Jan Tschichold

Jan Tschichold (2 April 1902 Leipzig, Germany – 11 August 1974

Jan Tschichold
Locarno, Switzerland) (born as Johannes Tzschichhold, also Iwan
Tschichold, Ivan Tschichold) was a calligrapher, typographer and book
designer. He played a significant role in the development of graphic design
in the 20th century – first, by developing and promoting principles of
typographic modernism, and subsequently (and ironically) idealizing
conservative typographic structures. His direction of the visual identity of
Penguin Books in the decade following World War II served as a model for
the burgeoning design practice of planning corporate identity programs.
He also designed the much-admired typeface Sabon. Jan Tschichold in 1963
Born 2 April 1902
Leipzig

Contents Died 11 August 1974 (aged 72)

Locarno
Life
Design
Typefaces
Bibliography
See also
References
Sources
External links

Life
Tschichold was the son of a provincial signwriter, and he was trained in calligraphy. In 1919, he began in the class of
Hermann Delitzsch a study on the "Leipzig Academy of the arts". Due to his extraordinary achievements, he soon
became a master pupil of the rector of Walter Tiemann – a font designer for the Gebr.-Klingspor foundry and was
commissioned to his fellow students. At the same time, he received the first orders in the framework of the "Leipziger
Messe" and made in 1923 as a typographic consultant to a printing company independently.

This artisan background and calligraphic training set him apart from almost all other noted typographers of the time,
since they had inevitably trained in architecture or the fine arts. It also may help explain why he never worked with
handmade papers and custom fonts as many typographers did, preferring instead to use stock fonts on a careful choice
from commercial paper stocks.

Although, up to this moment, he had only worked with historical and traditional typography, he radically changed his
approach after his first visit to the Bauhaus. After being introduced to important artists such as László Moholy-Nagy,
El Lissitzky, Kurt Schwitters and others who were carrying out radical experiments to break the rigid schemes of
conventional typography. He became sympathetic to this attempt to find new ways of expression and to reach a much
more experimental way of working, but at the same time, felt it was important to find a simple and practical approach.

He became one of the most important representatives of the "new typography" and in a famous special issue of
'typographic communications' in 1925 with the title of "Elemental Typography", he put together the new approaches in
the form of a thesis.
After the election of Hitler in Germany, all designers had to register with
the Ministry of Culture, and all teaching posts were threatened for anyone
who was sympathetic to communism. Soon after Tschichold had taken up a
teaching post in Munich at the behest of Paul Renner, they both were
denounced as "cultural Bolshevists". Ten days after the Nazis surged to
power in March 1933, Tschichold and his wife were arrested. During the
arrest, Soviet posters were found in his flat, casting him under suspicion of
collaboration with communists. All copies of Tschichold's books were
seized by the Gestapo "for the protection of the German people". After six
weeks a policeman somehow found him tickets for Switzerland, and he and
his family managed to escape Nazi Germany in August 1933.

Apart from two longer stays in England in 1937 (at the invitation of the
Penrose Annual), and 1947–1949 (at the invitation of Ruari McLean, the
British typographer, with whom he worked on the design of Penguin
Books), Tschichold lived in Switzerland for the rest of his life. Jan
Tschichold died in the hospital at Locarno in 1974.[1] Titlepage for Typographische
Gestaltung written and designed by
Jan Tschichold using City Medium
Design and Bodoni. Published in 1932 by
Tschichold had converted to the Benno Schwabe & Co.
publishing house.
Modernist design principles in
1923 after visiting the first
Weimar Bauhaus exhibition. He became a leading advocate of Modernist
design: first with an influential 1925 magazine supplement mentioned
above); then a 1927 personal exhibition; then with his most noted work Die
neue Typographie. This book was a manifesto of modern design, in which
he condemned all typefaces but sans-serif (called Grotesk in Germany). He
also favoured non-centered design (e.g., on title pages), and codified many
The Van de Graaf canon used in
other Modernist design rules. He advocated the use of standardised paper
book design to divide a page in
sizes for all printed matter, and made some of the first clear explanations
pleasing proportions, was
popularized by Jan Tschichold in his of the effective use of different sizes and weights of type in order to quickly
book The Form of the Book. and easily convey information. This book was followed with a series of
practical manuals on the principles of Modernist typography which had a
wide influence among ordinary workers and printers in Germany. Yet,
despite his visits to England just before the war, only about four articles by
Tschichold had been translated into English by 1945.

