DESKTOP

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GRAPHIC
DESIGN
MANUAL
IN INTRODUCTION, ARMIN HOFMANN, 1965
Whereas a few years ago the
activities of the graphic designer
were mainly restricted to the
creation of posters, advertisements,
packaging, signs, etc., his work has
now expanded to embrace virtually
in every field of representation
and design. It is inevitable that this
expansion should assume an ever
wider scope for reasons which need
not be discussed in detail here. One
of the most important, however,
deserves mention.
In recent years industrialization
Armin Hofmann

and automation have meant that a
number of craftsmen who used to
play an important role in the field of
applied art have now been deprived
of their functions of creation and
design or even that the crafts have
gone out of existence. There are
signs that, besides the lithographer,
process engraver and engraver,
not to mention the sign-writer,
cabinet‐maker, art metal-worker,
etc., other typical representatives
of the applied arts group, such as
the compositor and letterpress
printer, will also be overtaken
by mechanization. The changes
within these trades, or even their
disappearance, have given rise to
a new situation. The creative side
of the trades mentioned has now
been largely handed over to the
designer and the mechanical side
increasingly to the machine. This
radical alteration in the structure
of the applied arts means that the
designer of today must combine a
knowledge of photography, industrial
design, typography, drawing,
spatial representation, reproduction
techniques, language and others.
It is urgent, therefore, that educators
should stop thinking in terms of
results and thus clear the way for an
outlook which embraces a wider field
of activities and is more alert to their
finer and deeper interrelationships.
(3)
Armin Hofmann/Wolgang Weingart

(4)
Giselle, Basler Freilichtspiele, Armin Hofmann, 1959 (top left)
Basel School of Design, Switzerland (right)

“(...) his work has
now expanded to
embrace virtually
in every field of
representation
and design”
- Armin Hofmann

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REPUTATIONS:
WOLFGANG
WEINGART
EYE MAGAZINE, YVONNE SCHWEMER-SCHEDDIN
Wolfgang Weingart was born in 1941 and
trained as a typesetter in Basle. Largely
self‐taught as a designer, since 1968 he has
been a tutor at the Schule für Gestaltung
Basel, Switzerland, where he concentrates
on experimental typography. Since 1972,
Weingart has lectured widely on his teaching
methods in Europe, the US, Canada and
Mexico. He is a contributor to the journal
Typographische Monatsblätter, for which he
designed a series of covers, and is founder of
the periodicals Typographic Process and TM/
Communication. Weingart has influenced a
generation of typograph ers who exported his
ideas to America and the world. Never predictable
and some times perverse, his oeuvre
must rank as one of the most personal and
expressive in rec ent typographic history.
YSS: Then you went to Basle.
The light, delicate typography
of some of your first works
there seems to indicate that
you discovered the idea of the
line as image very early on.
WW: I went to Basle because of
Emil Ruder and Armin Hofmann,
but I was quickly disappointed.
Hofmann went off on a one-year
sabbatical, and I had the feeling
I wasn’t learning anything with
Ruder. I was never a regular
student at Basle, but I had a
special understanding with
Ruder and he let me use the
workshops whenever I wanted.
YSS: Expressive typography is
the foundation of your work.
Was New Wave the translation
into type of a subjective,
youthful sensibility?
WW: Exactly. The moment I
space out a word, I become
involved in an exercise
in graphics. This in turn
developed into a way of

teaching. I took ‘Swiss
typography’ as my starting
point, but then I blew it apart,
never forcing a style upon my
students. I never intended to
create a ‘style’. It just happened
that the students picked up
– and misinterpreted – a so
called ‘Weingart style’ and
spread it around.
YSS: The theorist Vilém Flusser
has called you a ‘linear’ thinker.
Do you think he said this
because you deal with linear
material, with type? Flusser has
also said that type explains – and
therefore destroys – the image.
Are you a destroyer of images?
WW: I see type as a kind
of picture that speaks. I
am a maker, not a thinker.
What’s reflected here is my
activity, not my inner being. I
experiment simply to broaden
my knowledge of the vocabulary
and techniques of typography.
What gives me satisfaction is
the practice, not the theory.
YSS: Are you saying that you
can extract personal style
out of a technical process?
Shouldn’t it be the other way
around, with the tool as the
servant of the creative mind?
WW: For me technology is the
ultimate challenge: it’s both a
partner and a friend. But I’ll
never be completely under its
control, because I know how
to do things by hand, how to
draw. If you know about only
the technical side, you’ll never
produce a complete design.
YSS: But isn’t the new technology
necessary for new ideas?
What about the computer,
which you introduced into your
typography course at Basle in
January 1985?
WW: For the most part, my
hopes for the computer have
not been fulfilled. In fact there’s
nothing it can do that can’t be
done by hand, or film montage.
It hasn’t produced a new
visual language. At the time I
introduced the Macintosh to
Basle, for example, New Wave
was already at its peak in the
States. I have to admit, however,
that the computer has speeded
things up, leaving more time for
design and conceptual thinking.
The PC represents the
second big revolution in
typography since Gutenberg, but
to take full advantage of it you
still require a thorough, basic
classical training in design.
People who haven’t mastered the
conventional graphic techniques
won’t be any better on a
computer. The computer has a
considerable impact on teaching,
but it is also a valuable tool.
(7)
Armin Hofmann/Wolgang Weingart
Wolfgang Weingart

