Futu

ra
style weight
s an
s at
d
96
pt

FIG 1
Photograph of Paul Renner
E. Wasow, c. 1930

studied landscape painting at traditional art

academies in Germany, then learned Graphic Design
in the workshops of the Debschitz Schule.
enner

FIG 3
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich,
ca. Early Twentieth Century

Akademie der Knste (Academy

curriculum in the rising field of

of the Arts) in Berlin, then later

graphic design. At that time, he

transferred to the Akademie der

was painting regularly, and saw his

Bildenden Knste Mnchen,

first exhibited painting at Munichs

(Academy of Fine Arts Munich)

Glaspalast (27) in 1907.

to complete his formal training as

a painter. He then spent a year
studying at the Debschitz Schule,

aaaa
where he concentrated in their

futura at 230 pts

FIG 2
Linotype typesetting machine, as
used in the Debschitz workshops.

Graphik program with a pioneering

light

book

heavy

bold

the emergence of paul renner

1897-1903

In 1897, Paul Renner attended the

not only did he create decorative

origin. For these editions, Renner

after: he worked as a Buchknstler

book spines, but he also designed

preferred not to use Gothic type, as

(book-artist) for Georg Mller

covers, front-matter, page

it would not appropriately convey

Verlag, a Munich-based publishing

templates, and chose typefaces

the source of the material. His

firm. He was offered the job when

and other specifications for the

choice was to use Roman type for

Mller gave Renner a strip of

printer. As seen (below) in his first

such books, an aesthetic which laid

cardboard corresponding to the

book about his design philosophy,

the foundations of his typographic

spine of a new book, and asked

Typographie als Kunst, Renner

philosophy.

him to make a design for it, without

made conservative judgements on

any further explanation. (28)

page design. Although a German

His obligations for these design

book publisher, Mllers collections

commissions were multifaceted:

included many books of Romantic

Futura Book
shown at
640pts

os

FIG 4
Interior spread of Typographie
als Kunst. Body text columns
are set according to medieval
manuscript proportions.
colored overlay: The page
margins are set in proportion
with the Golden Ratio (3:2:1),
6p x 4p x 2p.

the emergence of paul renner

Renners design career started soon

During his time working on Mllers

which had been the mainstay of

publications, he considered

German book design for hundreds

the majuscule forms of Gothic

of years. Before the unified nation

typefaces decadent, that their

of Germany even existed, Gothic

consecutive use in a line of text

varieties of typefaces identified

was more of a distraction to

the region as Germanic. His

the reader than a useful design

controversial opinion of Gothic

decision. Although not at the time,

would inevitably lead to great

he eventually came to completely

conflict with the National Socialist

reject the use of Gothic type,

(Nazi) party in the early 1930s.

Futura Book
shown at
640pts

Duc De Berry Dfr

hn

Cloister Black

Futura Book

the emergence of paul renner

Wittenburger Fraktur MT Standard

editions of books, new and old, for

installed, and began making long-

His typographic aesthetics took

believed that text on a page should

urban development following

twentieth century, Renner was still

Mller. His autonomy as a designer

distance phone calls to the book-

strong root during this decade,

appear as an even neutral grey

the industrial revolution. But as

very busy with Mller, and his

grew immensely during this stage of

binding firm in Liepzig, Hbel &

and he became staunchly opposed

against the white of the page.

machinery replaced the touch of

painting career took the back-

his career, as his commissioner was

Denck. He began taking freelance

to floridly decorative elements,

No portion of a letterform should

the hand in book production it

burner. He had rented a studio for

not available for proof-checking at

contracts with other publishers, and

ragged columns, and script. His

outweigh another, and no line of

decreased the quality, and Renner

painting, but it was instead full of

all times. Mller never had time for

soon Mller was forced to write up

example of perfect book-making

text should appear heavier than

responded prudently:

sketches, design templates, and

calm discussion during the week,

an exclusive contract for his work.

