Typography is visible to the human eye in every aspect of daily life and design. The choice on typographic style on a given product or object can decide on how we act with it / on it. Therefore choosing and creating the correct typography is important to create the same idea and meaning behind the object e.g. Playful font on a children’s toy allows us to think that this is a non harmful object and safe, perfect for children.
Born in Ledzig, Germany, 1902, April 2nd, Jan Tschichold became a world known graphic designer and typographer for his unique work, although Jan also specialised in many other fields in artistisc roles like: an author, teacher & lastly a calligrapher, which allowed him to broaden & explore his artistic capabilities.
Tschicholds father has from an early age introduced lettering design to Jan Tschicholds life as his father was a local writer. Despite being inspired to create typography and graphic arts, Jan continued with his career as a ‘illustration teacher’ to have a secure future and as Jans’ artistic interest grew more daily, his curiousity in arts led him to viewing the first public art exhibition in Germany, school of Bauhaus.
Jan Tschicholds art has changed subjectively after joining a modernist typography group named The Ring. The arts became more dynamic, spaced and explored using more of negative space in the designs. The group focused on using controversial techniques such as visual hierarchy of objects in the designs and strictly using sans-serif fonts.
Grids are made up of horizontal and vertical lines visible across the design surface. They are used to help structure the designs to appropriate scale and positions but also to create an appropriate and clean layout for a specified task e.g. poster or website.