Arrested in 1933 for opposition to the Nazi cultural agenda, Paul Renner was a catalyst for change. As the inventor of the Futura typeset, Renner has been credited to be the father of one of the most widely used sans serif typeface. With a lifetime planted in cultural upheaval of Germany during the Nazi movement, Renner spoke out directly in opposition to the Nazi agenda. Renner was in constantly pursuit of self-betterment. Renner did not limit it himself and thus was a graphic designer, typographer, type-designer, painter, and teacher. Renner’s influence on typography still reaches today.
Paul Friedrich August Renner was born on August 9, 1878 to a theologian father in what used to be the kingdom of Prussia, Wernigerode. Renner’s father raised his five sons alone after the death of his wife at an early age. Lacking a mother’s comforting care, Renner survived a strict upbringing, gaining a strong sense of German leadership. Later Renner reflected on his raising, stating that his strict Christian home, forced a lack of tolerance and gave no harbor to creative ideas. He described that the consequence of a raising a child, like in his own raising “takes foolishness far to seriously and attempts to scrub” the child’s “soul far to severely. Without a mother to counteract his strict father, he developed a lack of tolerance for himself and others. Renner attended a secondary known as a gymnasium that focused in humanities. The Renner family can be considered part of the cultural middle class do to Renner’s education. Renner receive nine years of Latin and German. After graduating Renner attended several art schools, where he studied painting and architecture in Berlin and finally ended his education in the year 1900. Renner valued his education but felt that upon entering the real world he lacked any ideals and lived in an “artificial world”.
Renner began his career as an commissioned artist, to paint landscapes for various organizations. Though Renner was trained as an artist, he choose to try and produce things that had a particular use. He began, to realize his desire to bring industry and art together to form visually appealing products. After meeting and eventually marrying his wife Annie, Renner became a father. In 1907 Annie gave birth to their first child and Renner decided that it was time to make a steady income to support his family. He found a job at the Munich Publishing Trade, as a book designer, designing book spines and covers. Paul Renner worked there from the years 1908 to 1917. Renner was able to use what he had learned as a painter in his book illustration. It was here that he started to come into his style, and sought to find a balance of type and illustration. In 1910 Renner became the co- founder of a small illustration school in Munich.
In 1910 Renner joined the German Werkbund, which was an organization founded by politicians, artists and industrial professionals to harbor quality in production. Due to the industrialization of Germany, a huge debate over technology swept over Germany, Renner’s originally conservative views eventually shifted to an advocation for technology. Renner led many debates arguing his strongly felt belief that a union of art and industry should be formed to benefit each party. Renner’s life saw many changes. With increasing technology in broadcasting, and cinema, and science beginning to find answers for all of man’s questions, he had to find a balance between two entirely conflicting worlds. Germany seemed to be torn between a world with technology and a world without it. The old world firmly held to the Gothic typefaces of before and though the fonts save space they were used for ornately and not for daily use. Renner became a transition between the traditional 19th century and the modern 20th century. While he didn’t believe in abstract art and many elements of his culture such as dancing, jazz or cinema, he was a firm believer in the functionality of modernism.
Renner had a affinity towards hard work, in the year 1913 he oversaw the publication of 287 new additions at the Munich Publishing Trade. Renner was a man of constant work, never wasting a moment. He developed a new set of standards for good book design and became well known for his innovations in the industry. Renner himself authored several books on his principals of design. Renner’s son in laws once said that “A day when he did nothing at least read nothing serious, was for him a day sadly lost. In 1926 he became the principal of the Printing Trade School in Munich, where he taught for several years. Jan Tschichold a good friend and fellow teacher also taught at the school.
As a transitional force, Renner sought to fuse the old Gothic typefaces with the new modern roman typefaces. In the years 1924 to 1926 Renner invented the type face known as Futura. Renner sought to remove the “national dress” of Germany with the introduction of his new typeface. He aimed to find a balance between lowercase and capitals. The Futura font was released by the Bauer Foundry in 1927. Futura was the result of the hard work of three individuals. Ferdinand Kramer an architect, Heinrich Jost, and Jakob Hegner all worked to produce the typeface. Kramer worked with Renner at the beginning of the Futura life Jost was a craftsmen at the Bauer foundry, and translated many of Renner’s sketches into working types. Futura was originally released in six weights, three condensed forms, and one inline. The Bauhaus design style took on Futura to represent their message, and although many of Renner’s ideals lined up with the Bauhaus movement, he is not considered a part of it. Futura became the foundation for the “New Typography movement. Using the “form follows function” saying, Renner’s Geometric modernism font became the font of choice for professional designers.
Although Renner is not classically known to be associated with the Bauhaus movement, he known for leading “The New Typography” movement. He felt that roman was the backbone for the advancement of western text. Renner came under suspicion of the Nazis after they heard word of a number of slide shows presented by Renner that used a large amount of Roman type. In the year 1933 Renner published a booklet titled “Kulturbolschewismus” which criticized the Nazi’s cultural policy. As the power of the Nazi’s grew in the same year, no tolerance could be give for his actions and Renner was arrested while his house and apartment were searched. Renner was deemed a “Cultural Bolshevist”. Only after a plea directly to Adolf Hitler from Rudolf Hess was Renner released. Even after being released the following day he continued to speak out against the Nazis. Following the arrest he was fired, and to avoid the Nazis taking over his beloved school, he managed to strike a deal allowing his friend George Trump, to take his place.
In the same year the Bauhaus was shut for their opposition of the Nazi agenda and the United States became a new harbour for the many members. László Moholy-Nagy was one of the many immigrants fleeing, and eventually created the Chicago school of design which taught the same curriculum. In the year 1941 the Nazis changed their views and decided to ban the Gothic type, blackletter, because it threatened their agenda, and welcomed in the new modern type. From 1934 until the end of his life Renner worked as a painter, though he retired in 1945. Although much less widely known, Renner created the TOPIC typeface in the years 1953 to 1955 which is characterized by its alternate rounded characters for “A, E, M, and W”. Shortly following the introduction of the TOPIC typeface Paul Renner died on April 25, 1956 at the age of 78.
Renner used all that he new to help shape culture through his writing, designing, and teaching of others. The strict childhood hood that molded his life, became his means of accomplishing his objectives. Renner’s constant striving for self betterment and afinity for hard work made him a proponent for change. Never backing down from his ideals, in the face of great opposition made him a strong force for change. By working to bring industry and art together Renner was able to find balance in a world of change. The Futura, font has left a lasting dent in the world of typography, and if nothing else will live on in the projects of design students. Paul Renner’s influence in the world of design will surely not be forgotten.
Futura
Futura Black
Futura Condensed
Futura Display
Futura Extra Bold Shaded
Futura Serie
Plak Black
Steile Futura
Topic
Futura- Modern sans serif
-based on geometric shapes
-perfectly circular o's
-very triangular circular, and square forms
-even weights
-low contrast
-tall lowercase ascenders
http://www.linotype.com/762/paulrenner.html
http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/2533/BookRevRenner.htm
http://www.creativepro.com/article/the-bauhaus-designer-paul-renner
Paul Renner: The Art of Typography, Christopher Burke
http://www.bildirgec.org/yazi/tipografi-ustalari-paul-renner
http://typophile.com/node/12191?http://www.identifont.com/show?17B
In the year 1927
-The first transatlantic phone call is made from New York to London
-The great Mississippi flood affect 700,000 people
-Saudi Arabia becomes independent
-Ford releases the Model A
-Earthquake in palestine kills 300
