Emil Ruder

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Emil Ruder (19141970) was a Swiss typographer and graphic

designer, who with Armin Hofmann joined the faculty of the Schule fr Emil Ruder
Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design).[1] Born Emil Ruder
March 20, 1914
He is distinguishable in the field of typography for developing a holistic Zurich
approach to designing and teaching that consisted of philosophy, theory
Died March 13, 1970 (aged 55)
and a systematic practical methodology.[2] He expressed lofty
aspirations for graphic design, writing that part of its function was to Basel
promote 'the good and the beautiful in word and image and to open the Known for Typographer and Designer
way to the arts' (TM, November 1952 Issue). [3]:160 He was one of the Movement International Typographic
major contributors to Swiss Style design. He taught that typography's Style
purpose was to communicate ideas through writing, as well as placing a
heavy importance on Sans-serif typefaces.[4] No other designer since
Jan Tschichold was as committed as Ruder to the discipline of letterpress typography or wrote about it with
such conviction.[3]:218

Contents
1 Swiss Style
2 Early life
3 Education and career
4 Typografische Monatsbltter
5 Notable works
6 External links
7 References

Swiss Style
The Swiss Style (also known as International Typographic Style) was developed in Switzerland in the 1950s.[5]
This style was defined by the use of sans-serif typefaces, and employed a page grid for structure, producing
asymmetrical layouts. By the 1960s, the grid had become a routine procedure. The grid came to imply the style
and methods of Swiss Graphic Design. Ruder demonstrated a grid of nine squares as the basis for different
sizes of image. There are 24 possible positions and shapes of image.[3]:178

Also stressed was the combination of typography and photography as a means of visual communication. The
primary influential works were developed as posters, which were seen to be the most effective means of
communication.[6]

Early life
Emil Ruder was born in Zurich, Switzerland on March 20, 1914.[7] Ruder was trained as a typesetter in Basil
(1929-1933), and studied in Paris from 1938-1939.[3]:149 Ruder published a basic grammar of typography titled
Typographie. The text was published in German, English and French, by Swiss publisher Arthur Niggli in
1967.[8] The book helped spread and propagate the Swiss Style, and became a basic text for graphic design and
typography programs in Europe and North America. In 1962 he helped to found the International Center for the
Typographic Arts (ICTA) in New York.[9]
Education and career
Ruder began his education in design at the age of fifteen when he took a compositor's apprenticeship. By his
late twenty's, he began attending the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts when the principles of Bauhaus and
Tschichold's new typography were taught.[5]

Ruder first began teaching in 1942 at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in the Swiss city of Basel. There, he was
in charge of typography for trade students.[3]:215 He became the head of the Department of Apprentices in
Applied arts by 1947.[7] In 1947 Ruder met the artist-printer Armin Hofmann.[10] Ruder and Hoffman began a
long period of collaboration. Their teaching achieved an international reputation by the mid-1950s. By the mid-
1960s their courses were maintaining lengthy waiting lists.[9] He was a contributing writer and editor for
Typografische Monatsbltter (Typographic Monthly), which was a popular trade publication of the time.[9] In
1946, his design was unsuccessful in the competition for the cover design of Typographische
Monatsbltter.[3]:139

During the post war years when, in almost every field of applied art, there was still no sign of transition to a
new form of expression better fitted to the times, Emil Ruder was one of the first pioneers to discard all of the
conventional rules of traditional typography and to establish new laws of composition more in accord with the
modern era. In spite of his bent for pictorial thinking, he is never tempted to indulge in merely playful designs
in which the actual purpose of printing - legibility - is lost.[8] Ruder's insistence that the primary aim of
typography was communication did not exclude aesthetic affects. Contrast was one of his methods.[3]:218 He
was essentially devoted to the craft of letterpress printing.[3]:219

Typografische Monatsbltter
From 1946, Emil Ruder slowly emerged in Typografische Monatsbltter as an exponent of Modernism.
Between 1957 and 1959 he contributed a series of four articles with the title 'Wesentliches' (Fundamentals):'The
Plane', 'The Line', 'The Word' and 'Rhythm'. They formed the basis of his thinking, summed up in 1967 in the
book Typography.[3]:222

In 1952, Schweizer Graphische Mitteilungen (SGM) fused with Revue Suisse de I'Imprimerie and
Typographische Monatsbltter into a single monthly publication known by the initials TM.Emil Ruder was
among the chief figures in the new magazine, and was a key force in typographical thinking.[3]:197

Three articles, in February 1952, established Ruder as a supporter of radical change. In January 1952, the first
issue of the combined magazines retained Times as the text typeface; He introduced Monotype in the February
issue that included his Bauhaus article.[3]:197

Notable works
After twenty-five years of teaching, Ruder published a heavily illustrated book capturing his ideas, methods
and approach. The book, Typographie: A Manual for Design, represents a critical reflection on Ruders
teaching and practice as well as a lifetime of accumulated knowledge.[2]Other than publishing his book
Typographie,[8] he is known for his use of the grid system in Swiss Style design as well as his poster designs.

External links
A gallery of Emil Ruder's minimalist poster designs
Exhibition on Emil Ruder at print gallery in Tokyo

References
 1. Meggs, Philip (2011). Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
p. 363. ISBN 9781118017760.
2. Kenna, Hilary. "Emil Ruder" (http://www.type4screen.com/practice/methodology/emil-ruder/).
Type4SCRN. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
3. Hollis, Richard (2006). Swiss Graphic Design. London: Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 0300106769.
4. "Emil Ruder" (http://www.designishistory.com/1940/emil-ruder/). Design Is History. Retrieved
6 November 2013.
5. "The International Typographic Style Timeline" (http://smearedblackink.com/swiss_style_timeline/).
Smeared Black Ink. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
6. "Swiss Design" (http://www.designishistory.com/home/swiss/). Design Is History. Retrieved 6 November
2013.
7. "Emil Ruder" (http://erabel.com/swissstyle/bio.php). Swiss Style. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
8. Ruder, Emil (2001). Typographie. Verlag Niggli AG. ISBN 3721200438.
9. Bzdok, Shane (28 January 2010). "A Brief History of Emil Ruder" (https://web.archive.org/web/2013111
4070054/http://www.thinkingforaliving.org/archives/932). Thinking for a Living. Archived from the
original (http://www.thinkingforaliving.org/archives/932) on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November
2013.
10. Poynor, Rick. "Armin Hofmann" (http://www.aiga.org/medalist-arminhofmann/). AIGA. Retrieved
4 November 2013.

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