DESIGN Hunt
Issue 2 Nov 2017
Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this duty.
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E
mil Ruder was a prominent 20th century Swiss typographer, graphic designer and a teacher. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Ruder was one of the leading figures of the Swiss Style. Ruder along with well-known graphic designer, Armin Hofmann helped formed the Basel School of Design and ever since 1968, it has influenced the International graphic design community, thanks to their successful teaching methods. His holistic approach to designing and teaching has extensively influenced the world as he employs a systematic practical method that involves both theoretical and philosophical. Ruder education life involves when he trained as a typesetter at the age of 15, in which the principles of the New Typography and the Bauhaus were being taught. From 1941 to 1942, Ruder attended typesetting and printing classes at Zurich School of Arts and Crafts in Paris. It then evolved when he became a Typography teacher at Basel’s Swiss school the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in 1946 then was appointed as the director of the typography in 1965.
Ruder broke away from the subjective and expressive style, as his style places a heavy importance on readability and legibility. His primary goal of typography is communication which determines how a font is use and placed. He also focuses on the use of sans-serif typeface, his clear and concise work, asymmetrical layout, high importance on the counters of the characters, the use of negative spaces and grid structure. As a result, he has changed not only the development of web design but as well as typesetting and printing areas. In 1967, Ruder published a highly successful typography book called ‘Typographie,’ reflecting his teachings, practices and his long experience as a graphic designer. The book has been published in nine different languages and has become a fundamental manual book to all graphic designers til today.
Emil Ruder’s artworks
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A printed work, which cannot be read, becomes a product without purpose. Emil Ruder