14 Quotes by Jan Tschichold

Standardization, instead of individualization. Cheap books, instead of private press editions. Active literature, instead of passive leather bindings.

The aim of every typographic work – the delivery of a message in the shortest, most efficient manner.

White space is to be regarded as an active element, not a passive background.

Perfect typography is certainly the most elusive of all arts. Sculpture in stone alone comes near it in obstinacy.

Asymmetry is the rhythmic expression of funtional design. In addition to being more logical, asymmetry has the advantage that its complete appearance is far more optically effective than symmetry.

My errors were more fertile than I ever imagined.

The works of ‘abstract’ art are subtle creations of order out of simple contrasting elements.

The sanserif only seems to be the simpler script. It is a form that was violently reduced for little children. For adults it is more difficult to read than serifed roman type, whose serifs were never meant to be ornamental.

We cannot alter the essential shape of a single letter without at the same time destroying the familiar printed face of our language, and thereby rendering it useless.