“My students were
inspired, we were on to
something different,
and we knew it”
- Wolfgang Weingart
Wolfgang Weingartn, Nr 4.
Typographic Signs, 1971-1972 (top)
Wolgang Weingar, Das Schweizer
Plakat, 1984 (right)

MY WAY TO
TYPOGRAPHY
WOLFGANG
WEINGART
(2000)
Swiss typography in general,
and the typography of the
Basel school in particular,
played na important
international role from the
fifties until the end of the
sixties. Its development,
however, was on the threshold
of stagnation; it became
sterile and anonymous.
My vision, fundamentally
compatible with our school’s
philosophy, was to breathe
new life into the teaching of
typography by reexamining
the assumed principles of its
current practice.
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Armin Hofmann/Wolgang Weingart
The only way to break
typographic rules was
to know them. I acquired
this advantage during my
apprenticeship as I became
expert in letterpress printing.
Founded by Emil Ruder
and Armin Hofmann, the
Weiterbildungsklasse für
Graphik, the international
Advanced Program for
Graphic Design, was scheduled
to begin in April 1968.

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The first seven students
came from the United
States, Canada, England,
and Switzerland, expecting
to study with the masters
Hofmann and Ruder.
When I showed up as the
typography teacher, their
shock was obvious. Because
of my training and radical
experiments, and because we
were around the same age, the
students began to trust me.
Eventually, disappointment
gave way to curiosity.
The teachers agreed on
common themes for the initial
two years of the advanced
program, the symbol and
the package. Feeling more
confident by the second year,
bolstered by the students’
enthusiasm, I risked further
experimentation, and my
classes became a laboratory
to test and expand models for
a new typography.
Accelerated by the social
unrest of our generation,
the force behind Swiss
typography and its
philosophy of reduction was
losing its international hold.
My students were inspired,
we were on to something
different, and we knew it.

Wolfgang Weingart working

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GREAT
FEMALES
GRAPHIC
DESIGNERS
ESLOGAN MAGAZINE
Who is April Greiman?
April Greiman was born on March
22, 1948 in New York City in a typical
American family. Her father was one
of the first computer programmers of
the time. His brother Paul Greiman
studied to become a meteorologist.
April Greiman began studying
graphic design during her university
days at the Kansas City Art Institute
during 1966 and 1970. In a classic
April Greinman

travel of the time, she decided to
explore the world and went to Europe
where he entered to study at the
Basel School of Design, Switzerland
until 1971.There she was a student
of Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang
Weingart where she was influenced
by the International Style and the
introduction to the style later known
as New Wave.
In 1976 she moved to Los Angeles,
the cradle of graphic design of the
time where visions were more daring.
Her vital and passionate character
matched perfectly with the style
in Los Angeles, where Deborah
Sussman was already beginning to
show her colorful works to the world.
In a time when computers were
beginning to show all the potential
to process images and vectors,
Greiman embraced technology
without fear thanks to his father’s
teachings in this field.
Although most designers rejected the
fact that computers would endanger
the International Typographic Style,
Greiman opted to embrace technology
to create new breakthrough
compositions for the time.
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April Greiman
Does it make sense?
In 1986 her work Does it make
sense? for Design Quarterly
magazine #133 was a turning point in
her career.
She presented her digital work and
challenged the existing notions of

