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In 1952, the competing Swiss trade journals Schweizer Graphische Mitteilungen and Revue suisse de l’imprimerie merged with Typografische Monatsblätter (TM), a monthly periodical advertised as the leading publication of the Swiss graphic design industry. Tailored to a diverse audience of design professionals, the magazine published articles in German, French, and English under the editorial direction of Rudolf Hostettler (1919–81), with Robert Büchler (1914–2005) overseeing its initial art direction. Unlike many contemporary trade publications that focus primarily on showcasing finished work, TM combined writing on professional practice with long-form essays devoted to design theory and criticism. From the early ’50s through the ’60s, both the journal’s editorial content and visual approach were strongly influenced by contributing editor Emil Ruder (1914–70), whose tenure at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel helped to establish the foundational principles of Swiss Style.

In 1972, the editorial board of Typografische Monatsblätter (TM), one of the leading trade journals in Switzerland, approved a series of cover designs intended to lay the groundwork for the publication’s new artistic direction. Enlisting newly appointed board member Wolfgang Weingart (1941–2021) to produce fifteen covers for the 1972 and ’73 print runs, the outcome inspired both high praise and harsh criticism from a design milieu accustomed to the quiet precision of former art director Robert Büchler (1914–2005) and regular contributor Emil Ruder (1914–1970). Weingart’s provocative covers invited an unprecedented level of controversy by appearing to flout the fundamental principles of modernist design. Instead, his iconoclastic approach struck at the very heart of the Swiss tradition.

Letterform Archive is honored to welcome author, artist, educator, designer, and podcast pioneer Debbie Millman as a guest curator for our latest reading room exhibition. Tristram Shandy, The First Modern Book showcases a book that, in many ways, feels astonishingly modern—even though it was first published 266 years ago in 1760.

यह लेटरफॉर्म आर्काइव पर प्रकाशित होने वाला पहला हिंदी लेख है। इसमें दुनिया भर से आई वस्तुएँ शामिल हैं, और यह लेख उनके कुछ चुने हुए उदाहरण प्रस्तुत करता है। इसे लिखने का उद्देश्य सिर्फ़ नए पाठकों तक पहुँचना नहीं है, बल्कि रॉडिकल एक्सेस के विचार को आगे बढ़ाना है, जिस पर लेटरफॉर्म आर्काइव की नींव रखी गई है।

Donated along with their collection in 2016, Emigre’s font development files represent a rare comprehensive view of a digital type foundry’s process. After two years of work, the collection is now digitized in full, a world’s first for such an archive. A selection of objects will be made available to the public through the Online Archive.