Zurich Type Design by Rudolf Barmettler (ed.)

This German-English book is a synthesis of the Type Design studies at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Switzerland. It compiles 70 text typefaces drawn by the students, shown as specimen pages, as well as 17 cross-discipline essays on readability, type history, calligraphy, teaching type design, etc.

Katharine Wolff emphasises “the importance of calligraphy in the digital age”. Georg Salden insists that type design is a physical process. Walter Haettenschweiler tells us about his career as one of the world’s most illustrious designers for title and display typefaces. Robin Kinross uses Monotype as an example to explain economic, social and technical correlations. André Baldinger comments on teaching methods, attitudes and zeitgeist in type design, while Anton Studer contemplates on seeing and perceiving. There are further contributions by Rudolf Barmettler, Remo Caminada, Christian Flepp, Hans-Jürg Hunziker, Bruno Margreth, Fiona Ross, Mischa Senn.

This book was designed by Baldinger•Vu-Huu. The book’s jacket is designed as a specimen, showcasing different weights of BVH Baldinger, from ExtraHairline to Heavy.

In the interior pages, essays are mixed with the student typefaces. The text is set in BVH Baldinger and the legends and captions are set in BVH BLine Mono.

Zurich Type Design was published by Triest in November 2020.