Max Miedinger (24 December 1910 – 8 March 1980) was a Swiss typeface designer, best known for creating the ''Neue Haas Grotesk'' typeface in 1957, renamed

Helvetica Helvetica, also known by its original name Neue Haas Grotesk, is a widely-used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the f ...

in 1960. Marketed as a symbol of cutting-edge Swiss technology, Helvetica achieved immediate global success. Between 1926 and 1930 Miedinger trained as a

typesetter Typesetting is the composition of Written language, text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging metal type, physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''char ...

in Zurich, after which he attended evening classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich. By the time Miedinger died in 1980, his Helvetica idea, for which the company Linotype paid him royalties until the time of his death, had become a huge part of the typographical landscape.

Early career

From the age of 16, from 1926 to 1930, Miedinger apprenticed as a typographic composer with the printer Jacques Bollmann in Zurich. After completing his apprenticeship, he worked from 1930 to 1936 for various companies, while attending evening classes at the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for the ...

in Zurich. At 26 he went to work as a typographer in the advertising department of Globus, a renowned chain of department stores. After ten years at Globus, Miedinger gained employment with

Haas Type Foundry Haas Type Foundry (''Haas'sche Schriftgiesserei'') was a Swiss manufacturer of foundry type. First the factory was located in Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine ...

as a representative. In 1954, he created his first typeface design for Haas, Pro Arte, a condensed slab serif. Miedinger also worked under Edouard Hoffmann to create a new face or identity for Haas. Surprisingly the company Stempel, the main company of Haas, changed the name to Helvetica when they decided to market it to other businesses outside such as Germany. Both Miedinger and Hoffmann were bothered by the similarity of the names since it would translate to the Latin word Switzerland, Helvetia.

Career

Miedinger returned to Zurich as a freelance graphic designer when Edouard Hoffmann, director of the Haas foundry, commissioned him in 1956 to design a new Grotesk typeface. It was officially presented, under the name Neue Haas Grotesk, on the occasion of Graphic 57, a major exhibition of the graphic industry that takes place at the '' Palais de Beaulieu'', in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. Only the semi-bold series (size 20) was then presented. In 1960, supplemented by the lean, bold and italic series, the font was marketed under the name Helvetica. Publication of Neue Helvetica, based on old Helvetica, by Linotype in 1983. All rights ceded to Linotype in 1989.

Designs

(also known as Neue Haas Grotesk and Swiss 721 BT) *Pro Arte, a condensed slab serif in a French Clarendon style. Digitised as ''Münchenstein Slab''. *Horizontal, a wide capitals design similar to Microgramma. Digitised as ''Miedinger''. *Helvetica Monospace *Helvetica Inserat

References

Miedinger, Max. "max miedinger, the man". cis2.westerntc.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-01. publisher. "Font Design - Max Miedinger". mediengeschichte.dnb.de. Retrieved 2022-12-01.

External links

Max Miedinger, Font Designer of Helvetica
Laufer, David Calvin '' Dialogues With Creative Legends,'' New Riders Press, San Francisco, , Page 98. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miedinger, Max 1910 births 1980 deaths Swiss designers Swiss typographers and type designers People from Zurich Zurich University of the Arts alumni