Ruder typography

(Ruder and Schmid, 2017)

Ruder, E. and Schmid, H. (2017). Ruder typography Ruder philosophy. Zürich: Lars Müller Publishers.

Emil Ruder is arguably the best when it comes to using and understanding Univers, "Ruders typography with Univers looked refined and light and made Swiss design appear heavy and dated" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.11). He was an influential figure during his time at the Basel School of Design and has had a lasting impression on graphic design. 

Reading about Emil Ruder's thoughts on the typeface and typography as a whole will provide a good foundation in understanding the past interpretations of Univers.

This is what Kiyonori Muroga, editor in chief of Japan's foremost magazine on graphic design idea magazine, had to say about Ruder.

"Ruder alone communicates the genuine meaning of the word, 'typography' because he began 'from the inside', as a typesetter, and was grounded in its discipline" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.9). 

"Ruder worked within the bounds of technical constraints to create that functioned as a consummate information communicator and was truly beautiful"  (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.9). 

"Swiss typography, its style too stiffened by its emphasis on systematic composition, Ruder strove for emancipation from concern over the details and the whole"  (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.9)

"White space is not merely void; it represents a significant presence. His interests extended typography to music, art and Oriental thought. Ruder developed an independent typography from within this integration"  (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.9)

"Ruders perpetual concern was creating contemporary typography that kept pace with the development of information technology but never lost its humanity"  (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.9).

Much like the observation made by Kunz, Ruder became aware that the counterform is just as important as the form through exposure of ancient Eastern Asian philosophy. 

"The oriental philosopher holds that the essence of created form depends on empty space. Without its hollow interior a jug is merely a lump of clay, and it is only the emptiness that makes it into a vessel" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.10).

Asymmetry became a large component of Ruders teaching, as he realised that "nowhere do we find it expressed so beautifully that asymmetry is related to the simple, the plain and natural, as well as to the fresh and imaginative" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.10).

"Ruder was a master of the natural and honest typography, which stands in contrast to the modernistic, the trendy, the empty" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.11).

Thoughts on typography

"Contemporary typography is not primarily based on the flash of inspiration and striking idea. It is based on the grasp of the essential underlying laws of form, on thinking in connected wholes, so that it avoids on the one hand turgid, rigidity and monotony and on the other had unmotivated arbitrary interpretation" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.11).

Aims for the teaching of typography at AGS, Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel, 1942

To strive for a typography as an expression of our time. 

Rejection of formalism and mere imitation of earlier epochs in typography. 

The feeling for material authenticity and material honesty as the basis of every typographic design.

To encourage an intensive experience of colour and form

To bond typography with other disciplines of our time:

graphics, painting, music, literature and attitude.

(Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.17)

On typography and the importance of a designers personality.

"Every artist struggles with the twofold determination, to reflect his personality and his time. Typography is artistic expression, and it is not presumptuous to elevate these two demands also for the designer compositor. Personality and typography cannot be separated. The designed work reveals the creator's inner self, it reflects his maturity. No design books, no recipes or rules will lead to a mature work; they rather serve most of the time to span the emptiness of the inner self. They lead us to numbness and therefore, in the end, to a soulless factory work. Any printer who loves his profession will be dissatisfied with such an outcome" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.38)

"We can only begin to understand contemporary typography when design is interwoven in the closest possible way with the spiritual, social, scientific and technical manifestations of today" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.57)

On asymmetry 

"Good asymmetry: the construction with typographical elements on a plane, the actuation also of the unprinted plane."

Ruder on specific aspects of letterforms

"In the case of majuscules, static and quiescent letters without any sense of motion are rather more common: A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Y. The minuscules on the other hand, show a stronger tendency to the right, and only i, l, o, v, w and x abstain from this movement" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.95)

"The beauty of a typeface comes fundamentally out of its proportions. Its basic forms, the relationship between printed and unprinted areas, is what determines its artistic merit"(Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.96)

"Forms are created from the inside to the outside, and a well designed object achieves its beauty precisely from this simple and expedient attitude" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.96)

Ruder on Univers

"The design is neither based on existing sans-serifs nor does it rebel against the past" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.119).

"Throughout the Univers alphabet rigid, geometrical pattern is superseded by sensitive optical variations derived from the finest achievements of Roman lettering. The comparatively large x-height ensures effortless reading in all sizes and at the same time prevents the capitals from dominating the text page. All characters are properly proportioned setwise, the width of individual letters being in proportion to the space between them. The balance of the alphabet gives a chain-like effect to the printed letters, the eye of the reader is guided along the line" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.138)

"The most important element in the family, its basic fount, is Univers 55 from which all others have been derived" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.138) 

"21 different fonts of equal x-height, ascenders and descenders and subtly graduated weights, Univers is a masterpiece of co-ordination and logical thinking" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.139)

Univers aimed to make the life of the typesetter easier through its multitude of font options. "With Univers, he will never be at a loss to find the right weight, the right width for even the most demanding job" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.139). This allows the typesetter to "keep within the single family, with recourse to foreign elements" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.139). 

A possible focus for the brief would be to centre the process making around analog techniques, "all the main cultures of the past were based on craftsmanship, and creative articulation is impossible without the resistance of material and technique" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.168). To work with physical renderings of the Univers typeface will help develop a better understanding of how to use the typeface effectively, as there is more of a connection between the typesetter and the printed matter, unlike designing on screen where the designer is not able to feel the material he is working with.  

Major points to take away from this reading

• Working from the inside out, "book design starts from the inside towards the outside, just as a house is planned from the inside towards outside..." (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.11)
• The counterform is fundamental in creating the form
• The inclusion of areas outside of typography such as music and art to help create visually dynamic design
• Asymmetry which prevents stagnation, "The art of the extreme Orient has purposely avoided the symmetrical as expressing not only completion, but repetition" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.58)
• Assimilation of the past into the present vernacular, "it is not that we should disregard the creations of the past, but that we should try to assimilate them into our consciousness"
• Style should not a quality to design towards. "The self-respecting designer does not give a jot about contemporary style. He knows that style cannot be created – it emerges, often unconsciously" (Ruder and Schmid, 2017, p.95)