Lars Müller

Helvetica

Homage to a Typeface

In 1957, Swiss typographer Max Miedinger came up with “Haas Grotesk.” Renamed Helvetica after 1960, this typeface went on to become one of the world’s most used typefaces ever. It embodies the myth of Sachlichkeit, propagated at the time by Swiss Typography. This book sings the praises of this shift-worker and solo entertainer of typefaces, of its forgotten creator and all those who have contributed to its unparalleled international march of triumph over the past decades. Superb applications are juxtaposed with an anonymous collection of ingenious, charming and hair-raising samples of its use.

In 1957, Swiss typographer Max Miedinger came up with “Haas Grotesk.” Renamed Helvetica after 1960, this typeface went on to become one of the world’s most used typefaces ever. It embodies the myth of Sachlichkeit, propagated at the time by Swiss Typography. This book sings the praises of this shift-worker and solo entertainer of typefaces, of its forgotten creator and all those who have contributed to its unparalleled international march of triumph over the past decades. Superb applications are juxtaposed with an anonymous collection of ingenious, charming and hair-raising samples of its use.

Author(s): Lars Müller

Design: Integral Lars Müller

12 x 16 cm, 4 ¾ x 6 ¼ in

256 pages, 400 illustrations

paperback

2004, 978-3-03778-046-6, English
CHF 20.00

Lars Müller

Lars Müller Bücherstapel Hoch

Lars Müller was born in Oslo in 1955 and has been based in Switzerland since 1963. After becoming a graphic designer in Zurich and extended travels, he started a one-year assistant position with designer Wim Crouwel in Amsterdam. Having founded his own studio, Integral Lars Müller, in Baden (Switzerland) in 1982, Müller established a long-lasting friendship with his mentor Josef Müller-Brockmann. In 1983, Müller published his first book and, as Lars Müller Publishers, has produced some 800 titles to date.

Lars Müller is a passionate educator and has taught at various universities in Switzerland, Europe, the USA and Japan. Müller frequently serves on academic and competition juries. From 2009 to 2015 he was a member of the jury of Design Preis Schweiz and from 2013 to 2015 the international president of AGI Alliance Graphique Internationale.