Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 103
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Type Designers
Text
Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 103
Erik Spiekermann
German, –
Typefaces: Berliner Grotesk (), LoType (), Offi cina Serif (),
Meta (), Info (), Govan (), Unit (, with Christian Schwartz),
Bosch (, with Schwartz), Deutsche Bahn (, with Schwartz), Meta Serif ()
Erik Spiekermann is an accom-
plished type designer, graphic
designer, and typographic con-
sultant. A native of Hanover,
Germany, he spent fi ve years
working and lecturing in
London and now lives in Berlin.
From to ,
Spiekermann studied art
history in Berlin’s Free
University and ran a printing
and metal type business from
his basement. In , he
moved to London, where he
lectured at the London College
of Communication (formerly
called the London College
of Printing) and worked as a
freelance designer.
In , he returned to
Germany and founded Meta-
Design, which grew into
Germany’s largest design fi rm
with more than employees.
Spiekermann is also a prin-
cipal of the FontShop (; ),
a company dedicated to selling
high-quality PostScript fonts
from all major manufacturers.
In addition, FontShop, through
its subsidiary FontFont, creates
and promotes new fonts from
up-and-coming designers
and publishes the quarterly,
disc-only magazine Fuse.
The FontFont library
also includes several of
Spiekermann’s own typeface
designs, including FF Meta,
identifi ed as “the Helvetica of
the ’s” and one of the most
popular typefaces in the world.
Another of his typefaces,
Offi cina, is widely used in Web
design. Info, his latest, is
used for the navigation system
of a major European airport.
Spiekermann frequently
writes about type and typog-
raphy, including his book Stop
Stealing Sheep & Find Out How
Type Works, published by Adobe
Press. He holds an honorary
professorship at the Academy of
Arts in Bremen, Germany, and
teaches workshops at design
schools around the world.
In , the Royal Society of
Arts in London made Spieker-
mann an Honorary Royal
Designer for Industry. In ,
the European Union awarded
him Ambassador for the Euro-
pean Year of Creativity and
Innovation, and in , the
Federal Republic of Germany
presented him with a lifetime
achievement award.
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