A book about his life and work hello i am erik was published by gestalten verlag in 2014. In june 2011, erik spiekermann received the 25th type directors club medal, given to those who have made significant contributions to the life, art, and craft of typography. It looks at a single typefaceone that, for better or worse, has dominated the graphic arts world since its creation in. Jul 14, 2011 interview with designer and typographer, erik spiekermann by debbie hemley jul. He worked in london in the 1970s, and since 1981 has worked in berlin, as a partner in metadesign. See more ideas about typography, lettering and typography design. Itc licenses its typeface library throughout the world to companies in the graphic design, computer, and printing technology fields. A graphic guide to 100 typefaces kindle edition by coles, stephen, erik spiekermann.
But now, thanks to adobe, the bauhaus foundation, a group of type students, and erik spiekermann, the schools modern typographic exercises become completed fonts. Erik spiekermann is a german graphic designer, who has specialized in information design and typeface design. When you think of bauhaus type you might think of futura and its designer, paul renner, who was never at the school. The hidden power of typeface from design legend erik spiekermann. The awardwinning german designer has created volumes of typefaces and redesigned font identities for brands like the economist and volkswagen. Now what you see is what you get, a harmonious serifsans type system. This conversation was recorded in berlin in april 1992, in time snatched from a hectic working day. He was also one of the artists to sign and endorse the first things first 2000 manifesto.
Apr 14, 2011 interview with peter bilak interview with erik spiekermann interview with dimitri bruni glossary. Fonts from the type designer erik spiekermann in use. He is equally comfortable and prolific as a writer, graphic and typeface designer, but type is always at the epicenter of this communication dynamo. Erik spiekermann, greek version by panos haratzopoulos fonts. In 198990 he cofounded fontshop international with joan spiekermann and neville brody. How do you purposefully work to attain these tones or expressions. Erik spiekermann internationally renowned graphic designer, typographer and type designer. Erik spiekermann was inducted into the european design awards hall of fame and became the first designer to receive the honor. Erik spiekermann creates digital fonts from unfinished. Oct 27, 2009 having designed some of the most successful fonts of the last century, erik spiekermann commands the utmost respect from graphic designers around the world. Be sure to check back next week for even more topnotch connected design talks from roadmap 20. Erik spiekermann is one of the bestknown typographers and graphic designers in the world. Erik spiekermann is information architect, type designer and author. Jun 12, 2018 the hidden treasures of bauhaus dessau brings to life recently discovered original typography from the legendary bauhaus school of design.
Berlin and erik spiekermann linkedin learning, formerly. An international leader in typeface design and marketing for over 30 years, itc collaborates with worldclass designers to provide a versatile selection classic typefaces and innovative new designs. Jun 23, 2018 erik spiekermann is back with a set of bauhaus typefaces. Erik spiekermann with one of the limited edition posters of ff real, printed in letterpress using real wood type. Erik spiekermann is retired or at least thats what he tells himself. Erik spiekermann calls himself an information architect. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the anatomy of type. 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. Feb 10, 2016 erik spiekermann won awards for his typeface and graphic design work. The aral regular weight, which was digitized by urw is displayed at for reference it was added in 2000, not for sale. Wir drucken krautreporter from erik spiekermann on vimeo. 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. 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.
He is the recipient of the lifetime achievement award for 2011 from the german design council, the highest design award in germany. 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 and trucks. Helvetica is about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. Like many disciplines dependent on technology for execution or production, type design has undergone a series of fundamental revolutions and transitions in the past century. Spiekermann also represents german typeface and corporate design like no other. 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. Spiekermann currently holds a professorship at the academy of arts in bremen, is vice president of the german design council, president of the international institute of information design, president of the international society of typographic designers and a board member of atypi. The designers created a typeface with metrics that are not identical to ff meta, but optically the same. Jul 11, 2014 helvetica is about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. 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.
T he period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s was particularly important for the development of digital typeface design. 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. 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 for the firefox os. He designed fira sans for firefox os 20 version in collaboration with carois type design. Digital typeface compendium by erik spiekermann and mai linh thi truong. As a teacher and critic who is loved and feared in equal measure, his influence on contemporary graphic design is unparalleled. Interview with designer and typographer, erik spiekermann. 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. Erik splits his time between berlin and san francisco and london, where his son dylan lives.
Interviewees in helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including erik spiekermann, matthew carter. Worldrenowned typeface designer erik spiekermann led the. Have you ever tried to design a typeface for your own pleasure, artistic research or whatever you want. Erik spiekermann 5th of march 2015, berlin you have this theory that type designers have a 95 percent established framework, and the remaining 5 percent is for shaping the tone and expression. Erik spiekermann, born 1947, studied history of art and english in berlin. Heres how to get the stunning bauhaus fonts that adobe is. The hidden power of typeface from design legend erik. Nov 11, 20 typographer and designer erik spiekermann in discussion with adobe product vp jeff veen about the importance of typeface in the digital age. Fira was released in 20 initially under the apache license and later reissued under the sil open fo. He founded the multidisciplinary design consultancy metadesign in berlin, 1979, opening a major san francisco office in 1992, and another in zurich. When i suggested to the friends at krautreporter that perhaps we could print one special issue, they immediately went for that crazy idea. It looks at a single typeface one 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 is art historian, information architect, type designer and author. Quoted from the entry aral typeface on last opened 5. Typographer and designer erik spiekermann in discussion with adobe product vp jeff veen about the importance of typeface in the digital age. Erik spiekermann is back with a set of bauhaus typefaces. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Even as a child, spiekermann was drawn to the typographic arts. Three years ago, the famed graphic designer stepped down as chairman of edenspiekermann, the design agency he founded in. German type designer erik spiekermann, created this sans fontfont between 1991 and 2010. Mar 20, 2008 ff meta serif a collaborative work by erik spiekermann, christian schwarty and kris sowersby. Once we had finished restoring our johannisberger stopcylinder press from 1924, we were looking for projects to test the machine. Spiekermanns best known, very influential typeface is ff meta. In 1988, spiekermann started fontshop, a digital typeface foundry and distributor of fonts. In 1984 the deutsche bundespost west german post office commissioned a typeface from sedley place design, the office where spiekermann worked. Two of his typefaces, ff meta and itc officina, are considered to be modern classics.
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