Fritz Eichler (Designer)

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Fritz Eichler (born February 24, 1911 in Differdingen , Luxembourg ; † August 17, 1991 in Königstein ) was a German art historian , painter , director and product designer . He was the first design director at Braun .

Life

Eichler studied art history and theater studies in Berlin and Munich with a focus on children's theater. In 1935 he received his doctorate in theater studies with a thesis on hand puppets and puppets. During the Second World War he was an army radio operator . In 1945 he moved to Frankfurt am Main, where he worked as a director and commercial filmmaker. From 1953 he was self-employed before he was employed by Braun in 1955 , where he initially produced advertising films. 1960 Eichler became head of the Braun design department. He remained employed until he moved to the supervisory board in 1973. He was a member of this until 1990. At Braun he was responsible for the collaboration with the Ulm School of Design , where he exchanged ideas with Otl Aicher and Hans Gugelot , among others .

As a close friend and advisor to Erwin Braun , whom he had met in World War II, he quickly developed into the highest authority in aesthetic issues. As the first design director, Eichler and his colleague Dieter Rams were responsible for Braun's design program and its philosophy.

plant

Braun SK 2 radio (1960)

Eichler was primarily a specialist in directing children for feature films. The best-known films he was involved in were Hab Sonne im Herz with Liselotte Pulver and Carl Wery and Das Doppelte Lottchen , in which he directed the twins at the request of Erich Kästner and Josef von Báky .

At Braun, Eichler, impressed by the Bauhaus Dessau , was supposed to "free the production program of all excess". He was continuously responsible for the coloring of the products, such as the Braun SK 4 radio / turntable combination , which was called Snow White's coffin , and the Sixtant electric shaver . One product that Eichler designed together with Artur Braun was the Braun SK 1 table radio from 1955. Some products from Eichler's work belong to the design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

For Eichler, design was an interdisciplinary project integrated into a cultural framework, located between technology, advertising and marketing.

The Braun design and thus Fritz Eichler are said to have a formative influence on current consumer products such as those from Apple .

Because of his affinity for children's theater and directing, Eichler also worked as a children's book author.

Working method

In an interview, Eichler answers the question of how he got into the electronics industry as a trained film and theater director as follows in his humility:

“... we were looking and there was no clear answer to the question of what equipment or advertising for modern lifestyles should look like. They asked for my contribution in the search. That's easy to answer. A good theater director speaks to the actors, he develops and rejects scenes, changes the stage design, tries to get ideas from all areas of life. He is constantly in conversation, he summarizes, he has to adapt to his budget and the audience - and also to them Think critics. I brought this way of working to Braun. In addition, my artistically oriented point of view [...]. We discussed [...]. So my work at Braun wasn't all that different from my theater and film work. I was the interlocutor. "

- Fritz Eichler : Original sound

Exhibitions

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Polster, Bernd, 1952-: Braun: 50 years of product innovations . DuMont Literature and Art Verlag, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-8321-7364-1 .
  2. ↑ Fritz Eichler: The essence of the hand puppet and marionette game . Lechte, 1949 ( google.be [accessed October 19, 2017]).
  3. ^ Epubli - Fritz Eichler. Retrieved October 10, 2017 .
  4. ^ Oestereich, Christopher .: "Gute Form" in the reconstruction: on the history of product design in West Germany after 1945 . 1st edition Lukas, Berlin 2000, OCLC 48475566 .
  5. ^ Franz Eichler - Chamber . In: Chamber . ( chambernyc.com [accessed October 10, 2017]).
  6. ^ BRAUN AG: Magic rectangle . In: Der Spiegel . tape 45 , November 4, 1964 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 10, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Wichmann .: Donation Siemens to the new collection. Birkhauser, [Place of publication not identified] 2014, ISBN 978-3-0348-6644-6 .
  8. ^ Paola Antonelli: Objects of from The Museum of Modern Art , Museum of Modern Art, New York 2003, ISBN 978-0-87070-696-7 , p. 230
  9. ↑ Have sun in my heart | filmportal.de. Retrieved October 19, 2017 .
  10. ↑ KINDERREGIE: Text on the face . In: Der Spiegel . tape June 23 , 1951 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 19, 2017]).
  11. ^ BRAUN AG: Magic rectangle . In: Der Spiegel . tape 45 , November 4, 1964 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 10, 2017]).
  12. ^ Radio, Kleinsuper SK 1, light beige, Braun Frankfurt, 1955 - DESIGN20.eu. Retrieved October 10, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Braun radio model to this day , BR television
  14. ^ Antonelli, Paola .: Objects of design, from the Museum of Modern Art . Museum of Modern Art, New York 2003, ISBN 978-0-87070-696-7 .
  15. ^ Fritz Eichler | 3media's blog. Retrieved October 10, 2017 (American English).
  16. ↑ The Braun Products That Inspired Apple's Iconic Designs [Gallery] | Cult of Mac . In: Cult of Mac . September 5, 2012 ( cultofmac.com [accessed October 10, 2017]).
  17. ↑ From the King no longer able to laugh by Eichler, Fritz: . In: Book findR . ( buch-findr.de [accessed on October 10, 2017]).
  18. ↑ Hartmut Jatzke-Wigand: Dr. Fritz Eichler and the development of Braun design - a film and theater director in the electrical industry . Interview. In: Hartmut Jatzke-Wigand, Jo Klatt (ed.): Design + Design Zero. How the Braun design came about. 3. Edition. Jo Klatt Design + Design Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9811106-4-7 , p. 94-109 , here 105f. ( designundtext.com [PDF; 76.5 MB ; accessed on July 2, 2020] final issue of the magazine).
  19. ↑ Charles Eames' 30 Answers To 'What Is Design?' (1969) Flashback
  20. ^ RADIO Zeit, website of the MAK Art and Design
personal data
SURNAME Eichler, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art historian, painter, director and product designer
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Differdange
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1991
Place of death Königstein im Taunus