Born with Leipzig (Germany) the April 2nd 1902, deceased with Locarno (Swiss) the 11 aoû T 1974, Jan Tschichold (born Johannes Tzschichhold) is a typographer, Maquettiste, teacher and writer.

Life

Wire of a craftsman provincial enseignist, it practices the Calligraphie: its origins place Jan Tschichold at share of the other famous typographers of its time, those having generally studied the Architecture and the Art schools. Contrary to much of them, which privileged the fact-hand, he always worked with papers and typographies produced in series, and composed carefully.

After the arrival of the Nazis to the capacity in Germany, the typographers had to be recorded near the authority governing the cultural activities and the posts of teachers withdrawn with the communist sympathizers . Jan Tschichold and his wife were stopped for this reason in 1933 and of the posters sovié ticks discovered in their apartment. The books which he had written were seized and prohibited. After six weeks of detention, it could flee in Suisse. Except stays in England in 1937-1938 (with the invitation of Penrose Annual) and 1947-1949 (he worked at Penguin Books), he remained there definitively.

Graphics

From 1919 to 1923, Jan Tschichold studies with the Academy of the Trades of the book and Graphic arts of Leipzig.
In 1923, he visits the first exposure of the Bauhaus to Weimar and in very impressed fate: Jan Tschichold converts with the principles of the design Moderniste and very actif.
became a promoter about it Independent typographer, it puts on pages a supplement magazine noticed in 1925 and writes the same year in Typographische Mitteilungen an article founder, elementare typography .
In 1926, he becomes professor with Münchener Meisterschule für Typografie (University of typography of Munich), station which he will occupy until his escape of Germany in 1933. He teaches under the directon of the typographer Paul Renner, father of the Futura (1927), recognized for his research on the caractè LMBO without footings and in favor of the New Typography.
Jan Tschichold exposes for the first time in 1927. It is parallel to devoted the creation of police forces of caractères.
It publishes in 1928 its first book Die neue Typographie . This modernistic proclamation proclaims the supremacy of the Polices of caractè LMBO in bâ let us tons (called " grotesk" in German) and promotes the macrotypography asymé cudgel. It written the modernistic rules there for the typographical composition, pleads for the standardization of the formats of paper and defines the work of the Maquettiste as facilitator to deliver information with the lecteur.
Will follow influential practical handbooks to destinations workers of the Imprimerie: Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung (1930) and Schriftschreiben für Setzer (1931).
1935: it leaves in Suisse Typographische Gestaltung , its typographical gun, and ties its first contacts in England.

A major reversal

Whereas the New Typography triumph, Tschichold gradually gives up its theories to end up condemning it completely. Later, it will describe the Nouvelle Typography like too extreme, and the modernistic current like authoritative and intrinsically fascistic. It is necessary to locate these radical rejections of theories redefined like standardizing, the such grids, in the rejection of the totalitarian Autoritarisme in which the Germany and the Europe succumb then. Although alive in the middle of the creation of the international Style or Swiss Style, it does not adhere to it.

On invitation of the British typographer Ruari McLean, it works in England between 1947 and 1949 at Penguin Books, large company of edition of book at moderate prices, for which it redraws all the series and creates a graphic Charte become famous, the Penguin Composition Rules . Inside an identity graphic framework, each book has its clean Title page (paperback); Tschichold will draw approximately 500 of them. These methods it are quickly standardized.

In parallel continuing its activities of designer and teacher, studies of Tschichold on the Classicism in the Imprimé makes a celebrity of it. Its work which redécouvrent the guns mé dievaux of typographical Composition refers.

Cré typographical ations

Characters created by Jan Tschichold:

Between 1926 and 1929, it creates a universal alphabet , on the model of Herbert Bayer. To simplify the German notation which contains many multigraphes, it creates new characters, to replace for example " ch" and " sch" , or " eu" and " oi" , " w" et" v" , " z" and " ts" … all phonetically identical in German. Indications on the pronunciation are integrated such as for example the marking of the long vowels. Composed in only one grease, without capitals and without footings.

• Transit - 1931

• Saskia - 1931/1932
• Zeus - 1931
• Sabon - 1966/1967. Most famous, in homage to the French typographer of XVIè century Jacques Sabon and according to the layouts of Claude Garamond. Drawn to be used in manual compositions, Monotype S or Linotype S. the Sabon Next is an original interpretation of Sabon carried out by the Linotype company.

Distinctions

• Gold medal of AIGA - 1954

• Price Gutenberg, Leipzig - 1965
• honorary Member of the RDI - 1965