Armin Hofmann was born in Switzerland in 1920. For his formal education, he attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Zurich and in 1947, he started teaching at the Basel School of Arts and Crafts. It was here that Hofmann introduced a graphic design course in 1968 and became the Head of Graphic Design soon after. He has also taught for various lengths at the Philadelphia College of Art and Yale University.

Hofmann’s most lasting impact is arguably his handbook that serves as a perfect starting point for contemporary design practices. He called his rational approach to the essential design principles the Graphic Design Manual. Even after being published in 1965, his textbook is serving as a valuable tool for a new generation of designers decades later.

Fully black and white, the Graphic Design Manual showcases elements of image and form that are analyzed and examined with regard to their inherent laws, hence the lack of color in this presentation, as all the slides are inspired by the various examples featured in Hofmann’s handbook. This manual has been critiqued for being fairly rudimentary, but in a sense, that was Hofmann’s point, to introduce to his students the power of form and line. Hofmann saw his designs, in part, as didactic demonstrations of these principles.

The posters Hofmann created in the 1950s and 60s for cultural clients possess great typographic and photographic purity of form that he emphasized in his handbook. Hans-Ulrich Allemann, a student of Armin’s says that “In its purity of form and purposeful expression, Hofmann’s work is uniquely personal. It also has a soul.” For Robert and Alison Probst, who were also Hofmann’s students, these enduring designs are the work of “a master of his craft with a superior sense of aesthetics. His work deals with the universal language of signs and symbols, often including serendipity and always aiming for timeless beauty.”

“Hofmann’s sparing use of black and white had an argumentative and even ethical purpose. In the early days of the post-war consumer society, his work proposes a visual culture founded on an ideal of thoughtful restraint.”

Hofmann played an instrumental role in developing the graphic design style known as Swiss Style, which also explains the intense amount of Helvetica in this presentation as well.

In being not only one of the most influential designers of his time but also one of the most influential teachers, Hofmann had unique philosophies in teaching design that established a loyal following of students who also went on to become great designers and teachers themselves, one of them being Kenneth Hiebert, who was told before studying under Armin, “Wait till you get into Hofmann’s class … it’ll be like starting all over again.” And Hiebert agreed: “because Armin Hofmann didn’t let you merely utilize what you already knew. You had to strip that away, too, to immerse yourself into a new problem. Only at the end of this prolonged rite of passage, after everything superficial had been stripped away, would the student arrive at a piece of work that was legitimately subjective.”

It does not appear like one single event impacted Hofmann’s work, but rather a lifetime of engaging with his pupils is his legacy. While the thoughtfulness and dedication of Hofmann’s work can easily be noted from a glance, one can tell from the recollection of his students from their time studying under him, that teaching his craft, rather than practicing it, was his joy. Student Jerry Kuyper recalls that: “His charisma and energy were balanced with patience … he believed in the individual’s ability to discover and create, which enabled him to often just stand back and watch.” For Hofmann, the process of discovery was vital, however long it might take. “In all of his artworks, as with his students’ projects, Hofmann sought a kind of musical resonance, to which he gave the German word Klang. Hiebert describes this quality as the ‘convergence of visual logic and perceptual vitality.’”