(16)
what a magazine should be. She
reinterpreted it and instead of the 32
pages she turned it into a poster that
was folded into multiple layers.
The design consisted of her naked
body stretched in a provocative
gesture, with symbolic images and
texts adorning the image.
The design faced the objective,
rational and masculine tendencies of
modern design.
The start of the New Wave
During her years working at Cal Arts
she created an iconography that
would later be known as New Wave.
A current that broke with the most
academic and established bases for
graphic design and typography.
It was a style influenced by Punk
and postmodern language.
Completely contrary to the Swiss
style, characterized by its grid design
and organization of the elements.
The New Wave freed itself from the
rules and worked the designs freely;
where typography, photography and
other elements were mixed without
hierarchies and a complex order.
The Sans-Serif font still predominated
the design, but breaking the grid
meant that typography could be
established anywhere. The New Wave
granted an artistic freedom that
embodied the anti-corporate nature
of the time in Los Angeles.
Detail of April on one of her exihibitions (right)

“Greiman’s approach
to design is to look
at the page as a
3D space through
juxtaposition
of typography,
photography, and
other elements.”
- Cooper Hewitt

April Greiman, The Moderna Poster
for MOMA, 1988 (top)

DESIGNING
WOMEN
(19)
April Greiman
April Greiman, born in 1948
is one of the leading artists
of the digital age. She was
among the first to embrace
computer technology as a
new visual medium: her style
links American
Postmodernism with the
rational clarity of the Swiss
school and she is recognized
for introducing the Californian
New Wave aesthetic.
In 1976, she moved to
bustling LA and upended
the “less is more” convention
in favor of a hybrid, layered,
multimedia, and decidedly
individualized style.
April Greiman doesn’t
like to be called a graphic
designer—she conceives of
herself as an artist, teacher,
and thinker.

April Greiman and Jayme Odgers,
WET Mgazine Cover, 1979 (top)

INSIGHTS:
APRIL GREIMAN
(21)
April Greiman
WALKER
CALENDER
Through her Los Angeles–
based studio Made in Space,
visionary graphic designer
and artist April Greiman
has been creating vital
work in a variety of media
for more than 30 years.
She helped pioneer the
integration of technology
and art as one of the first
practitioners to explore
the desktop computer’s
creative potential, and
her unique fusion of a
postmodernist mentality with
digital technology became
emblematic of the “New
Wave” design approach in
the late 1970s and early
’80s. Her art direction (with
Jayme Odgers) of Wet
Magazine is a touchstone of
this era, inspiring countless
designers since its creation.
Today, Greiman is known as
an artist creating numerous
multimedia works for both
solo and group shows as
well as commissions for
public spaces.

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CELEBRATING
WOMEN IN
DESIGN
OPUS DESIGN
Introduction to the digital
tools
Before the digital revolution
in 1984 with the introduction
of the Apple Macintosh
computer, graphic design
had been a manual, handdone
and photomechanical
process. During the 1970s
and 80s, many modernist
and contemporary fellows
of Greiman were afraid
of digitalization and the
advancement of computer
technology. However, she
saw beyond the threats and
decided to make the best use
of what it had to offer. Her
experimentation and curiosity
in digital art soon liberated
her from the traditional
approach to design.
By involving advanced
technology in her design
process, her work soon
encompassed a unique and
multidisciplinary aesthetics.
April Greiman, Front Side of
‘Does It Make Sense?’, 1986 (right)

