Max Huber (5 June 1919 – 16 November 1992) was an influential

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graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

Biography

Max Huber was born in

Baar, Switzerland Baar () is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Baar is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Barra''. Geography Baar has an area, , of . Of this area, 51% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25% is forested. Of the rest o ...

in 1919. He graduated from Kunstgewerbeschule in

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under the name Hans Williman. In his formative years, he met

Werner Bischof Werner Bischof (26 April 1916 – 16 May 1954) was a Swiss photographer and photojournalist. He became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1949, the first new photographer to join its original founders. Bischof's book ''Japan'' (1954) was awarded t ...

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, Carlo Vivarelli and Hans Falk. His career began in 1935 in

, where he worked for an advertising agency and later with Emil Schultness at Conzett&Huber. He met Max Bill and Hans Neuburg. With the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

– in order to avoid being drafted in the

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– he moved to

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to join Studio Boggeri. When

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entered the war in 1941, Huber was forced to move back to

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, where he began a collaboration with

and Emil Schultness for the influential art magazine ''Du''. He joined the group ''Allianz'', and in 1942, he exhibited his abstract work at the

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with Max Bill, Leo Leuppi, Richard Lohse and Camille Graeser. With the end of the war, he went back to

. The Italian publisher Einaudi appointed him to creative director for the publishing house. The job put him in contact with the post-war Italian intelligentsia: Cesare Pavese, Natalia Ginzburg, '' Elio Vittorini'',

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, Ettore Sottsass, Achille Castiglioni and . The following years were marked by some of his most iconic and influential designs. With Albe Steiner, he worked for the VIII Triennale di Milano. A keen

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

fan, he designed a series of stunning records covers, music magazines and the set stage for a jazz festival. He met

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. In 1948, he designed the seminal poster for the ''

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza The Monza Circuit ( Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Euro ...

'' Grand Prix and two years later the corporate identity for the supermarket chain

La Rinascente ; ) is a high-end Italian department store chain that operates nine stores in Italy, including two flagship locations in Milan ( Piazza del Duomo) and Rome (Via del Tritone). The company was a member of the International Association of Depar ...

. With Achille Castiglioni, he designed large-scale installations for RAI,

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and Montecatini. In 1954, he was awarded the prestigious

Compasso d'Oro The Compasso d'Oro (; ) is an industrial design award originated in Italy in 1954. Initially sponsored by the La Rinascente, a Milanese department store, the award has been organised and managed by the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI ...

. In 1958, he traveled to the US as a speaker to the First International Seminar on Typography ( New York Art Directors Club). In 1965, the Nippon Design Committee organised an exhibition of his work at Matsuya Design Gallery in Tokyo. This trip was the beginning of the designer's close ties with Japan, that would culminate with him marrying the artist and illustrator Aoi Kono. In his later years, he alternated between commercial commissions, personal visual experimentation and teaching graphic design at Scuola Umanitaria in Milan, at Scuola Politecnica di Design also in Milan and finally at CSIA (Centro Scolastico Industrie Artistiche) in

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. He died in

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura di Mendris ...

in 1992. ''m.a.x.museo'', a museum dedicated to his name and preserving his personal archive, opened in

Chiasso Chiasso (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. As Extreme points of Switzerland, the southernmost of Switzerland's ...

in 2005.

References

* ''Max Huber , Progetti Grafici 1936_1981'', Electa, CL 35-0704-1 * ''Lo Studio Boggeri , 1933–1981'', Electa, CL 35-0686-X * ''Max Huber'', Phaidon Press,

External links

* http://www.eyemagazine.com/review.php?id=143&rid=685&set=753 * http://www.maxmuseo.ch/
Biography
on Max Huber at Iconofgraphics.com * Max Huber by Museo Cantonale d’Arte

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Max 1919 births 1992 deaths People from Baar, Switzerland Swiss graphic designers Compasso d'Oro Award recipients