Name of Student September 18, 2006 Art 461 Dr. DiMarco Critical Review #1: Type Designers I would like to compare the work of typographers Herb Lubalin and Jan Tschichold, both renowned for their modern typography. Breaking the rules and doing the opposite of what everyone else has standardized, Lubalin and Tschichold revolutionized the way we look at and think about the use of typography. Jan Tschichold was born on April 1902 in Leipzig, Germany. His father Frank was a sign painter and his mother Maria was a lettering artist. Growing up, Tschichold was very familiar with painted lettering, but he wanted to become an artist. At age 14, he was sent to the Teacher Training College at Grimma where he studied lettering in his free time. During his three years study, he also learned Latin, an important asset used in his studies of type design. After finding himself increasingly interested in becoming a type designer, Tschichold s parents consented to his attending the Academy for the Graphic Arts and the Book Production Trade at Leipzig. Even at the young age of seventeen, he was accepted into the class of calligrapher Professor Herman Delitsch. There, Tschichold learned calligraphy, engraving, etching, wood engraving, and bookbinding. Professor Delitsch also introduced him to the writing masters of the Italian Renaissance such as Palatino. Two years later, Tschichold was appointed by the Director of the Leipzig Academy to be an assistant in charge of the evening classes in lettering. Tschichold also became a special student of the director and given his own small studio. For four years, Tschichold had regular commissions from a Leipzig artist to design advertisements for the Leipzig Trade Fairs. He drew hundreds of advertisements calligraphically because he did not like the typefaces available at that time. However, he was impressed with the Bauhaus exhibition. Based on these factors, he believed that the typographic rules of symmetry should be broken, and sans serif must be used at all times. Tschichold published The Principles of Typography in which he stated that 1. The new typography is purposeful 2. The purpose of all typography is communication, and it must be made in the shortest, simplest, most definite way 3. For typography to perform its social function, there must be organization of its component parts, both internal (content) and external (consistent use of printing methods and materials) 4. Internal organization is restriction to the basic elements of typography: letters, figures, signs, lines of type set by hand and by machine. The basic elements of the new typography include the exact picture (photography) and the basic type form is sans serif (McLean, 1975, p. 29). 1
For seven years, Tschichold went to Munich where he taught Master Printer and Trade courses in typography and calligraphy. At age 24, he was an earnest instructor who gave individual attention to his students. At the same time, he continued to broaden his experience and had a wide reputation as a freelance designer. Two years later, Tschichold wrote and published his first book, Die Neue Typography, in Berlin. In it, he attempted to lay down principles of typographic design that could be applied to the whole printing trade. His basic message insisted on simplicity and purity in design, and on its functionality in regards to modern printing methods. It is time to let go of the past and make design more modern. Symmetry was no longer sensible because asymmetry was more flexible and easier to deal with. This means that sans serif is once again the perfect choice to fit the rest of the modern design elements. When Hitler came into power before the Second World War, Tschichold and the New Typography were threatened. In 1933, Nazis came to his home in Munich where they arrested Tschichold and his wife. In prison for six weeks, he learned that he no longer has a teaching job due to the Nazis insistence. When he was released, Tschichold left for Switzerland, and was offered a small retainer by a publishing and printing firm. He designed books for numerous Swiss and German publishers, and designed the widely sued Sabon typeface. In the late 40s, Tschichold also was a typographic designer for Penguin Books in London. He remained in Switzerland for the rest of his life, where he died in 1974. Across the Atlantic Ocean in America, Herbert Frederick Lubalin took the first step to international graphic renown in New York City. He was born in 1918, the younger fraternal twin in a large family of artists, musicians, and businessmen. His mother was a singer of German ancestry and his father was a Russian trumpet player in the first classical orchestra at the American Broadcasting Company. Although color blind, Lubalin was interested in art, and he received encouragement from his parents. In high school, he was a good art student even though he could not draw. His teacher was supportive in Lubalin s feelings for design and lettering. Because of his low academic standing, he was not admitted to a regular college. So he applied to a free art school, the prestigious Cooper Union, and passed the entrance exam. He received superior art instruction at the school, became the best student and decided to pursue an art career. Besides meeting the future mother of his three children and wife of 32 years at Cooper Union, Lubalin became enamored also with typography, and this love had far-reaching effects on the worlds of advertising and graphic design (Snyder, 1985, p. 11). Lubalin was intrigued by the variety of typefaces and the fact that the same word created a different image when set differently. Many years later, Lubalin was honored by the president and trustees of his Alma Mater with an Award for Professional Achievement. 2
In his career, Lubalin demonstrated the resiliency of type by constantly adjusting and redesigning it. He designed typefaces reflecting both his humor and respect for the limitations of printing. In his Eros and Avant Garde magazines, he rocked the world with their erotic subject matter and bold graphic treatments. The Avant Garde alphabet grew out of its logo. Tschichold typeface 3
Herb Lubalin 4
References Brown, D.R. (1981). Herb Lubalin. Retrieved from http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-herblubalin McLean, R. (1975). Jan Tschichold: Typographer. Boston: David R. Godine. Snyder, G. & Peckolick, A. (1985). Herb Lubalin: Art director, graphic designer and typographer. New York: American Showcase, Inc. 5