Walter Haettenschweiler at his home with one of his paintings.
Three months ago this rarely mentioned Swiss designer died. He not only had a prolific life in the world of graphics, producing many postage stamp designs for the Swiss post office,
but he was also an illustrator and successful painter.
But for me he will be remembered for his type design and in particular, the face he created in 1954. It was tall, dark and handsome and called Schmalfette Grotesk. It graced the pages of the highly influential German magazine Twen art directed by the wonderful Willy Fleckhaus from the late 1950’s.
Schmalfette Grotesk in action on a spread from Twen.
WalterHaettenschweiler co-authored 3 volumes of Lettera an annual book created for lovers of all things type.
Walter holding a copy of Lettera featuring his eponymous Schmelfette Grotesk on the right.