Wiesbaden Swing Explained

Wiesbaden Swing
Style:Script typeface
Creator:Rosemarie Kloos-Rau
Commissioned By:Linotype
Releasedate:1992

Wiesbaden Swing is a script typeface, created by the German communication designer Rosemarie Kloos-Rau. Since the 1992 release by Linotype, several character sets have been published, including dingbats.

History

Rosemarie Kloos-Rau is a calligrapher and typographer and was awarded in 1983 with the Rudo Spemann award.[1] Until the 1990s, she worked as an illustrator[2] and published together with Michael Rau the book Script Types in 1993. In 1992, she published the typeface Wiesbaden Swing for Linotype, named after Wiesbaden, the German regional capital of Hesse, where Kloos-Rau lives in the suburb of Biebrich. In 1997, Alexei Chekulayev created a version with cyrillic characters, and in 1999 a bold font style was published. Also, Dingbats are available.[3]

In 2010, the graphical prototype of the typeface was incorporated into the Berlin Collection on Calligraphy in the archive of Academy of Arts, Berlin.[4] [5] To mark the 30th anniversary, in January 2022 the exhibition "Wiesbaden Swing: A Typeface Dances Around the World" was shown at the New Town Hall in Wiesbaden.[6]

Style

Following the German DIN standard 16518, Wiesbaden Swing is considered a script typeface[7] or handwritten roman type.[8] The typeface is rounded,[9] but the characters are not connected.[10] The author states that the typeface allows for a "fresh and unconventional" handling of the typography.[11]

Usage

The typeface is used for headlines, slogans and mark designations, and as a celebration font,[12] for example on greeting cards. It is frequently used in the food sector,[13] examples are Maggi soup tureen, Lieken Weberli, Zentis jam, Alnatura tea und coffee, Duplo of Kinder Chocolate and Milka.[14] [15] The typeface is advertised as one of the "famous Linotype fonts from the last decade".[16]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.offenbach.de/offenbach/themen/unterwegs-in-offenbach/kultur/kulturpreise/article/rudo-spemann-preis.html Rudo-Spemann-Preis
  2. Examples: Mein kunterbuntes Pianobuch or Mein kunterbuntes Liederbuch, both written by Margret Birkenfeld.
  3. http://www.linotype.com/de/57856/WiesbadenSwingStdDingbats-product.html Wiesbaden Swing Dingbats
  4. Wiesbaden Swing. In: Wiesbadener Tagblatt, April 24, 2010, accessed February 1, 2015.
  5. http://www.berliner-sammlung-kalligraphie.de/kgraph_kloos.htm Rosemarie Kloos-Rau
  6. Volker Milch: „Ich wollte eine Hommage an die Stadt“. Wiesbadener Kurier, January 5, 2022, p. 14. Online as Wiesbaden Swing: „Eine Schrift tanzt um die Welt“.
  7. http://www.linotype.com/en/2210/schreibschriften.html Script Fonts
  8. http://workflow-media.at/Media/DTP_Atlas_Digital.pdf Tonwert-Atlas digital
  9. http://issuu.com/linotype/docs/fontsinfocus9_brochure?mode=window&pageNumber=12 Fonts in Focus No. 9
  10. Kate Clair, Cynthia Busic-Snyder: A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. . Page 174.
  11. http://designers.linotype.com/rosemarie-kloos-rau/ Rosemarie Kloos-Rau
  12. http://www.linotype.com/en/2223/zierschriften.html Celebration Fonts
  13. Tomate und Schrift vereint. In: Wiesbadener Tagblatt, December 9, 2010, accessed February 1, 2015.
  14. http://www.linotype.com/de/1507/packagingimprinting.html Verpackung/Bedruckung
  15. http://rau-design.de/index.php?id=4 Type-Design
  16. http://www.linotype.com/en/5190-26759/scriptfonts.html Famous Linotype fonts from the last decade