ISSUE 2
JUNE 2017 $19.99 AUS RRP
MAGAZINE
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EMIL RUDER When typography speak louder than words
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A printed work which could not be read, becomes a product without a purpose
EMIL
RUDER Emil Ruder was a Swiss typographer, teacher and graphic designer, as well as one of the leading figures in the so-called International Typographic Style of the 1950s. Born in 1914 in Zurich, was a key player in the development of the Swiss Style. Ruder completed training as a typesetter at the age of 15, at a time in which the principles of the New Typography and the Bauhaus were being taught. After studying in Paris, Ruder attended classes for typesetting and printing at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich from 1941 to 942.
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Academia would continue to play a major role in Ruder’s life, though it would naturally evolve into the form of teacher rather than student. In 1947 he took a position as the typography instructor at the Basel School of Design. He, along with the great Armin Hofmann, developed a program structured on principles of objectivity in design.
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He broke away from the subjective, style-driven typography of the past and encouraged his students to be more concerned with precision, proportions and above all, the role of legibility and communication with type. He believed that type loses its purpose when it loses its communicative meaning. Therefore, readability was the dominate concern. Ruder was sensitive to negative space, both on the page and between and inside letterforms.
Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing.
Like many minimalist designers, Ruder used a grid structure to create a systematic overall design that brought all elements ie: typography, photography, illustrations into harmony with each other while still allowing diversity within the design. He also realized the creative potential of Univers, and how the unity of proportion within the letterforms could be used to create interesting design. Using Univers, he and his students explored contrasts, tex tures, and sc ale p ossibilities in commissioned and experimental work. In 1967, Ruder published Typography: A Manual of Design, this manual represents a critical reflection on Ruder’s teaching and practice as well as a life-time of accumulated knowledge. This book has been published in nine languages and is now in its seventh edition. Typographie is still an important landmark, a fundamental manual which has become part of the teachings of the most important type and graphic design institutes in the world.
In retrospect, Emil Ruder was instrumental in the success and recognition of the International Typographic Style, thanks to his knowledge of the typographic avant-garde of the pre-war period, the advanced typesetting and printing techniques of his time, and his firm adherence to the principle: “Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing.” Emil Ruder a Swiss Typographer, known for his love for a proportional grid structures and love for the Univers typeface, has made an impact on the past and present design community all around the world, his teachings and methodologies will be an inspirational source for many typographers for years to come.
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GRAPHIK MAGAZINE www.graphik.com JUNE 2017 $19.99 Aus RRP