The Development of Otl Aicher

Otl Aicher, also known as Otto Aicher, was a co-founder of the Ulm School of Design along with Indge School, his wife, and Max Bill, a former Bauhaus teacher. Ulm School, also known as Hochschule fur Gestaltung (HfG), was a renowned school for design in 1853 until it closed in 1968. He was known for his structural visual systems and typography (Kortunov). Aicher was a great educator, author, and graphic designer.

            Otl Aicher was arrested for refusing to join the Nazis, and was involved with the “White Rose resistance movement.” This was a movement against the Nazis in Germany. Aicher also was drafted into the Germany army to fight in World War II but tried to escape many times. When he finally escaped, he went into hiding, and then studied sculpture. After he was able to study sculpture, he opened the school in Ulm. While he was developing the Ulm School, his students were involved in visual identities. This included the Braun, a turntable, and Lufthansa, an airline that asked for a logo ("Font Designer – Otl Aicher.").

Munich Summer Olympics Logo, 1972, Otl Aicher

          One of his most famous works was for the 1972 Munich Olympics under his company, Buro Aicher. He created the logo, above, for the Olympics, which was very unusual, and some people say it resembles a sun while others say a cake. Many people did not like this logo, and wondered how it connected to sports. Others complained it looked like a doodle, and did not represent the countries. I believe that it is an interesting design, but not really for the Olympics. He also created the different pictograms for each event, which showed the different motion dynamics. They were created using a grid with different visual elements. The movement shown in the photos below make them eye catching. These games were trying to present Germany in a different light than in the 1936 Berlin Olympics under Hitler’s rule. However, terrorists attacked the games, and eleven Israeli athletes were killed ("Otl Aicher and the 1972 Munich Olympics").

Munich 1972 Olympic Event Icons, Otl Aicher

Additionally, he created the first Olympic mascot, which was the multi-colored dachshund, named Waldi. Dachshunds are fast, resilient, and agile, so it made a good mascot (Kortunov). A lot could be done with the Dachshund, with graphics and 3-D which also made him a good choice, and a good figure in my opinion.

Waldi, Munich Olympic Mascot, Otl Aicher, 1972

            Another accomplishment of Otl Aicher, was his writing. He wrote several books including “The Kitchen is for Cooking” in 1982, “Walking in the Desert” in 1982, “Critique of the Automobile” in 1984, and “Inside the War” in 1985. He also created pictorial books for the companies he designed for. He used his great photography for the books and they served as public relation devices. Aicher wanted to strip the aspects of propaganda from photography and even architecture (Cinamon).

          An additional creation of Otl Aicher is the typeface, Rotis, in 1988. He named it after the city where he worked, called Leutkirch im Allgau. This means “autonomous republic of Rotis”("Font Designer – Otl Aicher"). This was the bridge between sans and serif. There are four different types: Rotis serif, Rotis semi-serif, Rotis semi-sans, and Rotis sans serif.

Rotis Typeface, Otl Aicher

           Otl Aicher was a dynamic designer, and was able to contribute significantly to the world. He was influential with his visual designs, and was able to teach that to others at the Ulm School of Design. Aicher continued to work in Rotis, his home, until he died in a tragic traffic accident on September 1, 1991 (“Font Designer – Otl Aicher”).

Biblography:
"Font Designer – Otl Aicher." Otl Aicher. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.          <http://www.linotype.com/651/otlaicher.html>.
Kortunov, Denis. "Turbomilk." The Graphics Style of the 1972 Munich Olympics -. N.p., n.d. Web.          01 Mar. 2014.
"Otl Aicher and the 1972 Munich Olympics." Otl Aicher 1972 Munich Olympics. N.p., n.d. Web.        01 Mar. 2014.
"Otl Aicher." German Graphic Designers during the Hitler Period: Biographical and      Bibliographical References by Gerald Cinamon. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.