Karl Gerstner

Karl GerstnerKarl Gerstner is one of the foremost Swiss graphic designers. In 1959, he and Markus Kutter founded the agency Gerstner + Kutter, which later became GGK Gerstner, Gredinger and Kutter. Before long, the agency had become one of the largest advertising agencies of international renown in Switzerland. After withdrawing from active agency work, Gerstner designed the corporate identities for such companies as Swissair, Burda and Langenscheidt and worked as

Karl Gerstner is one of the foremost Swiss graphic designers. In 1959, he and Markus Kutter founded the agency Gerstner + Kutter, which later became GGK - Gerstner, Gredinger and Kutter. Before long, the agency had become one of the largest advertising agencies of international renown in Switzerland. After withdrawing from active agency work, Gerstner designed the corporate identities for such companies as Swissair, Burda and Langenscheidt and worked as a world-wide identity consultant and designer for IBM. In this book Karl Gerstner recapitulates his now 50 years of active work as a graphic designer. The ups and downs of a designer´s professional life are vividly illustrated with samples of work, both realized and rejected by the client. Despite its didactic structure, the book´s tone is never moralizing: It is not Gerstner´s intention to tell how it should be done, but rather how he did it. And, like with his other books - Designing Programmes soon became a cult book in the sixties and Compendium for Literates was recently published in its fourth edition - Karl Gerstner succeeded in creating an astutely written and designed book. The graphic designer: Karl Gerstner, born 1930. Gerstner´s work has been honoured in numerous publications all over the world and shown at museums. In 1973, the Museum of Modern Art in New York ran an exhibition about method and philosophy of his work entitled "think program". The Art Director´s Club New York nominated him for its "Hall of Fame", the Art Directors Club Germany made him a honorary member in 1992.