Jakob Erbar
Encyclopedia
Jakob Erbar was a German
professor of graphic design
and type designer. Trained as a typesetter for the Dumont-Schauberg Printing Works, before studying under Fritz Helmut Ehmcke and Anna Simons. Erbar went on to teach in 1908 at the Städtischen Berufsschule and from 1919 to his death at the Kölner Werkschule
. His seminal Erbar series
was one of the first geometric sans-serif typefaces, predating both Paul Renner's
Futura
and Rudolf Koch's
Kabel
by some five years.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
professor of graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and type designer. Trained as a typesetter for the Dumont-Schauberg Printing Works, before studying under Fritz Helmut Ehmcke and Anna Simons. Erbar went on to teach in 1908 at the Städtischen Berufsschule and from 1919 to his death at the Kölner Werkschule
Kölner Werkschulen
The Kölner Werkschulen were a series of schools in Cologne training artists in visual arts, architecture and design from 1926 to 1971.- Directors :* 1879–1906: Friedrich Romberg, engineers* 1906–1910: Gustav Halmhuber, architect and painter...
. His seminal Erbar series
Erbar (typeface)
In typography, Erbar or Erbar-Grotesk was the first geometric sans-serif typeface ever created. Designer Jakob Erbar's aim was to design a printing type which would be free of all individual characteristics, possess thoroughly legible letter forms, and be a purely typographic creation...
was one of the first geometric sans-serif typefaces, predating both Paul Renner's
Paul Renner
Paul Renner was a typeface designer, most notably of Futura. He was born in Wernigerode, Germany and died in Hödingen....
Futura
Futura (typeface)
In typography, Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed in 1927 by Paul Renner. It is based on geometric shapes that became representative visual elements of the Bauhaus design style of 1919–1933...
and Rudolf Koch's
Rudolf Koch
thumb|250px|[[Fraktur]] fonts by Rudolf KochRudolf Koch was a leading German calligrapher, typographic artist and teacher, born in Nuremberg. He was primarily a calligrapher with the Gebr. Klingspor foundry. He created several typefaces, in both fraktur and roman styles...
Kabel
Kabel (typeface)
Kabel is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by German typeface designer Rudolf Koch, and released by the Klingspor foundry in 1927. The face was named to honor the newly completed trans-Atlantic telephone cable...
by some five years.