Ueli Kaufmann, Design Historian
I research, write, speak, and occasionally teach
on issues related to the history of graphic design and typography.
My research interest lies in the history of typography and letterforms, its writing, and its intertwinement with economy, technology, and professional and cultural practices.
For my dissertation at the Graduate School of the Arts Bern, I analyze entanglements between Swiss typographic crafts- and tradesmen and the Moroccan script reform in the 1970s and 1980s. A particular focus lays on the role of histories in conceptions of identity, progress, and the negotiation of expertise.
Further, I conduct research on typographic styles and trade in type in the 16th century, as well as 20th century historiography on that matter. A respective article has been released in the Journal of the Printing Historical Society in spring 2023 and another one should follow in 2025.
As part of the SNSF/Sinergia project Swiss Graphic Design and Typography Revisited (SGDTR), I have extensively written on the role of practitioner-authored books in the dissemination of Swiss graphic design.
Kaufmann 2025
Ueli Kaufmann, «A second-rank typographer? Reconsidering Jacques Moderne through his Italic types», in: Journal of the Printing Historical Society, Third Series 5 (2025), forthcoming.
Kaufmann 2023
Ueli Kaufmann, «The development of early Italics from a Lyon, Basel, and Rhineland perspective», in: Journal of the Printing Historical Society, Third Series 3 (2023), pp. 168–195 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2021a
Ueli Kaufmann, «Cave Paintings: Continuities and progress in designers’ histories», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2020, pp. 14–25 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2021b
Ueli Kaufmann, «Neue Schweizer Schulschrift: Tracing exchanges between modernist typography and Swiss handwriting», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 111–125 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2021c
Ueli Kaufmann, «Unfamiliar Writing Forms: Instances of various scripts in practitioners’ publications», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 169–198 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2021d
Ueli Kaufmann, «Handwriting Instructions», in: Sandra Bischler, Sarah Klein, Jonas Niedermann & Michael Renner (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Visual Arguments, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 208–221 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2021e
Ueli Kaufmann, «Mixed lots», in: Sandra Bischler, Sarah Klein, Jonas Niedermann & Michael Renner (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Visual Arguments, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 90–103 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann & Zeller 2021
Ueli Kaufmann and Sara Zeller, «Advertisements», in: Sandra Bischler, Sarah Klein, Jonas Niedermann & Michael Renner (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Visual Arguments, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 12–21 (accessible on academia.edu).
Früh & Kaufmann 2021
Roland Früh and Ueli Kaufmann, «Chronological Diagram», in: Sandra Bischler, Sarah Klein, Jonas Niedermann & Michael Renner (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Visual Arguments, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 63–65 (accessible on academia.edu).
Früh, Kaufmann, Schneemann, & Zeller 2021a
Roland Früh, Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann, and Sara Zeller, «Introduction—Reading between the lines of graphic design histories», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 7–12 (accessible on academia.edu).
Früh, Kaufmann, Schneemann, & Zeller 2021b
Roland Früh, Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann, and Sara Zeller, «Kunsthalle Bern: Graphic design as seen through the archive of a contemporary art institution», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 79–91 (accessible on academia.edu).
Früh, Kaufmann, Lzicar, & Zeller 2021
Roland Früh, Ueli Kaufmann, Robert Lzicar, and Sara Zeller, «Schweizer Graphik—Curating Switzerland as a graphic design nation in 1925», in: Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann & Sara Zeller (eds.), Swiss Graphic Design Histories—Tempting Terms, Scheidegger&Spiess, Zürich, 2021, pp. 140–151 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2020
Ueli Kaufmann, «Umwege durch die Peripherie: Lyon, Basel und die Entwicklung der frühen Italics», in: Librarium, Zeitschrift der Schweizerischen Bibliophilen Gesellschaft, Vol. 63, No. 1, 2020, pp. 65–79 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2018
Ueli Kaufmann, «Froben Antiqua: mutilating masters for contemporary concepts», in: Parenthesis: The Journal of the Fine Press Book Association, Vol. 34, No. 1, Spring 2018.
Früh, Kaufmann, Schneemann, & Zeller 2018
Roland Früh, Ueli Kaufmann, Peter J. Schneemann, and Sara Zeller, «Printed Matter: The Formal Identity of a Local Institution for Contemporary Art in an International Network», in: Peter J. Schneemann (ed.), Localizing the Contemporary: The Kunsthalle Bern as a Model, JRP|Ringier, Zürich, 2018, 138–154.
Kaufmann 2015
Ueli Kaufmann, The Design and Spread of Froben’s early Italics, University of Reading, Reading (UK), 2015 (accessible on academia.edu).