was a spread of three equal

another, unless comparing a Title

proof-sheets of books; in 1913,

so Renner often visited him on

margins of white-spacealways

Case line to that of an UPPERCASE

Renner alone designed 287

Sundays. Renner had a telephone

containing justified blocks of text.

one. His practicality in type-

(All of this in exception when

setting was equally matched by

dealing with poetry, which he

his devotion to the use of quality

understood to have a different

materials, which was seeing a

voice on the page than typical

steep decline as the book-buying

literature or non-fiction.) Renner

public swelled in the years of

FIG 5
Spine and cover design of his
first book, Typographie als Kunst,
illustrates Renners practical use of
Roman and Gothic type. For clarity
and ease of quick reading, the
spine is set in Roman capitals. The
elaborate Gothic forms are saved
for the cover, where the reader

Can hand- and machine-work really be so

different? To counter the damning of the
machine, I made a critical examination of all
work precesses producing the bound book and
compared at each stage the advantages and
disadvantages of hand- and machine-work.

the emergence of paul renner

But in the first two decades of the

11

FIG 6
Dessau Bauhaus.
Dessau, Germany

1919

FIG 7
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany,
Emperor during World War One.

production. With a different

to be made by a skilled hand

in hand-crafted pieces versus

philosophy than the anti-Industrial

before assembly lines could take

machine-work which produced

Arts and Crafts Movement, the

over. The Bauhaus exemplifies the

conformity and low quality pieces

Deutscher Werkbund sought to

philosophy of the Werkbund to

was integral to the Deutscher

reconcile the industry and the

its core: the idea of Sachlichkeit,

Werkbund. From the 1910s, Paul

skilled worker, seeing a future when

elegance of form balanced with

Renner involved himself greatly in

mechanically assisted production

practicality of function. From his

the thoughts and movements of this

possessed undiminished quality.

essay Buchgewerbe und bildende

organization of artists, designers,

Artisans held an honored place at

Kunst (Book Production and the Fine

craft workers, and even politicians,

the table, as factories would require

Arts), Renner describes Sachlichkeit

whom sought to reform the way

quality-control in their production

for fine-art book printing:

industrialization was effecting

lines, and prototypes would have

Immediately we perceive that its

products also serve a practical
purpose: that of being read. If they
are not suitable for this, they have no
more right to exist than a chair that
one cannot sit on.

13

Paul Renner & the Werkbund

12

the First World War underway, Paul

Renner was drafted into the rank of Senior
Lieutenant. He did not see combat, but
was put in charge of a recruiting depot
outside the city of Munich.
ith

The issue of the artistic uniqueness

illustration to expressive writing,

he could no longer work full-time

over the Debschitz Schule, in

Renner impressed an importance

for the school. His experience in

1914. It was renamed Mnchner

of understanding the entire form of

the army only strengthened his

Lehrwerksttten (Munich Teaching

a book, even if the students would

resolve toward designed order

Workshops) since he had

in professional practice only be

and control. During the First World

attended nearly ten years prior.

concerned with the typographic

War, industrial standardization was

The curriculum taught a new

issues of book design. His teaching

pushed globally for the benefit of

generation of students the skills

career was put on hold in 1919,

efficiency and military alliances.

required to work with national

when he left his position. During

Renner made his opinions clear on

publishers. The school was

his tenure, the First World War

those developing standards that

moved into the same building

broke out and the state subsidies

related to his work in book design

as a successful and powerful

for the institution dried up. He

and typography.

