otto baumberger – swiss graphic designer and advertising pioneer

'wer rechnet kauft im globus' / educated shoppers go to globus
poster design by otto baumberger, 1934

otto baumberger (1889 – 1961) was one of the first swiss who can be
correctly described as a poster designer, even though his personal desire
for artistic recognition would remain unfulfilled. as an employee of the
wolfensberger AG in zürich he acquired a sound knowledge of lithography
techniques, and used this knowledge to advance and renew the medium,
designing over 200 posters. baumberger was ahead of his time in recognizing
important aspects of consumer advertising. without creating a style of his
own, he sought the most appropriate way of conveying a message.
his original, inventive images led to a reduction that reached towards
abstraction, as image and lettering elements gradually formed an increasingly
striking synthesis. the diversity of baumberger’s work exemplarily embodies
the history of swiss poster art in the first half of the twentieth century,
showing the development from the painterly artist’s poster to corporate
design shaped by graphic art.


baumann, 1924


motor comptoir, 1932
qualité, 1932


swan, 1919
neue zürcher zeitung, 1928


airshows zürich, 1932 and 1937

200 of otto baumberger's posters, made during 40 years of his career,
are currently shown in the exhibition 'otto baumberger – advertising pioneer'
at the museum of design zürich, plakatraum.
the exhibition runs only until sunday february 1st, 2009.

more:
http://www.museum-gestaltung.ch/