Günter Gerhard Lange

Biography

Type design, typography. Born 12 April 1921 in Frankfurt/Oder. 1939: military service. 1940: seriously injured in France, losing a leg; medical discharge from army. 1941-5: studied at the Leipzig Akademie für graphische Künste und Buchgewerbe under Georg Belwe. From 1945: assistant to Walter Tiemann; freelance work. 1949: moved to Berlin and studied at the Hochschule für bildenden Künste und Buchgewerbe. October 1950: freelance work; begins association with the Berlin typefoundry, H. Berthold. 1955-60: Taught typography at the Berlin Meisterschule für Grafik, Druck und Buchwerbe. 1961-90: Berthold’s art director. As head of type development he had full responsibility for Berthold’s type program. From 1964: taught typographic design at the Berlin Meisterschule für Graphik, Druck und Werbung. Lange also taught/lectured at the Kunstschule Alsterdamm, Hamburg (from 1972), Werbliche Akademie, Munich (from 1973), Lehristitut für Graphische Gestaltung (U5 Academie), Munich (from 1974). 2000: ten years after his retirement from Berthold, Lange returned to work on digital fonts. Received the Frederic W. Goudy Award from Rochester Institute of Technology (1989). Received the New York Type Directors Club Medal (2000). Lange’s typefaces (all issued by Berthold) include Arena New, Boulevard, Champion, Concorde, Derby, El Greco, Imago, Solemnis and Whittingham (with Dieter Hofrichter). (A complete list, with dates, is in baseline, 18, 1994.)

Writings by

  • ‘Über die Psychologischen Hintergründe der heutigen Grotesk-Mode. Eine Betrachtung’, Imprimatur, 1958/60, pp. 230-33
  • ‘Betrachtungen zur gegenwärtigen typo-graphischen Entwicklung’, Polygraph Jahrbuch, 1964, pp. 76-82
  • ‘Über die Modifikation des Schriftbildes im Blei- und Photosatz’, Polygraph Jahrbuch, 1965, pp. 216-30
  • novum(interview), March 2006, p. 41.

Writings about

  • www.atypi.org/leipzig2000
  • www.bertholdtypes.com/info
  • www.typos.net
  • showing of Derby, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Feb. 1954, p. 56
  • Das Buchgewerbe, Dec. 1947 (type chart)
  • WM, 1966
  • Berthold Types, Munich: Berthold Berlin & Callwey, 1985
    • Mike Daines and Reg White, ‘GG Lange – style with precision’, baseline, 18, 1994, pp. 24-9
  • showing of Arena, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Jan. 1953, p. 56
  • showing of Solemnis, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., June 1954, p. 54
  • showing of Boulevard, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., April 1955, p. 56
    • Berthold ad celebrating Lange’s 80th birthday, baseline 33, 2001, p. 47 Wolfgang Baum, ‘GG Lange the teacher’, baseline 34, 2001, pp. 25-32 (tr. Wendy Nowak)
  • showing of Champion, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Aug. 1958, p. 57