wiedler.ch

book (design) story #555

joseph gantner, hans bernoulli, peter meyer:
das werk

verlag gebr. fretz a.g., zürich, around 1928
printer: gebr. fretz a.g., zürich
size: 30 x 21 cm
designer: walter cyliax

founded in 1914, the periodical "das werk" was (and still is, now called "werk, bauen + wohnen") the official organ of both the federation of swiss architects (bsa) and the swiss werkbund (swb). here we have some issues from the years 1926-1928.

issue 2/1926 under the editorship of the swiss art historian joseph gantner (1896-1988) shows a traditional, symmetrical layout design, with blackletter titles on the inner pages.

the insert below is an original lithograph by otto baumberger.

in 1927 swiss architect hans bernoulli (1876-1959) took over as editor. the periodical was published and printed by the fretz company where walter cyliax (1899-1945) was art director. issue 10/1927 has still the same standardised cover, but a modernised layout of the inner pages, as seen in this obituary of the swiss expressionist painter albert müller. note that the photos are still centred on the page.

in 1928 a new standard cover design by cyliax was introduced: ...

... now aymmetric lines of huge sans-serif capitals express a modernist spirit!

issue 6/1928 covered the swiss section at the print industry's trade show "pressa" in cologne, ...

... with graphic designs by kunstgewerbeschule zürich teachers ernst keller and walter käch. they showed many of the highly regarded swiss posters. now the photos are placed asymmetrically.

there is an insert in issue 7/1928: a small exhibition poster designed by basel hyperrealist painter niklaus stoecklin.

great photographs of a modern garage building.

issue 11/1928 covers the (then) new grammer school building in winterthur, my home town.

i actually went to school there, and the rooms like the laboratory shown below looked not much different 50 years later!

in the 1928 issues, also the design of the ads turns more and more modernist.

the colour scheme of the covers was varied over the years.

bauhaus founder walter gropius contributed to this 1932 issue.

in the early 1930s the cover design changed again.

the january 1934 isssue ...

... featured zürich's modernist zetthaus building.