about Spiekermann

Eric Spiekermann is one of the most well-known typographers of our time. He designed typefaces such as Meta, Officina FF Info, created corporate identities for the german government, VW and Audi and founded Meta Design, Fontshop and United Designers, now SpiekermannPartners.

What kind of role do ethics & sustainibility play in this very specific field of design? How does Spiekermann define his philosophy towards his work?
I put together some interviews and his profil on SpiekerBlog, which is a always worth a visit.

When it comes to the design of typefaces, Spiekermann sees himself as more of a problem solver than an artist as "a designer visualizes a client's issues, problems, brief. An artist his own. Designers and artists use artistic means to show their concepts and designers also use intuition. Thus the confusion. But if i wanted to work like an artist, i would have become an artist and not a designer. I also use science more than an artist would."
"If a design project, however, is to be considered successful – and that would be the true measure of quality – it will not only solve the problem at hand, but also add an aesthetic dimension beyond the pragmatic issues."


What makes a good typeface?

> What makes a good typeface is decided by the users, not the designer.
> Most good typefaces have been designed for one purpose, they do not come from a designer’s whim.
Bodoni designed all his faces for specific books, Times was designed for the newspaper, Frutiger for signage at Charles de Gaulle airport, Helvetica to appeal to certain graphic designers, Bell Gothic for the American telephone books, Gill for a shopfront, Century for a magazine, Meta for the German post office.

> There are certain laws of perception as well as cultural traditions which a typeface has to adhere to.
> It has to look almost like all the others, but...
> just be a little different

His process for beginning a new typeface is simple and straightforward. “Identify a problem – like space saving, bad paper, low resolution, on-screen use – then find typefaces that almost work but could be improved,” he explains. “Study them. Note the approaches and failings. Sleep on it, then start sketching without looking at anything else.”

Although Spiekermann has quite high values concerning a practical and sustainible use of his designs on their own, he has never refused to work on projects for clients that produce polluting and in a way superflous „products“ as the automotive or the aeronautic industry.