printing firm, so students received

was drafted into the army as a

experience with the commercial

Senior Lieutenant in charge of a

practice of book design. From

recruiting depot outside Munich, so

Futura Book
shown at
640pts

gc

15

Paul Renner & the Werkbund

14

At the age of 33, Renner took

FIG 8
Constructive letterforms
from early Futura sketches.
Paul Renner, 1924-27

Orthographic Reform

17

the attempt to resolve problems

Herbert Bayer created his universal

In 1930, Jan Tschichold revisited

into an international movement,

with spelling, grammar, and the

alphabet in 1926. There is no

the concept with his single

with its roots in Germany. Its

alphabet, in service of better visual

uppercase set of letterforms,

alphabet. As well as co-opting

teachers and students tackled big

communication. Designers like Paul

just one case based mainly on

Bayers basic geometric forms

issues in typography, ushering in the

Renner, Herbert Bayer and Jan

miniscules. He chose to use the

concept, he also chose capitals

era of New Typography. Most of

Tschichold proposed changes to

distinct uppercase forms for

the concepts of this manifesto could

the use of capital letters in German

while sticking with lowercase forms

than their lowercase counterparts.

be universally applied anywhere

sentences. Every noun and pronoun

for the rest of the alphabet. He

In comparison, he chose to

in the world, even with non-

is capitalized in German, and the

believed this would help resolve the

reshape the capital

Roman characters. One concept

reformists saw this as an overuse of

overuse of capitals, but Renner only

more cohesive with the rest of the

which was unique to German-

majuscules, which diminished the

saw a confusing blending of the

speaking cultures, however, was

hierarchical contrast between those

the issue of Orthographic Reform:

letterforms and lowercase forms.

capitals into miniscules.

FIG 9
Universal Alphabet
Herbert Bayer, 1926

and

which were more distinguishable

19

into a form

alphabet, but still recognizable as

FIG 10
Single Alphabet
Jan Tschichold, 1930

an e. He also kept the conventional

forms of

and k.

Orthographic Reform

18

The influence of the Bauhaus grew

As Renner tackled the early designs

of Futura, he developed several
alternative letterform shapes. These
forms mark his biggest contribution

21

to visually reduce the complexity

of the alphabet, to return it to
simple forms of human handwriting:
making symbols with basic shapes.

Examples
of Futuras
ear
letters com
pared to th ly
e
forms even
tually chos
en
for the fina
l release.

FIG 11
An early ty
pe specim
en of Futura
Paul Renner
.
, 1925

Orthographic Reform

20

to the debate on reform. He sought

FUTURA futura DIE

SCHRIFT UNSERER
ZEIT die schrift unserer
zeit THE TYPEFACE
OF OUR TIME the
typeface of our time

23

1927

Renner intended for Futura to be

g are compromised for universal

Futura in Frankfurt, creation

based on the fundamental shapes

readability. Under examination, the

spanned several years during

required to create each individual

counters of letters with combined

which revision after revision took

character: straight lines, rigid

simple forms like a and g show

its the form steps away from the

angles which added up to 360,

that the perfect circle has been

initial plan of purely geometric

and of course the circle. Indeed

squashed slightly to allow for the

shapes to a foundation based on

the basic forms like H, M, and O

straight forms to occur without

geometry but with an extremely

exemplify this course, whereas the

generating too much color weight

refined humanistic quality. Paul

eventual redrawing of a, r, and

in the letterforms.

25

Futura Book
shown at
300 pt

oga
FIG 12
Trial cut of Futura
ca. 1925

Futura

24

was initially released in three weights: Light,

Regular, and Bold, with oblique styles of each weight.
In subsequent releases, the constructivist forms (pictured
below) were removed and Renner added the Medium,
Heavy, and Extra Bold weights.
utura

Although Renner began designing

commissioning type foundry, Bauer,

baselines slightly, in the same way

Even today, Futura is used in

for these minuscules were almost

some of these early forms were

counters do in nearly all typefaces.

signage and text applications

bizarre. The r was comprised of

provided only as supplemental to

In the Heavy, Bold and Extra

around the world. When it was

a vertical stroke next to a filled in

the more conservative forms seen

Bold weights of the font, however,

released in 1927 to a modern-

circle, which produced the image

here. In the very beginning, though,

these apexes are cut, as they would

hungry market, it achieved such

of the familiar letter, but using

the rejected forms were a big part

become so present that they would

great success that it was called

strict geometric construction. The

of the initial positive reaction to

seem to optically vibrate throughout

die Schrift unserer Zeit (the

a was similarly produced with two

Futura. As far as majuscules, the

the white space of the leading. For

typeface of our time), and Renner

separate forms, a right angle above

most easily identified characters are

display-use point sizes, the Light

was made internationally famous in

a hollow circle to form a double-

A, M, N, V, W, and Z, because of

& Book weights produce elegant

the world of typography.