(23)
April Greiman

April Greiman,
Hand Holding a Bowl of Rice, 2007

(26)
APRIL
GREIMAN:
INTERVIEW
TYPOGRAPHISCHE MONATSBLÄTTER JOURNAL
LOUISE PARADIS, ARIELLA YEDGAR
Why did you go to Basel after
graduating from Kansas City
Art Institute [KCKI]?
I had three teachers from the
Schule für Gestaltung Basel
when I was at Kansas City—Inge
Druckrey, Hans Allemann and
Christa Zelinsky.They were
all from Europe and had to
leave when their visas expired.
Feeling incomplete with my
undergraduate education, I
decided I would do graduate
work in Basel. We didn’t have
a type shop in Kansas City and
we were using Letraset, which
wasn’t professional enough
for me. I also always liked and
used words and their roots in
my design work, making words
“editorial” and narrative in
their own right. So I just knew
I needed to know more about
fine typography to complete my
design education. That is why I
went to Basel, really.
Were you expecting to
encounter a modernist
style there?
I was probably one of the
youngest people in the class,
and I really didn’t have any
expectations. I just needed
to learn typography. We also
had an important exhibition
of Armin Hofmann’s posters at
our school in Kansas City. I just
remember it to be such a pivotal
experience for me. I didn’t know
who he was when I walked
into the gallery. I mean, I heard
his name and we looked at his
published books, but when I saw
the posters in person, I felt like
I needed to go directly to the
source, which is what I did! He
was such an influential force in
my earlier years.
So had most people
worked before?
I was only 21. People were
generally five years or even a
bit older than I. My going there
was a bit of a fluke, because
during Hofmann’s exhibition
at KCAI he made a visit and
gave a lecture at the college.
I talked to the head of our
design program, Rob Kelly,
and said, “Could I speak with
Mr. Hofmann about studying
in Basel?” And he said,“What
for?”, “Because I may want to go
there and study typography.” So
he set up an appointment with
Hofmann and I met with him.
He went through my portfolio in
about two minutes and asked,
“What do you want?” to which
I replied, “What does it take
to go to the Basel School?” He
answered,“Just show up in
September.” And so I did!

Hofmann proposed that you
should live with him and
his wife?
Yes, in Ticino, the Italian
part of Switzerland. At first
I said,“No, I am leaving: my
family is here and we are going
to travel.” But he made such
a big fuss that I talked to my
mother and family.We were
traveling and touring to the
north, to England, and instead
we went south, to Italy, and the
southern part of Switzerland.
We went down there with
my mother and family to
meet his wife, Dorothea
Hofmann—Dorothea is one of
my most favorite women on
the planet, by the way.Ticino
was so beautiful,not at all like
Basel, which I liked, and it was
during the summer, which
was a special warm and balmy
season. He said,“Why don’t you
try it for a while?” That was it.
I got a chance to study with the
master privately there, so I did!
How long did you stay with
the Hofmanns?
Such a short time, only about
three months.Then I got a
telegram in our little village,
Gadero, inviting me to teach
at the Philadelphia College of
Arts [now the University of the
Arts]. I thought this telegram
was a mistake and I ignored
it.Then I got another one.This
was very confusing, and in
this little village it was a big
thing. I asked Hofmann about
this and he said,“Oh yeah, I
recommended you to teach
there.” I replied, ”Oh no, I don’t
want to teach, I’m not ready
yet, I am still a student.” He
replied, “Well, you can’t stay
here any longer.” I replied,“But
I don’t want to teach.” And he
said,“Oh yes, you will.” And so
he pushed me “out of the nest,”
so to speak. I didn’t speak to
him for years as it was so
hard for me to accept this
responsibility, and I thought he
wasn’t interested in me and my
work, so took it as an offense.
And so, off I went and taught
typography in Philadelphia. It
was ridiculous, because I didn’t
know very much myself, but
that is what happened, and in
retrospect, to my great fortune.
Did you work closely
with Weingart?
Yes, like everybody did in our
class. I was so unhappy and ill in
Basel, wanting to get out of the
school as quickly as possible.
I also took a painting class
while there. Basically all the
classes I took were Hofmann’s
class and typography with
Weingart. That was it. It was
helpful that Weingart really
liked me, so he made special
arrangements for me to work
in the type shop. I was a bit of
a teacher’s pet. Although I was
not technically very proficient,
I learned how to hand set type,
use a proofing press, and the
rest of my studies were very
experimental. He really started
a typo-revolution. It was all
very Dada and Constructivist
for me. The Dadaists and the
Constructivists used words and
“said” something more than
just the name and date of an
event: they took a position, were
political. I may be wrong, most
likely, but Weingart was, I think,
picking up on that tradition,
creating “narrative” with type.
He seemed to understand the
special “complexion” of our
class, and made it very playful
and open-ended.
(27)
April Greiman

“When I find
something so
terrifying
I usually have
to conquer it. It
is like jumping
into deep water
without knowing
how to swim.”
- April Greiman about new
Apple Macintosh, 1984

