Hans G. Conrad

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Hans G. Conrad, portrayed in April 1964

Hans G. Conrad (born June 11, 1926 in Remetschwil as Johann Gerold Konrad , † December 26, 2003 in Cologne ) was an influential photographer and designer of the 20th century.

life and work

Hans G. Conrad's student ID

Hans G. Conrad grew up in simple circumstances and graduated from Brown, Boveri & Cie. in Baden, Switzerland . In the late 1940s he came into contact with the artist, architect, designer and publicist Max Bill in Zurich . Conrad worked for Bill when he was commissioned to design the Swiss pavilion at the 1951 Milan Triennale. During this time, Conrad also worked for the Swiss architect and designer Alfred Roth (traveling exhibition of contemporary Swiss architecture 1951). 1952–54 Conrad designed advertisements for the German-American furniture manufacturer Knoll International by Florence and Hans Knoll .

Hans G. Conrad (photo): Ulm School of Design (HfG), 1955. Architect: Max Bill.

Max Bill, who was one of the co-founders of the Hochschule für Gestaltung alongside Otl Aicher and Inge Aicher-Scholl , brought Conrad to Ulm during the founding period of the HfG, probably from December 1, 1952 . He was the first student at the HfG: his student ID was valid from January 1, 1953, although official classes did not begin until August 3, 1953.

Hans G. Conrad (photo): Walter Gropius on the terrace of the HfG Ulm on October 1, 1955 during the inauguration ceremony of the building.

First he studied product design , then visual communication . In Ulm, Conrad met his first wife, the HfG student Eva-Maria Koch. Together with Otl Aicher, Conrad developed the exhibition system for the manufacturer of electrical appliances Max Braun , which was first used in 1955 at the German Radio, Phono and TV Exhibition in Düsseldorf . In 1956, the phono-radio combination Phonosuper Braun SK 4 , later named Snow White's coffin, was presented in this creative framework and is one of the most influential design developments of the 20th century (design: Hans Gugelot , Dieter Rams , Otl Aicher). As a thesis, he designed an exhibition bus for Braun, but it was never realized.

From 1958 Conrad worked as head of trade fair and exhibition design at Braun. In 1962 he took over the position of Lufthansa ’s global advertising manager . He commissioned Otl Aicher and his development group E5 at the HfG Ulm to develop a visual image for Lufthansa. Otl Aicher's concept from 1962 is considered a milestone in the development of rationally derived corporate design concepts and its essential elements are still used today.

Hans G. Conrad (design and photo): Exhibition bus for Braun, 1957
Hans G. Conrad (photo): Outdoor pavilion of the electrical appliance manufacturer Braun on the grounds of the Frankfurt am Main exhibition center, 1959

1969–72 Conrad was a member of the committee for visual design of the Olympic Games in Munich (chairman: Anton Stankowski ). Otl Aicher was in charge of department XI (visual design).

From 1970 Conrad was a member of the editor-in-chief of the Cologne business magazine Capital (comparable to the current position of creative director). The magazine was published by Adolf Theobald, its editor-in-chief until 1974 Ferdinand Simoneit , from 1974 Johannes Gross . Under his leadership, the magazine developed into one of the opinion-leading media in Germany.

In January 1989 Conrad left Capital. In October 1992 he suffered a stroke. He died after a long illness on December 26, 2003 in a nursing home in Cologne-Rodenkirchen.

literature

  • Jörg Crone: The visual communication of attitude. On the graphic work of Otl Aicher and Development Group 5 for Deutsche Lufthansa 1962. Diss. Phil. Freiburg i.Br. 1998.
  • Volker Fischer (ed.): The wings of the crane. 50 years of Lufthansa Design / The Wings of the crane. 50 years of Lufthansa design. Axel Menges publishing house, Stuttgart / London 2005, ISBN 3-932565-53-3 .
  • Hans Höger (Ed.): Design is a journey. Positions on design, advertising and corporate culture. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 1997, ISBN 3-540-61896-1 , pp. 44-57.
  • Hartmut Jatzke-Wigand, Jo Klatt (eds.): Design + Design Zero. How the Braun design came about. 3. Edition. Jo Klatt Design + Design Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9811106-4-7 ( designundtext.com [PDF; 76.5 MB ; accessed on June 28, 2020] final issue of the magazine).
  • Sophie Lovell: Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible . Phaidon Verlag, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-7148-4918-8 (German edition under the title: Dieter Rams: As little design as possible . Edel Books, 2013, ISBN 978-3841901903 ).
  • Eva Moser: otl aicher, designer. Hatje Cantz publishing house, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7757-3201-7 .
  • Jens Müller, Karen Weiland (ed.): Lufthansa + Graphik Design. Visual History of an Airline. Lars Müller publishing house, Baden / CH 2011, ISBN 978-3-03778-267-5 .
  • René Spitz : hfg ulm. the look behind the foreground. the political history of the Ulm School of Design 1953–1968 / The View Behind the Foreground. The Political History of the Ulm School of Design. Stuttgart / London 2002, ISBN 3-932565-16-9 (German) / ISBN 3-932565-17-7 (English)
  • René Spitz: HfG in Farbe / Ulm According to Conrad. In: form. 239/2011, pp. 38–45.
  • René Spitz: HfG Ulm: Brief History of the University of Design / Concise History of the Ulm School of Design. Series A5, Volume 06, ed. by Jens Müller. Lars Müller Publishing House, Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-03778-413-6 .
  • Hans Wichmann: Courage to set out. Erwin Braun 1921–1992. Prestel publishing house, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7913-2023-8 .

swell

  • Yearbook of the ADC Art Director's Club for Germany, 1966, p. 140.
  • Anthology "Werbeform", issue 2, Verlag Scherpe, 1958.
  • "Der Spiegel" magazine, issue 33 from August 8, 1966
  • "Form" magazine, issue 37/1966, p. 61.
  • "Form" magazine, issue 49/1970, p. 59.
  • "Ulm" magazine, issue 1, 1958.
  • "Ulm" magazine, issue 2, 1958.
  • "Ulm" magazine, issue 8/9, 1963.
  • "Ulm" magazine, issue 10/11, 1964.
  • "Ulm" magazine, issue 21, 1968.
  • Magazine "Ulmer monthly mirror", issue 81/1956.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Conrad's biography up to 1963: "ulm" magazine, issue 8/9, September 1963, pp. 55–57.
  2. ↑ Hans Wichmann: Courage to set out. Erwin Braun 1921–1992. Prestel publishing house, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7913-2023-8 , p. 277.
  3. ↑ magazine "form", Issue 37/1966, S. 61st
  4. ↑ magazine "form", Issue 49/1970, p 59
  5. ↑ intelligence "kressreport", issue 11/1974.
  6. ↑ Fluttering pants. In: Der Spiegel. 33/1966.

Web links

Commons : Hans G. Conrad  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Conrad, Hans G.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Konrad, Johann Gerold (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss photographer and designer
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Remetschwil
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 2003
Place of death Cologne