Although Die neue Typographie remains a classic, Tschichold slowly

Depiction of the proportions in a
medieval manuscript. According to
Jan Tschichold: "Page proportion
2:3. Margin proportions 1:1:2:3. Text
area proportioned in the Golden
Section."[2]
abandoned his rigid beliefs from around 1932 onwards (e.g. his Saskia
typeface of 1932, and his acceptance of classical Roman typefaces for body-
type) as he moved back towards Classicism in print design. He later
condemned Die neue Typographie as too extreme. He also went so far as to
condemn Modernist design in general as being authoritarian and
inherently fascistic.
Between 1947–1949 Tschichold lived in England where he oversaw the
redesign of 500 paperbacks published by Penguin Books, leaving them
with a standardized set of typographic rules, the Penguin Composition
Rules.[3] Although he gave Penguin's books (particularly the Pelican range)
a unified look and enforced many of the typographic practices that are
taken for granted today, he allowed the nature of each work to dictate its look, with varied covers and title pages. In
working for a firm that made inexpensive mass-market paperbacks, he was following a line of work — in cheap popular
culture forms (e.g. film posters) — that he had always pursued during his career.

His abandonment of Modernist principles meant that, even though he was living in Switzerland after the war, he was
not at the centre of the post-war Swiss International Typographic Style. Unimpressed by the use of realist or neo-
grotesque typefaces, which he saw as a revival of poorly-designed models, his survey of typefaces in advertising
deliberately made no mention of such designs, save for a reference to 'survivals from the nineteenth-century which
have recently enjoyed a short-lived popularity.'[4]

Typefaces
Between 1926 and 1929, he designed a “universal alphabet” to clean up the
few multigraphs and non-phonetic spellings in the German language. For
example, he devised brand new characters to replace the multigraphs ch
and sch. His intentions were to change the spelling by systematically
replacing eu with oi, w with v, and z with ts. Long vowels were indicated by
a macron below them, though the umlaut was still above. The alphabet was
presented in one typeface, which was sans-serif and without capital letters.

Typefaces Tschichold designed include:

Transit (1931) for "Lettergieterij Amsterdam, voorheen Tetterode",

Saskia (1931/1932), for: Schelter & Giesecke, Leipzig
Zeus (1931)
Uhertype-Standard-Grotesk (1931), for an early phototypesetting
machine. Essentially a modified Gill Sans.[5][6]
Sabon (1966/1967) [1] (http://www.adobe.com/type/browser/P/P_088.j
html).
Sabon was designed to be a typeface that would give the same reproduction
on both Monotype and Linotype systems and therewere also matrices
made for typefoundries. All type produced could be interchanged. It was
used early after its release by Bradbury Thompson to set the Washburn
College Bible. A “Sabon Next” was later released by Linotype as an
‘interpretation’ of Tschichold's original Sabon.

Sabon typeface designed by

Bibliography Tschichold, and released in 1967.
One of its earliest uses was by
Die neue Typographie. Ein Handbuch für zeitgemäß Schaffende, Bradbury Thompson in setting the
Verlag des Bildungsverbandes der Deutschen Buchdrucker, Berlin Washburn College Bible.
1928.

English translation: The New Typography. New edn. Berkeley:

University of California Press, 2006.
Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung: Grundbegriffe der Neuen Typografie in Bildbeispielen für Setzer, Werbefachleute,
Drucksachenverbraucher und Bibliofilen (in German), Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Dr. Fritz Wedekind & Co.,
1930
Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung. Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Dr. Fritz Wedekind & Co., 1930.
Schriftschreiben für Setzer. Frankfurt a.M.: Klimsch & Co., 1931.
Typografische Entwurfstechnik. Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Dr Fritz Wedekind & Co., 1932.
Typografische Gestaltung. Basel: Benno Schwabe & Co., 1935.
Gute Schriftform. Basel: Lehrmittelverlag des Erziehungsdepartements, 1941/42, 1943/44, 1945/46.
Geschichte der Schrift in Bildern. Basel: Holbein-Verlag, 1941/1946 (reprint: Hamburg: Hauswedell, 1951/1961).