story version of the glyph. Due

the sharp apexes the strokes come

forms and even color throughout

to reservations on the part of the

to, which go beyond the cap- and

bodies of text.

AMNVWZ
AMNVZ
AMVZ

27

medium at 80pts

bold at 80pts

extra bold at 80pts

FIG 13
Lunar plaque placed on the Moon
during the Apollo 11 mission in1969.
All type set in Futura.
FIG 14
Poster designed by Hans Leistikow,
advertising a concert series during
the summer of 1927. It features nonaligning numerals not present in the
final release of Futura.

Futura

26

Moreover, the original drawings

Between 1927 and 1953, Paul Renner

designed 20 fonts for Futura, including 10
condensed variants for each weight and
style. He also used Futura as the basis for two
Schlagzeile. Steile Futura (pictured below)
was his last typeface. It blends some of
Futuras aspects with those from Grotesk type.

29

Futura

28

display fonts: Futura Black (right) and Futura

FIG 15

31

Character outlines
incised in copper plates
that served as patterns
for matrix engraving
during the production
of Futura (for the 20
point size of the regular
weight). c. 1925.
Outlines have been
extracted from intaglio
prints made from the
plates, and rendered
positive and right-way
round. Crossings out
and other marks on
the plates have been
retained. Not to scale.
FIG 16

Futura

30

32

33

some lettersforms and traits over othe

rs, which lead
to them to optically flicker. To build the
type matrices
for Futura, Renner used basic geomet
ry, trusting that
it held the key to achieving the bes
t visual balance.

Futura

Paul Renner believe that the negativ

e and positive
relationship between the typography
and the page
should be balanced: a neutral grey
. He felt that too
many typefaces put undue emphasis
on the design of

Futura

34
35

37

Adherence to simple geometric construction was only

the first step, however. Renner fine-tuned the angles
and widths of strokes as he determined them in need
optical adjustments. The circle, for example, is only
perfect in the o. He designed Futura wanting to not
totally forsake the fonts of the past in its making.

Futura

36

39

1933

FIG 17
ismus?
w
he
sc
ol
rb
Cover of Kultu
x 14.5 cm.
ca. 1932. 22
age: light red
Type: black; im

Near the beginning of March

via propaganda campaigns.

Werkbund, so products of the

1933, the Nazis had found great

They used posters, print, radio,

German graphic design trade were

success in the national election,

and even cinema to disseminate

chosen over other visual media.

and immediately began arresting

information. Renner argued that

Renner specifically contributed

and imprisoning political dissidents,

the culture the Nazis were trying

a slide show about the historical

of which there were many. The

to protect was not typical of most

evolution of letterforms. The director

previous year, Renner had his essay

Germans culture, which he felt

of the National Gallery in Berlin,

Kulturbolschewismus? (Cultural

was very cosmopolitan and open

Eberhard Hanfstaengl was sent to

Bolshevism?) published by a

to give and receive influence from

ensure the German display was

friend in Zurich, Switzerland. (Two

other cultures. Early that year,

suitable for foreign policy. He found

German publishers were forced to

Paul Renner gave a lecture in

several items, including the slide

reject it, because of the dangerous

which he denounced all forms of

show, to be unsuitable for display.

political environment during the

propaganda. Then, in March, he

He complained that there was a

Nazi uprising.) He believed the

supervised, from Berlin, the design

greater emphasis on Roman rather

widespread belief in the Nazi

of the German exhibit at the fifth

than Gothic type.

party was resultant of the lies and

Triennale exhibition in Milan.

misleading logic they distributed

The display was entrusted to the

Dr. Christopher Burke, with

quote from Paul Renners essay,
Kulturbolschewismus?