Do you think your time in
Basel had a strong influence
on your work?
Yes. Weingart likes to take
a lot of credit for everything
that is formal, and he certainly
is deserving of it, but one of
the important things I learned
from him was how to work; a
healthy process. It was more
of a process of discovery and
exploration than of trying to
make something that looks
like the teacher’s or anybody
else’s work. When he gave an
assignment, he would encourage
us to work on 20 different
interations all at the same time.
I found that method very useful.
Also, when I got a computer I
could do the same kind of thing,
because you can archive so many
different versions and save them,
then pick the one which is the
most appropriate. They may all
be good solutions, but maybe
only one is really appropriate. I
think that is the strongest thing I
learned from Weingart: a playful,
beginner’s-kind-of Weingart
mind. In retrospect, I remember
I was so nervous about going
to Basel, thinking it was going
to be hard to learn how to be a
typesetter and run a printing
press, but once I got there, oh
my God, the atmosphere in the
class was very delightful and full
of spirit. In his class there really
weren’t any mistakes, and you
just tried things.Weingart was
so very encouraging.
So basically, every time a new
technology came out you felt
scared but you needed to
overcome it?
When I find something so
terrifying I usually have to
conquer it. It is like jumping into
deep water without knowing
how to swim. That would be
me! The Harry and the Henry
were the first editions of
Quantel Paintbox, and they
were video-resolution designed
for broadcast use,which didn’t
require being as high-res as was
necessary for print graphics.
So I learned a bit about them
and their thinking, and that
helped me a lot, having then
a feeling for the technology
and capabilities that would
be our future. However, those
Paintboxes couldn’t handle fine
typography, designed more for
a spinning logo, or a word that
moved across the screen quickly.
I guess the Macintosh
revolution really exploded in the
US, particularly in California.
Again, I was at the right place
at the right time. I had no
interest in getting a computer,
but I tried one and within
the first two months they
came on the market I bought
it from Macy’s department
store. That is where they were
sold in Southern California.
And I bought it thinking, you
know, this will be fun. There
was actually a very long line
of people at Macy’s in 1984,
waiting to try it. I was with a
friend who finally said, “Let’s
not wait in line anymore, just
buy it.” And I said,“OK.” It was
$3,200 or $3,600 for just 128K
of memory. I am not kidding.
I put it on my credit card and
that was that! I did posters and
works that had 20 overlays
of acetate. I like that because
it was really fine art, to really
handle material and glue it
down, overlay other materials,
media, images. It was art and
science merging, which were,
and still are, my favorite things.
(29)
April Greiman

(30)
April Greiman
“April Greiman is
a designer whose
trans‐disciplinary ideas,
multi-media projects
have been influential
worldwide. Explorations
of image, word, color
as objects in time &
space, grounded in the
singular fusion of art &
technology, are the basis
for her multi‐media,
multi‐scaled body
of work.”
- USC Roski School of Art and Design

(31)
April Greiman

(34)
REPUTATIONS:
DAN FRIEDMAN
ESLOGAN MAGAZINE, PETER REA
Dan Friedman was born in Cleveland,
Ohio in 1945. He received his
education at Carnegie Institute
of Technology in Pittsburgh, the
Hochscule für Gestaltung in Ulm
and the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule
in Basel. In the early 1970s, at
Yale University, he developed and
published teaching methods in
design and the ‘New Typography’
which became a basis for the New
Wave which followed. He also
developed guidelines for the first
programme in visual arts at the State
University of New York in Purchase.
As a graphic designer, he has created
posters, publications, packaging
and visual identities for many
corporations and organisations. In
the mid-1970s he was senior design
Dan Friedman

director of Anspach Grossman
Portugal and in the late 1970s
he joined Pentagram, became an
associate and helped to establish
the New York office. In 1982, he
returned to his own private practice
and in 1991 returned to teaching
as a senior critic in graphic design
at Yale University. Although he
retains an interest in education and
graphic design, his art, installations,
furniture and ‘Modern Living’
projects have generated exhibitions
and commissions all over the world.
His first solo exhibition was at the
Fun Gallery, New York in 1984. His
experimental furniture has been
produced by Neotu in Paris and by
Arredaesse, Driade and Alchimia
in Milan. His work is in many public
and private collections, including
the Museum of modern Art in New
York, the Art Institute of Chicago,
the Gewerbemuseum in Basel and
the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in
Montreal. He describes himself as an
artist whose subjects is design and
culture. Dan Friedman died on 6th of
July 1995
(35)
Dan Friedman
Peter Rea: Could we begin by
talking about how you see the
graphic design profession today?
Dan Friedman: For more than
25 years I’ve had love-hate
relationship with our profession.
I will defend it with pride and
passion, but I will also be critical
– even occasionally cynical. I’ve
been at its centre, but I feel
more comfortable playing at its
margins. It is a profession which
involves a great deal of drudgery
and concern about minutiae that
can only be measured in quarter
points and millimetres. Graphic
design has always defined its
focus in narrow terms – in ways
that may stimulate graphic
designers into a frenzy but
mean nothing to the rest of
society. When we try to extend
our reach, as with fantasies

