Product Description

German typographer Paul Renner is best known as the designer of the typeface Futura, which stands as a landmark of modern graphic design. This title is the first study in any language of Renner's typographic career; it details his life and work to reveal the breadth of his accomplishment and influence.

Renner was a central figure in the German artistic movements of the 1920s and 1930s, becoming an early and prominent member of the Deutscher Werkbund while creating his first book designs for various Munich-based publishers. As the author of numerous texts such as Typografie als Kunst (Typography as Art) and Die Kunst der Typographie (The Art of Typography) he created a new set of guidelines for balanced book design. Renner taught with Jan Tschichold in the 1930s and was a key participant in the heated ideological and artistic debates of that time. Arrested and dismissed from his post by the Nazis, he eventually emerged as a voice of experience and reason in the postwar years. Throughout this tumultuous period he produced a body of work of the highest distinction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #753989 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 220 pages

Review
...a fascinating portrait of a man of taste, passion and commitment whose contribution to reading and printing made him an enemy of his state... -- The New York Times Book Review, Steven Heller

Review
...a fascinating portrait of a man of taste, passion and commitment whose contribution to reading and printing made him an enemy of his state... Steven Heller, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author
Christopher Burke presents a wealth of hitherto unpublished materials drawing on primary sources and archival research closely examining the context in which Renner operated. With an eye to his relevance for today's reader, Burke writes clearly and pointed

Customer Reviews

Legendary Book!
This is one of those most interesting books I have ever read about graphic design, you expect it to be filled with Paul Renner's work, but instead it goes much deeper than that, describing his philosophy and ideas, which is what essentially graphic design is.

Fascinating history of an era and a man's work
This is a rare achievement as it gives interesting insights into both the aesthetic achievement of a designer, and the culture milieu in which he lived and reacted to. As this same background--the German speaking world from about 1890 to WWII--was very fertile creatively in many fields, the book is of interest far beyond Renner himself.

Fairly good
Interesting book -- Renner, along with Herbert Bayer and others of his era, created typography and design that still looks modern decades later.