Kimmy: Anton Stankowski

Anton Stankowski
Born on June 18, 1906, in Gelsenkirchen, Anton Stankowski, after apprenticeship and journeyman years as a decoration and church painter, started to study at the Folkwang School in Essen with Max Burchartz (1927). Besides graphic arts and typography, they had photography classes already. With Burchartz and the Canis Agency, the first visual identities and early ‘functional graphic designs’ were created in these college years
1929 Stankowski moved to Zurich, where he worked at the renowned advertising studio of Max Dalang. This is where he developed ‘constructive graphic art’ with his new photo- and typographic view. His friends in Zurich Richard P.Lohse, Heiri Steiner, Hans Neuburg, as well as Coray, Fischli, Matter, Heiniger, Loewensberg, Bill, and others formed a cultural circle.
During these years Stankowski completed his famous ‘Theory of Design’ in which he worked out fundamental forms of expression1934 he had to leave Switzerland due to the withdrawal of his official work permit and, after staying in Lörrach in 1938, he came to Stuttgart where he worked as a freelance graphic designer. 1940 he joined the forces and became prisoner of war until 1948. After returning, he worked for the ‘Stuttgarter Illustrierte’ as editor, graphic designer and photographer.1951 he established his own graphic design studio on the Killesberg in Stuttgart. With Baumeister, Bense, Cantz, Eiermann, Mia Seeger and others, a new cultural circle developed. He taught in Ulm at the College of Design. His work on the graphic design field for IBM, SEL etc., especially his ‘functional graphic designs’ are exemplary.

http://www.stankowski-stiftung.de/biography.html