Dan Friedman’s home as a “visual laboratory” (left)
“In our
relationship
between 1972
and 1977 she
opened me to her
spirit and her way
of thinking with
the heart.”
- Dan Friedman

about the emerging potential
of multimedia, our ideas pale in
comparison with Terminator
2, a U2 concert of the latest
Las Vegas hotel. I believe it is a
profession in an identity crisis
caused by over-specialisation
and deep polarisation.
PR: When did you first meet
April Greiman?
DF: I had been in Basel four or
five years earlier than Greiman,
who knew of my work at Yale
through Weingart. I met her, as
you did, when we were teaching
at Philadelphia College of Art in
1972. She replaced me at PCA
when I could no longer continue
to commute by air every week
from Yale.
Clearly we all influenced each
other. At that time there were
few people interested in sharing
new ideas about typography
and design theory. Back in the
early 1970s, even in Philadelphia,
there was an incestuous Basel
influence. Even more than
Weingart, Greiman approached
her work with spontaneity and
intuition. In our relationship
between 1972 and 1977 she
opened me to her spirit and her
way of thinking with the heart,
while I probably influenced her
by relating design to broader
theoretical or cultural issues and
seeing typographic compositions
as metaphorical environments.
PR: There have been enormous
changes between your graphic
idiom of the 1970s and you
current work – for instance
Artificial Nature or Art
Against Aids.
DF: When a visual idiom or style
becomes so overpowering that
you can’t tell the difference
between one project and
another, that makes me feel
uncomfortable. In the 1970s,
when such an idiom became
assimilated into other people’s
work, it lost its inherent
meaning for me. I never stopped
being a graphic designer,
but I definitely put it in the
background. I never stopped
being aware of what was going
on in the world of graphic
design, but I was able to look
at it as an outsider, which gave
me more perspective. When at
last I had a really interesting
graphic design project to pursue,
I was able to do so without all
the visual baggage so many
designers carry with them. I
was able to enter into these new
projects with an approach which
I think is more appropriate to
the audience, the content and
our times.
PR: What do you mean by
‘Radical Modernism’?
DF: Modernism is a philosophy
which emerged in the late
nineteenth century. It was a
concern with the way people
could improve the quality of their
lives, using all means including
new technology and design.
It would be an evolutionary
process and will continue as
long as we are motivated to
make such improvements. When
the ‘look’ of Modernism was
appropriated by industry and
named the International Style, it
lost moral authority. We should
try once again to be fun-loving
visionaries; we should return to a
belief in a radical spirit – the idea
that design is something that can
help improve society and people’s
condition. Radical Modernism,
therefore, is my reaffirmation
of the idealistic roots of our
modernity, adjusted to include
more of our diverse cultures,
history, research and fantasy.
(37)
Dan Friedman

Dan Friedman, Post Human, 1992 (top)
Dan Friedman, Artificial Nature, 1990 (bottom)

DAN FRIEDMAN,
RADICAL
MODERNIST
(39)
Dan Friedman
DESIGN
OBSERVER,
CHRIS
PULLMAN
Part 3
The dichotomy between
the rigid modernism of
Ulm and Weingart’s playful
experimentation at Basel
accompanied Dan to Yale
in 1969. These ideas were
reflected in the projects he
brought to the program:
problems that typically
involved the collision of two
overlapping systems—the
structured and the free; the
conceptual and the intuitive;
the modernist and the radical.
Dan was determined to create
a methodology that would be
seen as a foundation of, not
a replacement for, personal
expression. Typical of his
intense, directed process of
working, within a few years he
had published his pedagogy
and examples of his student
work in Visible Language,
one of the few critical design
journals in the US at the time.
Like Dan, April had been one
of Wolfgang’s star students,
and after graduation had

