Ernst Bettler
Encyclopedia
Ernst Bettler is a fictional Swiss
graphic designer
. He was invented by Christopher Wilson in a 2000 hoax
article published in the second issue of Dot Dot Dot
, a magazine of visual culture.
According to the article, Bettler was asked in the 1950s to design advertisement poster
s for Pfäfferli+Huber (P+H), a Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer. The article states that Bettler knew of the company's involvement in Nazi concentration camp experiments and decided to accept the commission with the intention of damaging P+H. The four posters he created, Wilson's article recounts, were exemplary works of International Typographic Style
design, advertising P+H drugs such as "Contrazipan". However, according to the article, the posters featured abstract compositions that could be read as capital letters – spelling out "N - A - Z - I" when displayed in sequence. Wilson's article states that the public outcry that followed the public display of the posters ruined P+H in a matter of weeks.
Even though it was highly detailed and featured many photographs and illustrations, the article was a complete fabrication. Ernst Bettler, Pfäfferli+Huber and its drugs do not exist, and neither do the Swiss towns "Sumisdorf" and "Burgwald" that feature in the article – their names are presumably based on the real Swiss towns of Sumiswald
and Burgdorf. Nonetheless, the story was well received in graphic design circles. Among others, the September/October 2001 "Graphic Anarchy" issue of Adbusters
magazine hailed Bettler's work as "one of the greatest design interventions on record", and the 2002 graphic design textbook Problem Solved
by Michael Johnson covers Bettler as one of the "founding fathers of the 'culture-jamming' form of protest".
Wilson's article was first revealed to be false in a 2002 entry in the blog
Lines and Splines by Andy Crewdson. The Bettler hoax and its reception was subsequently covered by Rick Poynor
in an article in the February 2003 issue of Eye
magazine, as well as by other blogs.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
. He was invented by Christopher Wilson in a 2000 hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
article published in the second issue of Dot Dot Dot
Dot Dot Dot (magazine)
Dot Dot Dot is a magazine of visual culture produced end edited by graphic designers Stuart Bailey and Peter Bilak. Since Dot Dot Dot 7, each issue of the magazine has been widely available as a paperback book...
, a magazine of visual culture.
According to the article, Bettler was asked in the 1950s to design advertisement poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s for Pfäfferli+Huber (P+H), a Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer. The article states that Bettler knew of the company's involvement in Nazi concentration camp experiments and decided to accept the commission with the intention of damaging P+H. The four posters he created, Wilson's article recounts, were exemplary works of International Typographic Style
International Typographic Style
The International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style, is a graphic design style developed in Switzerland in the 1950s that emphasizes cleanliness, readability and objectivity. Hallmarks of the style are asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif typefaces like Akzidenz Grotesk, and...
design, advertising P+H drugs such as "Contrazipan". However, according to the article, the posters featured abstract compositions that could be read as capital letters – spelling out "N - A - Z - I" when displayed in sequence. Wilson's article states that the public outcry that followed the public display of the posters ruined P+H in a matter of weeks.
Even though it was highly detailed and featured many photographs and illustrations, the article was a complete fabrication. Ernst Bettler, Pfäfferli+Huber and its drugs do not exist, and neither do the Swiss towns "Sumisdorf" and "Burgwald" that feature in the article – their names are presumably based on the real Swiss towns of Sumiswald
Sumiswald
Sumiswald is a municipality in the district of the Emmental administrative district in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.-Geography:Sumiswald has an area, , of . Of this area, or 47.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 46.3% is forested...
and Burgdorf. Nonetheless, the story was well received in graphic design circles. Among others, the September/October 2001 "Graphic Anarchy" issue of Adbusters
AdBusters
The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia...
magazine hailed Bettler's work as "one of the greatest design interventions on record", and the 2002 graphic design textbook Problem Solved
Problem Solved
Problem Solved is a controversial slogan on a t-shirt designed by Route 66 Attitude, a clothing line sold by major U.S. department store Kmart. The shirt depicts a male stick figure and a female stick figure arguing in the first frame , and in the second frame, the male pushes the female out of a...
by Michael Johnson covers Bettler as one of the "founding fathers of the 'culture-jamming' form of protest".
Wilson's article was first revealed to be false in a 2002 entry in the blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Lines and Splines by Andy Crewdson. The Bettler hoax and its reception was subsequently covered by Rick Poynor
Rick Poynor
Rick Poynor is a British writer on design, graphic design, typography and visual culture. He began as a general visual arts journalist, working on Blueprint magazine in London. After founding Eye magazine , which he edited from 1990 to 1997, he focused increasingly on visual communication...
in an article in the February 2003 issue of Eye
Eye (magazine)
Eye Magazine, The International Review of Graphic Design is a quarterly print magazine on graphic design and visual culture.- History :...
magazine, as well as by other blogs.