Christian Schwartz (born December 30, 1977, in Concord,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States) is an American

type designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

. He has been awarded the German Design Award and the Prix Charles Peignot.

Life

Schwartz began designing fonts in school. A graduate of the Communication Design program at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

, Schwartz first worked at MetaDesign Berlin, developing typefaces for

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

and logos for various corporations. He then returned to the US and joined the design staff at Font Bureau. Schwartz has worked independently in 2001, first forming Orange Italic with product designer Dino Sanchez and recently Schwartzco Inc. He has released commercial fonts with Village, FontFont, Emigre,

House Industries House Industries is a type foundry and design studio based in Yorklyn, Delaware. The company was created in the 1990s in Wilmington, Delaware by co-founders Andy Cruz and Rich Roat. The company is best known for its typeface creations, which have ...

and Font Bureau. Many of Schwartz's typefaces have been proprietary designs for corporations such as Bosch and

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

, both with noted designer Erik Spiekermann, and EMI, for the marketing of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

’s posthumous final album. Schwartz has also designed typefaces for many publications including the US edition of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and the extensive Guardian Egyptian family, with Paul Barnes, for the redesign of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper in 2005. With Barnes he set up the digital font company Commercial Type in 2007. Schwartz's typefaces have been honored by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the New York Type Director's Club, and the International Society of Typographic Designers. His work with Barnes has been honored by

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. ...

and, as part of the ''Guardian'' redesign team, they were shortlisted for the Designer of the Year prize by the

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2006, Schwartz and Barnes were named two of the 40 most influential designers under 40 by '' Wallpaper*'' magazine.

Typefaces

Typefaces designed by Christian Schwartz include:

References

External links

Schwartzco Inc.Christian Schwartz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Christian 1977 births Living people People from Concord, New Hampshire Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni American typographers and type designers