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Karl Gerstner (2 July 1930 – 1 January 2017) was a Swiss designer, typographer, author, and artist.
Gerstner Programm was designed by Karl Gerstner between 1964-67 and first published in Berthold's Diatype filmsetting format. 16 versions of the programme were generated, 8 regular and 8 italic, using the Sinar camera under the expert direction of GGK staff member Werner Richli. Templates were executed by Christian Mengelt. It was successful in the U.S., where it was issued by Aaron Burns, but soon perished with the Diatype system.
A digital restoration by Stephan Müller of Gerstner Programm has been released in 2017.
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Obituary on form.de
Site focused on his graphic design work. Includes articles, bibliography and gallery. 1930 births 2017 deaths Swiss typographers and type designers Swiss designers Swiss contemporary artists {{Switzerland-bio-stub
Career
Gerstner attended Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel. From 1944 to 1948, Gerstner apprenticed as a typographer for artist Fritz Bühler's studio, alongside graphic designerArmin Hofmann
Armin Hofmann ( HonRDI) (29 June 1920 – 18 December 2020) was a Swiss graphic designer and design educator, considered one of the most influential figures of Swiss design. Biography
Hofmann began his career in 1947 as a teacher at the Allgeme ...
, in Basel, Switzerland
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...
.
His supervisor at Bühler's studio, Max Schmid, later went on to work at the Geigy
Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024.
Novartis manufactures the drugs ...
chemical company. In 1949, Gerstner began freelancing for Geigy after Schmid recruited him.
In 1958, he and Markus Kutter formed Gerstner+Kutter advertising agency in Basel. In 1962, they partnered with Paul Gredinger, and Gerstner+Kutter became GGK (Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter), a leading Swiss advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
.
In 2006 Gerstner donated his entire archive to the Swiss National Library
The Swiss National Library (, , , ) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office of Culture, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields, disciplines, and media connected with Switzerla ...
in Bern, and the Karl Gerstner Archive sets out to document his design process from the earliest drafts to the final product.
Gerstner died in Basel University Hospital on 1 January 2017.
Exhibitions
''designing programs/programming designs by Karl Gerstner'' was a solo exhibition on view from February 5 to March 30 1973 at theMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York directed by Emilio Ambasz. The exhibition was based on Gerstner's book Designing Programms.
Typefaces
Gerstner Programm was designed by Karl Gerstner between 1964-67 and first published in Berthold's Diatype filmsetting format. 16 versions of the programme were generated, 8 regular and 8 italic, using the Sinar camera under the expert direction of GGK staff member Werner Richli. Templates were executed by Christian Mengelt. It was successful in the U.S., where it was issued by Aaron Burns, but soon perished with the Diatype system.
A digital restoration by Stephan Müller of Gerstner Programm has been released in 2017.
Bibliography
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References
External links
Obituary on form.de
Site focused on his graphic design work. Includes articles, bibliography and gallery. 1930 births 2017 deaths Swiss typographers and type designers Swiss designers Swiss contemporary artists {{Switzerland-bio-stub