Type: Weingart

In Salem Valley, Germany of 1941, a designer was born named Wolfgang Weingart. Weingart is well known internationally for his design and typography. In 1964, Weingart moved to Basel were he sat and begun to study typography and teach his ways of knowing to the students. Weingart retired in 2004 from teaching, but continues to teach summer programs through Basel. He is categorized a part of the Swiss typography, but he was the one to become first at breaking the grid as well be called “Swiss Punk”. Weingart is most famous for his experimental, expressive work that broke that grid that the Swiss are well known for.

It was when Weingart started teaching at Basel when people started to ask the question ‘what is Swiss typography?’ As designers, we know it is based off of grid systems, which helped with placing type and image on a page. Also the Swiss worked along with sanserif typefaces because it was a clear way of getting the message out there. Weingart on the other hand feels that his experimental typography is also Swiss because of the ‘natural progression’ from how we know the Swiss typography. Weingart explained that his experimental typography was grounded, which were on his understanding of semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic functions.

As we know it, Weingart’s inspirations were mainly drawn from his experience in the processes of typesetting and reproduction, where he is able to push the limits of the outcome. Weingart also believes in that all you need is four typefaces to any typographic problem. With his experimentations, it expanded over three different typesetting technologies. Weingart wasn’t so enthralled to the computer technology because he felt like it was too ‘illusive’. As AIGA would say, ‘Weingart is making the young generation nuts’.

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Keith Tam
AIGA

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