Karl Gerstner

Karl Gerstner (1930–2017) is presented as “Künstler, Autor, Grafiker” in the retrospective devoted to him at Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich (2003–2004), a description that illustrates the documented diversity of his activities.

He trained at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in Basel from 1945 to 1948, attending classes taught by, among others, Armin Hofmann and Emil Ruder, while also serving an apprenticeship at Fritz Bühler’s studio. In 1949, he opened his own graphic design studio in Basel. In 1955, according to sources, he became the youngest member of the Werkbund association and took charge of producing a special issue of the journal Werk, revising its typographic layout.

Among his first public activities was his first solo exhibition, at Club Bel Etage in Zurich in 1957.

His collaborations led to a professional partnership: in 1959, he cofounded the agency Gerstner+Kutter with Markus Kutter. The agency evolved in 1962 with the arrival of Paul Gredinger, adopting the name GGK; Gerstner withdrew from day-to-day management in 1970, while continuing to act occasionally as a consultant on certain assignments.

Alongside his graphic practice, he published reflections and systems: Programme entwerfen (Designing Programmes, 1964), Kompendium für Alphabeten (1972), and books devoted to colour, such as Der Geist der Farbe (1981) and Die Formen der Farben (1986). He also designed typefaces: two of his typographic designs were distributed by the Berthold type foundry. His work was shown in Switzerland and abroad, notably in a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Designing Programs/Programming Designs, February–March 1973), his participation in Prinzip Seriell at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf (1974), and the monographic retrospective organised at Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich (2003–2004).

In 2006, his archive was placed on deposit / bequeathed to the Prints and Drawings Department of the Swiss National Library, a development relevant to the preservation and study of his work.