
Hermann Zapf (1918-2015) - weinzierl
http://typedrawers.com/discussion/987/hermann-zapf-8-november-1918-4-june-2015
======
weinzierl
There is a fascinating short (19 min) documentary about Hermann Zapf from
1967[1].

    
    
         The Art of Hermann Zapf
         a film on the purpose and techniques of calligraphy
    
    

It shows Zapf doing calligraphy with various tools and explaining how he does
it and what's important to him. Near the end (14:35) you see him doing
calligraphy with a ballpoint pen which is most fascinating.

Hermann Zapf said that showing him lettering through a glass plate was his own
invention and large quantities of alcohol were involved in convincing the film
crew to bring the idea to execution ([2] in German).

The film is also a short introduction into the history of lettering from the
Romans to the computer type of the 60s. You can see Zapf's castle built 1460
at 3:25.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jD4CpzIuR4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jD4CpzIuR4)

[2]
[http://www.linotype.com/de/5667/theartofhermannzapf.html](http://www.linotype.com/de/5667/theartofhermannzapf.html)

~~~
igravious
Thanks for those video links.

Cracking quote from the end of the YouTube link.

"Autocomposition, and computerized composition are already with us. Designing
types and letters for the new technology will increasingly involve mathematics
and the laws of electronics…. Tradition and progress must be logically united.
Does the new technology mean the serious lettering artist will be dispensable?
No. The alphabet remains. But we will have new tasks to learn. But in learning
them, we must take time to observe the world around us, and remember above all
the artist’s challenge: to ensure, despite technology and mass production,
that beauty is never lost."

------
aiaf
Computer Modern, the typeface built for TeX using Metafont that gives academic
and research papers that signature, serious look, was designed by Donald Knuth
with the guidance and advice from Hermann Zapf.

~~~
cactusface
I don't know, a lot of people I've met ditched CM for Times long ago because
you can squeeze a lot more text in, which matters for conference publication
page limits.

~~~
ethanbond
CM is a damn nice typeface, far better than Times in my opinion. Just because
people started using bad typography in order to appeal to some silly rule
doesn't mean CM is any worse of a face.

~~~
saryant
I always got a kick of the compliments I received from humanities professors
in college when I wrote my papers in LaTeX with CM.

------
weinzierl

        Hermann Zapf served as typographic advisor to both Dr. 
        Peter Karow (URW) and Professor Donald Knuth (TeX), the 
        pioneers of computerized typography whose legacy we all 
        benefit from today.

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haddr
Letters are boring, we see them everyday. Through its omnipresence appearance
we perceive them as a merely another form of visual communication.

And this is where we loose the hidden artwork. An unnoticed, visual pleasure
that few can really enjoy, and even fewer – create.

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alayne
I really liked Zapf's work. Here's a clip from the documentary Helvetica
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjaepids2Q0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjaepids2Q0)

~~~
weinzierl
It shows Zapf in his later years. His thoughts on Helvetica start at 2:20
([https://youtu.be/qjaepids2Q0?t=140](https://youtu.be/qjaepids2Q0?t=140))

------
DonHopkins

            Rest In ✌
          Hermann Zapf
        November 8, 1918
          June 4, 2015
    

[http://i.imgur.com/PKRP4gg.png](http://i.imgur.com/PKRP4gg.png)

------
cafard
Palatino, Optima, and Melior were heavily used, I would say overused, in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. A friend who went to Rochester Institute of
Technology when Zapf was there (as a visiting professor, I think), said that
in a lecture Zapf said that he had never intended Palatino to be used for body
text, producing some gasps from the audience.

But he did remarkable work.

------
Springtime
Genuinely saddened by his passing. An inspiration and legend in the type and
lettering field. Rest in Peace.