English translation: An Illustrated History of Lettering and Writing. London: o.V., 1947.
 Chinesisches Gedichtpapier vom Meister der Zehnbambushalle. Basel: Holbein-Verlag, 1947.
Was jemand vom Buchdruck wissen sollte. Basel: Birkhäuser-Verlag, 1949.
Schatzkammer der Schreibkunst, 2nd edn. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag, 1949.
Im dienste des buches, SGM-Bücherei, St. Gallen 1951.
Chinesischer Farbendruck aus dem Lehrbuch des Senfkorngartens, Holbein-Verlag, Basel 1941 u. 1951.
Schriftkunde, Schreibübungen und Skizzieren für Setzer, Holbein-Verlag, Basel 1942. – Reprint: Schriftkunde,
Schreibübungen und Skizzieren, expanded edn. Berlin: Verlag des Druckhauses Tempelhof, 1951.
Der Holzschneider und Bilddrucker Hu Cheng-yen. Basel: Holbein-Verlag, 1943/1952.
Chinesische Farbendrucke der Gegenwart. Basel: Holbein-Verlag, 1944/1953.

English translation: Chinese Colour Printing of the present day. London–New York: o.V., 1953.
Formenwandlungen der Et-Zeichen. Frankfurt, Stempel, 1953

1st English translation: The Ampersand: Its Origin and Development, London, Wodhuysen, 1957.
2nd English translation: A Brief History of the Ampersand, Paris, Zeug, 2017. ISBN 979-10-95902-06-5
Erfreuliche Drucksachen durch gute Typografie. Ravensburg: Otto Maier-Verlag, 1960 [Reprint]. – Auch:
Augsburg: Maro-Verlag, 1988, ISBN 3-87512-403-0.
Meisterbuch der Schrift: Ein Lehrbuch mit vorbildlichen Schriften aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart für
Schriftenmaler, Graphiker, Bildhauer, Graveure, Lithographen, Verlagshersteller, Buchdrucker, Architekten und
Kunstschulen (in German) (3. unv. Nachdruck der 2 ed.), Ravensburg: Otto Maier-Verlag, 1965, ISBN 3-473-
61100-X

English edition: Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering. A handbook of type and lettering. New York: Norton
Books. 1992. ISBN 0-393-70197-2.
Die Bildersammlung der Zehnbambushalle, Eugen-Rentsch-Verlag, Zürich/Stuttgart 1970.
foto-auge [zusammen mit Franz Roh], Akademischer Verlag Dr. Fritz Wedekind & Co., Stuttgart 1929 [Reprint]. –
Auch: Ernst Wasmuth, Tübingen 1973.
Ausgewählte Aufsätze über Fragen der Gestalt des Buches und der Typographie, Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel 1975
u. 1987, ISBN 3-7643-1946-1.
De proporties van het boek (Die Proportionen des Buches), Amsterdam, Amst., Intergrafia, 1955, de buitenkant,
1991
Schriften: 1925–1974 Band 1/2. Berlin, 1992.
The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design. Roberts, WA: Hartley and Marks, 1995.
Jan Tschichold, Posters of the Avantgarde, Martijn F. Le Coultre, Alston W. Purvis, VK-projects, Laren, The
Netherlands, 2007, ISBN 978-90-5212-003-4
Jan Tschichold. Master Typographer. Thames & Hudson. 2011
Jan Tschichold, and the New Typography, Paul Stirton, Yale, 2019, ISBN 978-0-300-24395-6

