Erik Spiekermann | |
|---|---|
 Erik Spiekermann in 2020 | |
| Born | (1947-05-30)May 30, 1947 (age 77) |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation(s) | typographer, designer and writer |
Erik Spiekermann (born 30 May 1947) is a Germantypographer, designer and writer. He is an honorary professor at theUniversity of the Arts Bremen andArtCenter College of Design.
Spiekermann studiedart history atBerlin'sFree University, funding himself by running aletterpressprinting press in the basement of his house.[1]
Between 1972 and 1979, he worked as a freelancegraphic designer inLondon before returning to Berlin and foundingMetaDesign with two partners.
In 1989, he and his then-wife Joan Spiekermann startedFontShop, the first mail-order distributor for digital fonts.FontShop International followed and now publishes theFontFont range of typefaces. MetaDesign combined clean, teutonic-looking information design and complex corporate design systems for clients like BVG (Berlin Transit), Düsseldorf Airport, Audi, Volkswagen and Heidelberg Printing, amongst others.
In 2001, Spiekermann left MetaDesign over policy disagreements and started United Designers Network, with offices in Berlin, London, and San Francisco.
In April 2006, theArt Center College of Design in Pasadena awarded Spiekermann an Honorary Doctorship for his contribution to design.[2] His family of typefaces for Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), designed withChristian Schwartz, received a Gold Medal at the German Federal Design Prize in 2006, the highest such award in Germany.[2] In May 2007, he was the first designer to be elected into theEuropean Design Awards Hall of Fame.[3]
In January 2007, UDN was renamed SpiekermannPartners. In January 2009, SpiekermannPartners merged with Dutch design agency Eden Design & Communication and continued its operations under the name Edenspiekermann .[4] Edenspiekermann currently run offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, San Francisco and Los Angeles.He now runs an experimental letterpress workshop in Berlin, Hacking Gutenberg (www.hackinggutenberg.berlin)
Spiekermann is considered a very influential personality in the field of typeface design and information design.[5] He often attends international meetings, and has been giving a substantial contribution in several fields, such as app development and public wayfinding.[6][7][8]
Spiekermann has designed many commercialtypefaces as well as typefaces as part of corporate design programmes.[9][10]
Spiekermann co-authoredStop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works. He also participated in the creation of numerous corporate identities and other works, including redesigns of the publicationsThe Economist andReason.[14]
Spiekermann also appeared in thedocumentaryHelvetica.