(40)
landed at Philadelphia
College of Art, now the
University of the Arts, to take
the place of a departing
visiting faculty member who
just happened to be Dan.
They met, hit it off, and—not
very long after—April was in
New Haven, designing Dan’s
moving announcement.
Dan and April were alike in
many ways: incredibly gifted
and ambitious missionaries
of the new typography.
While Dan was intellectual,
methodical, and focused,
April was intuitive, impulsive,
and spiritual. Dan taught
April about method and
meaning; April taught Dan
about designing from the
heart. They married and
began to collaborate on
some notable projects.
Part 5
At the end of his book
he offers a twelve-point
manifesto, as wise and
optimistic today as it was
twenty years ago:
—Live and work with passion
and responsibility; have a
sense of humor and fantasy.
—Try to express personal,
spiritual, and domestic
values even if our culture
continues to be dominated

Dan Friedman’s home as a “visual laboratory”
“Embrace the richness
of all cultures; be
inclusive instead
of exclusive.”
- Dan Friedman

(42)
by corporate, marketing and
institutional values.
—Choose to be progressive:
don’t be regressive. Find
comfort in the past only if
it expands insight into the
future and not just for the
sake of nostalgia.
—Embrace the richness of all
cultures; be inclusive instead
of exclusive.
—Think of your work as a
significant element in the
context of a more important,
transcendental purpose.
—Use your work to become
advocates of projects for the
public good.
—Attempt to become a
cultural provocateur. Be a
leader rather than a follower.
—Engage in self-restraint;
accept the challenge of
working with reduced
expectations and diminished
resources.
—Avoid getting stuck in
corners, such as being
a servant to increased
overhead, careerism, or
narrow points of view.
—Use the new technologies,
but don’t be seduced into
thinking that they provide
answers to fundamental
questions.
—Be radical.
Dan Friedman (right)

(43)
Dan Friedman

(46)
WILLI KUNZ
PHILIP B. MEGGS
Swiss-born Willi Kunz played a role
in introducing the new typography
developed at Basel into the
United States. After apprenticing
as a typesetter, Kunz completed
his postgraduate studies at the
Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich (School
of Arts and Crafts). Kunz moved to
New York in 1970 and worked there
as a graphic designer until 1973,
when he accepted an appointment to
teach typography at the Basel School
of Design as Wolfgang Weingart’s
sabbatical-leave replacement.
Inspired by the research of Weingart
and his students, and with the type
shop at his disposal, Kunz began a
series of typographic interpretations
Willi Kunz

of writings by Canadian philosopher
Marshall McLuhan. These were
hand printed and published
under the title 12 Typographical
Interpretations. McLuhan’s thoughts
on communications and printing
were visualized and intensified by
contrasting type weights, sometimes
within the same word; geometric
stair-step forms; unorthodox letter-,
word-, and line spacing; lines and
bars used as visual punctuation and
spatial elements; and textural areas
introduced into the spatial field.
After Kunz returned to New York and
established his design office, his 1978
exhibition poster for the photographer
Fredrich Cantor was hailed as a quintessential
example of Post‐Modern
design. The contrasting sizes of the
photographs, the mixed weight of
the typography, the diagonal letter
spaced type, and the stepped pattern
of dots covering part of the space all
heralded the typographic new wave.
Kunz does not construct his work on
a predetermined grid; rather, he starts
the visual composition and permits
structure and alignments to grow
from the design process. He builds his
typographic constellations with concern
for the essential message, with
the structure unfolding in response to
the information to be conveyed.
He has been called an “information
architect” who uses visual hierarchy
and syntax to bring order and clarity
to messages.
(47)
Willi Kunz

“Designers rely on a
process that enables
them to assess
each situation
and respond with
an appropriate
solution based on
their knowledge,
principles, visual
sensitivity and
personal vision. ”
- Willi Kunz
Cities on Edge , Willi Kunz (top left)
Willi Kunz in front of Emil Ruder’s Typographie, September 2013 (right)

