Wolfgang Weingart (1941-2021) was a Swiss designer, typographer, and teacher that altered the direction of Swiss typography from utilizing conservative guidelines to a more experimental and playful approach.

An inquisitive and explorative student, Weingart constantly questioned the paradigms that existed for Swiss Design—rather than believing that typography should be about readability, Weingart wanted to show that typography is an art. This idea led to a lifetime commitment to his work and teaching, inspiring students to see typography as art and imagery rather than a tool for readability, and paving the way for the New Wave and Swiss Punk typography.

Weingart is my design hero because of his confidence in his pursuits—he was so confident in his vision for Swiss design that he battled with his teachers to propel Swiss design from a meticulous, technical craft to something creative and exploratory. Taking inspiration from the natural world and his personal experiences, Weingart’s work reflected everything that he knew—Weingart built upon all past experiments with texture and composition to fuse previous knowledge into a collective artistic pursuit.