouwel, hermann zapf. Interview with designer and typographer, erik spiekermann.
He was born on may 30, 1947 in stadthagen, lower saxony, germany. He is equally comfortable and prolific as a writer, graphic and typeface designer, but type is always at the epicenter of this communication dynamo. German type designer erik spiekermann, created this sans fontfont between 1991 and 2010. Jul 14, 2011 this year, he was awarded the federal republic of germanys 2011 design prize for lifetime achievements a most noble accomplishment.
A brief overview of developments in digital type design. When i suggested to the friends at krautreporter that perhaps we could print one special issue, they immediately went for that crazy idea. A student of art history, he has many fonts, awards and achievements to his name. Be sure to check back next week for even more topnotch connected design talks from roadmap 20. He is author, information architect, type designer ff meta, itc officina, ff info, ff unit. Do you think there is any benefit these days in knowing how to use metal type. Erik spiekermann is information architect, type designer and author. They required a neutral, spacesaving typeface that would be legible when printed very small on a postage stamp but also appropriate for use on mailboxes. Erik spiekermann, greek version by panos haratzopoulos fonts. It is a network of designers in several places, but it is also a company in berlin with 7 partners and 20 designers.
This year, he was awarded the federal republic of germanys 2011 design prize for lifetime achievements a most noble accomplishment. Erik spiekermann is an information architect, type designer ff meta, itc officina, ff info, ff unit, lotype, berliner grotesk, and many corporate typefaces, and author. Erik spiekermann, born in 1947, studied art history and english at the free university of berlin. Top 11 quotes of erik spiekermann famous quotes and. Erik spiekermann on why type is brand creative bloq. When i design a magazine or a book or a newspaper, i need to consider. The students at the bauhaus were given exercises to draw. Interview with erik spiekermann and ralph du carrois fontshop. He designed fira sans for firefox os 20 version in collaboration with carois type design. Erik spiekermann is an information architect, type designer, and author of books and articles on type and typography. Type is a living enti ty integrated into societys moods and trends. Erik spiekermann was inducted into the european design awards hall of fame and became the first designer to receive the honor. May 09, 2019 since 2008 she is a managing partner of type tailors a design firm specialised in custom typeface design, software, and typographic consultancy for brands and product manufacturers, serving a wide range of the worlds leading enterprises and brands. Organised by london branding agency construct, the session brought together.
He founded the multidisciplinary design consultancy metadesign in berlin, 1979, opening a major san francisco office in 1992, and another in zurich. Wir drucken krautreporter from erik spiekermann on vimeo. Oct 03, 2014 erik spiekermann erik spiekermann is one of the most renowned german designer and typographer. Erik spiekermann is a typographer, type designer, and author.
Training the eye to recognize type begins with familiar elements on the page. A book about his life and work hello i am erik was published by gestalten verlag in 2014. Noted designer erik spiekermann has called apples typeface choice a youthful folly. Listen to him finding handy analogies to music, the rhythm of spaces and the. Type designer ralph du carrois and spiekermann based fira on the mozilla foundations own house face, ff meta, making it wider thus more legible on smaller screens.
He had already finished designing a book for louis rossetto, one. Spiekermann studied art history at berlin s free university, funding himself by running a letterpress printing press in the basement of. Fira sans initially called feura sans is a humanist sansserif typeface designed by erik spiekermann, ralph du carrois, anja meiners and botio nikoltchev of carrois type design. In sams talk, he references the importance of typography in metro if you have any interest in this topic, i think youll also enjoy this short film featuring the godfather of modern type, erik spiekermann.
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