Helmut Schmid: Typography

The Austrian typographer Helmut Schmid was a master of his craft. He put his own spin on Emil Ruder’s teachings at the Basel School of Design while remaining faithful to the principles of clarity, simplicity and elegance. Blending eastern and western influences, Schmid honed his skills and put them into practice in the fields of editorial design, packaging of ethical drugs and visual identity of brands such as Pocari Sweat sports drink (Otsuka Pharmaceutical), Maquillage (Shiseido) and IPSA. He also produced independent publications in parallel, such as Typographic Reflections. Helmut Schmid Typography explores the typographer’s oeuvre in its entirety. The book’s generous design allows each image to breathe, and the accompanying texts narrate Schmid’s life and career in an informative but pleasant manner. Complementing the publications Weingart: Typography and Ruder Typography, Ruder Philosophy, this bilingual monograph completes the Basel school of typographic thought.