He observed that those Germans who

blamed the success of Jews for a lack
of their own success were in danger
of causing this noble word German
to acquire a fatal aftertaste.

41

Conflict with the Nazis

40

Renner had to have his anti-Nazi essay

Kulturbolschewismus? published by a Swiss
firm. No German publisher would take
the job, fearing the reprocusions from the
National Socialist party.
aul

vowed to her fianc, a man with

kept him from stirring up more

and office in Munich, it was raided

family ties to Hitler, that her father

trouble with the Nazi party, but

by Nazi Police. Several pieces,

was not a political dissident, that

when he attempted to return for

most notably his speeches and

he should be released and should

his daughters wedding, he was

copies of Kulturbolschewismus?,

keep his position as director of the

accused of spreading anti-German

were seized and used as evidence

Munich Meisterschule.

propaganda in Switzerland.

against him, even citing some

Less than a year later, however, as

While awaiting a meeting with

as Russian propaganda against

the evidence against him piled up,

the accuser in Munich (who never

Germany. He was taken into

Renner escaped to Switzerland.

showed), he missed the wedding

custody on April 4th, 1933, but

In Zurich, he consulted the Swiss

and was unable to see any of his

released the day after, on the terms

Tourist Board in regards to

family before returning to Zurich.

that he would report to the police

typography and graphic design.

every other day. His daughter

His absence from Germany

FIG 18
Opening spread from a booklet
for the Swiss Tourist Board.
Paul Renner, 1934.

43

FIG 19
A student design exercise
from the Meisterschule.
ca.1930. A4

FIG 20
Publicity leaflet. 1939. A5.
Designed and typeset by students
at the Meisterschule.

Conflict with the Nazis

42

While he was away from his home

readers, so the dissemination of

rejected their initial stance on

propaganda would be increasingly

Gothic typefaces, declaring that

harder the further from Germany the

the type was connected to the

Reich stretched. Their typographic

leading Jewish banker of 1930s,

choice would have to be Roman

Paul von Schwabach. The stretch

letterforms. Several late-war posters

of imagination that lead to this

contain Futura and the display

conclusion was that the prominent

version of the font, Futura Black.

45

Gothic script of the time was

Schwabacher. This reversal of
ideology had clear implications:
Gothic was illegible to non-German

FIG 21
Work, the protection against Anarchie!
123.9 x 94.6 cm.
Nazi propaganda poster with type set in
a Gothic font.

FIG 22
Dont give, Sacrifice
Nazi propaganda poster with
type set in Futura Black

Conflict with the Nazis

44

Later in the war, the Nazis

research sources

46

2
3

Burke, Christopher. Paul Renner: the Art

of Typography. New York: Princeton
Architectural, 1998. Print.

images

From Paul Renner:

Burke, Christopher. The Authorship of Futura

Baseline, issue 23 (1996): 33-39. Print.
9

Various Authors & Editors. Various Articles.

Wikipedia. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

&

the

Art

of

Typography

1 p. 13

14 p. 105

4 p. 43

15 p. 195

5 p. 42

16 p. 92

8 p. 87

17 p. 128

10 p. 116

18 p. 141

11 p. 87

19

&

20 p. 62

12 p. 88

From web sources:

2 www.woodsidepress.com/LINOTYPE.GIF
3 www.luirig.altervista.org/hq-images/photochrom-prints-vintage-posts
/04549-New-Academy-of-Fine-Arts--Munich--Bavaria--Germany.jpg
6 www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=61682161
7 www.dsm1918.de/EKTAS_DOWNLOAD/KAISER_WILHELM.jpg
13 spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo11/hires/s69-39334.jpg
21 www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004666187
22 herb.ashp.cuny.edu/archive/fullsize/opfern_1d3f804ae0.jpg

47

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