Jan Tschichold was an influential designer who is most notable for his influence on typography. He was trained in calligraphy and used his influence to collaborate with Swiss designers. His designs were controversial because they featured sans-serif fonts, which was different than the customs of Germany at the time. The rage over this went so far as to lead the Nazis to chase Tschichold out of Germany.
He was a proponent of uniformity. He oversaw the uniform design of Penguin's books in the 1940s, which all featured the same simplistic design. Book design was a critical art form to Tschichold, who also established and utilized several grid systems for book design.
He established a tradition of order and hierarchy in typography. Initially he condemned serif fonts, but later determined them to be better suited for large blocks of copy.
He utilized not the typeface but the size, stroke, placement, and color of the text to establish hierarchy. He also tweaked seemingly nit-picky details like ligatures and the width of curves within type faces. He demonstrated his prowess for design through his attention to detail and discipline within the grid system.