(49)
Willi Kunz

(50)
THE PROCESS
OF DESIGN
TYPOGRAPHY: FORMATION + TRANSFORMATION
WILLI KUNZ (2003)
For every project, the purpose
of the communication must
be first established and a
conceptual framework created.
With these in place, typographic
principles and the nature of the
information provide the basis
from which to explore different
visual approaches. The difficulty
is not only creating the concept
but also in realizing it. The
argument for any design should
be based on communication
goals rather than aesthetics,
which of course does not mean
that aesthetics are unimportant.
Typographic principles lay
the groundwork for any good
design. All processes depend
on a set of principles, rules, or
guidelines in order to function.
Guidelines do not have to be
stifling. To work on a tightly
defined problem is more challenging,
and more exciting, than
working on a problem without
constraints. What initially appears
to be constraints can also
lead to unexpected solutions.
Useful as a program is, however,
it alone cannot guarantee a
successful outcome. Intelligence,
talent, inspiration, and hard
work are also necessary, as is a
thorough understanding of the
information to be represented.
To realize the concept and meet
the project’s objectives, different
visual approaches may be explored.
The microaesthetic level
of a design can be continually
refined and affords the greatest
opportunity for improving the
quality and expressiveness
of a visual composition. The
microaesthetic level also gives
the designer a certain degree of
freedom to go beyond resolving
only the task at hand, to express
his or her own sensibilities.
Ideally, the combination of
macro - and microaesthetic
components forms a synthesis: a
convincing design solution for a
specific problem.
After many years of working
with the computer, I still
find pencil sketches the
most efficient means of
developing conceptual studies.
The computer, however, is
irreplaceable once the project
is past the basic conceptual
stage. Many design variations
can be developed and edited
without the waste of materials.
Unintentional commands
may lead to unexpected new
directions. In realizing the
original idea, the macro- and
microaesthetics can be infinitely
refined as the visual expression
evolves to meet the objectives.
Whatever tools are used,
a successful solution must
ultimately communicate its
message and evoke the desired
emotional response.
Columbia Architecture Planning Preservation,
Willi Kunz, 1994 (right)

“Designers can adapt
to the complexities
but only if they learn
to integrate their
own methodologies,
and create not
according to style
but principles.”
- Willi Kunz
Willi Kunz working in The Willi Kunz Studio

CHOICE IN
TYPOGRAPHIC
DESIGN
(53)
Willi Kunz
TYPOGRAPHY: FORMATION + TRANSFORMATION,
WILLI KUNZ (2003)
For every project, the purpose
of the communication must
be first established and a
conceptual framework created.
With these in place, typographic
principles and the nature of the
information provide the basis
from which to explore different
visual approaches.The difficulty
is not only creating the concept
but also in realizing it. The
argument for any design should
be based on communication
goals rather than aesthetics,
which of course does not mean
that aesthetics are unimportant.
Typographic principles lay
the groundwork for any good
design. All processes depend
on a set of principles, rules,
or guidelines in order to
function. Guidelines do not
have to be stifling. To work on
a tightly defined problem is
more challenging, and more
exciting, than working on a
problem without constraints.
What initially appears to be
constraints can also lead to
unexpected solutions. Useful
as a program is, however,
it alone cannot guarantee a
successful outcome. Intelligence,
talent, inspiration, and hard
work are necessary, as is a
thorough understanding of the
information to be represented.
To realize the concept and
meet the project’s objectives,
different visual approaches may
be explored. The microaesthetic
level of a design can be
continually refined and affords
the greatest opportunity for
improving the quality and
expressiveness of a visual
composition. The microaesthetic
level also gives the designer a
certain degree of freedom to
go beyond resolving only the
task at hand, to express his or
her own sensibilities. Ideally,
the combination of macro- and
microaesthetic components
forms a synthesis: a convincing
design solution for a specific
problem. After many years of
working with the computer,
I still find pencil sketches
the most efficient means of
developing conceptual studies.
The computer, however, is
irreplaceable once the project
is past the basic conceptual
stage. Many design variations
can be developed and edited
without the waste of materials.
Unintentional commands
may lead to unexpected new
directions. In realizing the
original idea, the macro- and
microaesthetics can be infinitely
refined as the visual expression
evolves to meet the objectives.
Whatever tools are used,
a successful solution must
ultimately communicate its
message and evoke the desired
emotional response.

(54)
MAKING
TYPOGRAPHY
WILLI KUNZ
The explosion of desktop
publishing and the
proliferation of computers do
not weaken the designer’s
importance. Rather, the
triumph of the computer
only intensifies the need
for intelligent, aesthetically
pleasing design. As we
become inundated with
information, thoughtful,
perceptive design will
become a more important
mark of distinction, a
competitive edge. The
information age also
presents new challenges
to the designer: electronic
media, virtual reality,
interactive TV, and other
modes of expression. The
skills already possessed
by designers – organizing
and visually displaying
information, managing the
interplay between the verbal
and the visual – continue
to be essential in new
media. This is not to say that
designers need not learn
new skills, it emphasizes
that their old skills will not
become obsolete.