See also
Bauhaus
Canons of page construction
List of AIGA medalists
Typography

References
1. Jan Tschichold—Posters of the AvantGarde written by Martijn F. Le Coultre and Alston W. Purvis page 21
2. Jan Tschichold—Posters of the AvantGarde written by Martijn F. Le Coultre and Alston W. Purvis, p. 43, Fig 4.
"Framework of ideal proportions in a medieval manuscript without multiple columns. Determined by Jan
Tschichold 1953. Page proportion 2:3. margin proportions 1:1:2:3, Text area proportioned in the Golden Section.
The lower outer corner of the text area is fixed by a diagonal as well."
3. Richard Doubleday. "Jan Tschichold at Penguin Books" (http://www.dis.uia.mx/conference/2005/HTMs-PDFs/Pen
guinBooks.pdf) (PDF).
4. Hollis, Richard (2006). Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style. New Haven, CT:
Yale University Press.
 5. Horn, Frederick A. (1936). "Gutenberg on his Metal: c" (http://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/CAI/1936-02-01/edition/
null/page/42). Art & Industry. pp. 42–3. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
6. Richard Hollis (2006). Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965 (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=7XO-LMDo4yQC&pg=PA199). Laurence King Publishing. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-
85669-487-2.

Sources
Aynsley, Jeremy. Graphic Design in Germany, 1890–1945 (2000. University of California Press) ISBN 0-520-
22796-4.
Blackwell, Lewis. 20th Century Type (2004. Yale University Press) ISBN 0-300-10073-6.
Günter Bose und Erich Brinkmann (Hrsg.): Jan Tschichold: Schriften 1925–1974. (Zwei Bände) Band 1: 1925–
1947, Band 2: 1948–1974, Brinkmann & Bose, Berlin, 1992. ISBN 3-922660-37-1.
Hans Rudolf Bosshard: Max Bill kontra Jan Tschichold. Der Typografiestreit in der Moderne. Niggli, Zürich, 2012,
ISBN 978-3-721-20833-7.
Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style (1992. Hartley & Marks) ISBN 0-88179-033-8.
Burke, Christopher. Active literature. Jan Tschichold and New Typography (2007. Hyphen Press) ISBN 978-0-
907259-32-9.
de Jong, Cees W., Alston W. Purvis, Martijn F. Le Coultre, Richard B. Doubleday and Hans Reichart. Jan
Tschichold—Master Typographer: His Life, Work & Legacy (2008. Thames & Hudson) ISBN 978-0-500-51398-9.
Doubleday, Richard B. Jan Tschichold, Designer: The Penguin Years (2006. Oak Knoll Press & Lund Humphries)
ISBN 978-1-58456-178-1; ISBN 1-58456-178-5.
Gerd Fleischmann: Tschichold – na und?, Göttingen, Wallstein Verlag, 2013 (Ästhetik des Buches; 3), ISBN 978-
3-8353-1353-8
Friedl, Friederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. Typography: An encyclopedic survey of type design and
techniques through history (1998. Black Dog & Leventhal) ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
Leben und Werk des Typographen Jan Tschichold, mit einer Einleitung von Werner Klemke, der Bibliographie
aller Schriften und fünf großen Aufsätzen von Jan Tschichold sowie über zweihundert, teils bunten Abbildungen.
Dresden : Verlag der Kunst, 1977.
Macmillan, Neil. An A–Z of Type Designers (2006. Yale University Press) ISBN 0-300-11151-7.
McLean, Ruari. Jan Tschichold: A Life in Typography (1997. Princeton Architectural Press) ISBN 1-56898-084-1
Julia Meer: Neuer Blick auf die Neue Typographie – Die Rezeption der Avantgarde in der Fachwelt der 1920er
Jahre. Transcript, Bielefeld 2015, insbes. S. 206–216 und 219 ff. ISBN 978-3-8376-3259-0.
Meggs, Philip B. History of Graphic Design (1998. John Wiley & Sons) ISBN 0-470-04265-6.
IDEA Magazine No 321: Works of Jan Tschichold. [2] (https://web.archive.org/web/20091213080449/http://www.id
ea-mag.com/en/publication/321.php)

External links
www.tschichold.de (http://www.tschichold.de) (requires Flash (http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer)
plug-in).
Short biography of Jan Tschichold at Textism (http://www.textism.com/textfaces/index.html?id=19).
Jan Tschichold: a titan of typography (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/dec/05/jan-tschichold-typo
graphy)
Finding aid for Jan and Edith Tschichold papers (http://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/930030/9300
30.xml;query=;brand=default), Getty Research Institute

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