Kaufmann 2011
Ueli Kaufmann, Nihad Veli Merve Sema Luan – Fünf junge Schweizer Muslime im Gespräch, ZHdK, Zürich, 2011.
03/2023
«Questioning disciplinary views on revivals: a few inputs from the history of typography», Graduate School of the Arts Bern, University of Bern.
08/2021
«Exchanges between modernist typography and Swiss school handwriting», Graphic memory: the many lives of letters, from handwriting to digital fonts & back, online conference organized by Contextual Alternate.
09/2019
«The Haas typefoundry in Africa: Economic pressure, new markets, and the prestige of development aid», Journées d’étude, Graphic Design and Cultural Diplomacy: Re-interpretations of an exhibition at the Musée Dynamique in Dakar […], HEAD, Geneva.
05/2019
«Entwicklungshilfe und Marktentwicklung: Die Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei und die Marokkanische Schriftreform», GSA Forschungstag, Graduate School of the Arts Bern, University of Bern.
08/2018
«‹And nothing starts in the archive, …› Archivgespräch #5», with Sara Zeller and Roland Früh, Kunsthalle Bern.
07/2018
«Geschichtete Geschichten: Gedanken zur Froben Antiqua», Typographische Gesellschaft München, Gasteig München.
05/2018
«Continuities and Revolutions: The Rationale of Swiss Graphic Designer’s Histories», SGDTR Experts’ Panel Meeting, ZHdK Zürich.
11/2017
«A second-hand typographer? Design and use of Jacques Moderne’s italic types», international congress on Jacques Moderne, Université Lumière Lyon 2.
06/2017
«Hunzikers Aspekte der arabischen Schriftreform», GSA Forschungstag, Graduate School of the Arts Bern, University of Bern.
11/2016
«Sampling und Type Design», presentation, graduate colloquium of the Institute for Art History, University of Bern.
04–05/2024
«Gestern und morgen in der Grafik der Gegenwart», undergraduate seminar, F+F Schule für Kunst und Design, Zürich (CH)
03–07/2021
«Einführung in Grafikdesigngeschichte als Kulturgeschichte», undergraduate seminar, BA MultiMediaArt, Fachhochschule Salzburg.
03/2020
«Schweizer Grafikdesign: Konstruktion einer nationalen Ästhetik zwischen Ökonomie und Kultur», guest-lecture with Sara Zeller, Institute for Art History, University of Bern.
10/2019
«Modernity, type and the ornament: Eight perspectives», MA Cross Lecture series, guest-lecture, ECAL.
05/2019
«Ursprung oder Sündenbock: Der Topos des Ornaments im Schriftdiskurs der Moderne», guest-lecture, Institute for Art History, University of Bern.
06/2018
«Vorbilder und Beziehungsprobleme: Leitfäden eines Schriftgestaltungsprozesses», Schule für Gestaltung Basel.
05/2017
«Das Grafikdesign der Kunsthalle Bern», guest-lecture with Sara Zeller and Roland Früh, Institute for Art History, University of Bern.
10/2016
«Sampling the past, understanding the present», lecture and type design workshop, Design Methods Research Festival, Hochschule der Künste Bern.
Since October 2016
PhD student at the Graduate School of the Arts (GSA/SINTA), supervised by Prof. Dr. Peter. J. Schneemann (Institute for Contemporary Art History, University of Bern) and Prof. Dr. Arne Scheuermann (Institute of Design Research, University of Art and Design Bern)
Since September 2011
Independent practice as typeface designer; since 2022 under the moniker Typografische Dienste
2024–2024
Visiting lecturer Design History, F+F Schule für Kunst und Design, Zürich (CH)
2021–2021
Visiting lecturer Design History, MixedMediaArts, Fachhochschule Salzburg, Salzburg (AUT)
2016–2020
Research assistant at Hochschule der Künste Bern as part of the nation-wide research project Swiss Graphic Design and Typography Revisited (SGDTR)
2014–2015
Master of Arts in Typeface Design, University of Reading, Reading (UK)
2009–2011
Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication, Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Zürich (CH)
2007–2009
Studies in Graphic Design, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag (NL)
2006–2007
Foundation year (Gestalterischer Vorkurs), Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Luzern, Luzern (CH)
Please feel free to get in touch, be it with regards to any of my fields of research, articles, lectures or workshops, or any other question you may have.
Ueli Kaufmann
Ateliergemeinschaft Flüela 10
Flüelastrasse 10
8048 Zürich
post@uelikaufmann.ch