Rajesh Punjabi03812304GR616 - InfluencesGerard Unger

In Arnhem, Netherlands, Gerard Unger was born in the year 1942. Unger began his formal training in design and typography while studying at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam from 1963 until 1967. Working primar-ily as a freelance designer, Unger has designed magazines, newspapers, books, logo’s, corporate identities, and many typefaces. In 1981, Unger was commissioned to design Dutch coins (Figure 12.1) and postage stamps and in 1984, he designed special digits for Dutch telephone directories.

Unger became a board member of the Association Typographique Internationale and member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. He was also a part time professor at both the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication of The University of Reading (UK), and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He later taught at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence in 1979 and Stanford University in California in 1985.

Unger’s reputation is built upon his recognition as a digital type designer including Markeur (1972), M. O. L. (1975), Demos (1976), Praxis (1976), Flora (1980), Hollander (1985), Oranda (1992), Amerigo (1987), Cyrano (1989), Swift (1989), Argo (1991), Decoder (1993), Gulliver (1993), Swift 2.0 (1995), Capitolium (1998), Paradox (1999), Coranto (1999), Vesta (2001). Swift and Gulliver are currently used internationally in newspapers and magazines. The Capitolium typeface was developed for his redesign of the informations system and signs for Rome in the year 2000 (Figure 12.3). The design is derived from Roman traditions in the use of lettering.

The type designer was awarded the Dutch national H.N. Werkmanprize in 1984 for the way he reconciled type design and technological advancements. In 1988, he won the Gravisie-prijs for his Swift typeface, and in 1991 the Maurits Enschedé-Prize for all his type designs. Unger’s book entitled, “Terwijl je leest” (While You’re Reading) was published in 1995. Today, Unger lectures about his work and designs all over the world however, most of his appearances are in Holland.

Figure 12.1

Figure 12.2

Figure 12.3

[Above] Dutch Queen Beatrix Stamps. 1981. Design by Peter Struycken. Letters and numbers by Gerard Unger.

[Pg 3, Top] Swift font. 1989. Gerard Unger.

[Pg 3, Middle] Capitolium font. 1998. Gerard Unger.