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Features +

Design Legend Hans Alleman Honored at The University of the Arts

by Craig Schlanser

On Friday, October 17th, over 200 designers, professors, and students gathered at the C. Levitt Auditorium at The University of the Arts to witness a conversation between two design legends: Hans Allemann and Joel Katz. The event, co-sponsored by The University of the Arts, Office of Alumni Relations, and AIGA Philadelphia, was held to honor Allemann, who recently retired from The University of the Arts, and is soon returning to his native Switzerland.

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Allemann got the event started by recounting his childhood in a picturesque Swiss village. Like many creative professionals, Allemann had an early interest in the arts, particularly drawing and painting. Fueled by his mother’s gift for storytelling, the young Allemann would draw images inspired by his mother’s fanciful tales. Foreshadowing his later design career, he also captured these stories in homemade books that he created from his father’s military draft cards.

Allemann later studied design at the School of Design in Basel. By his own admission, he wasn’t initially aware of Swiss design, but he was inspired by the ubiquitous posters that were on display throughout his homeland. According to Allemann, “In Switzerland, especially in the 50s and 60s, the streets were galleries.”

After college one of Allemann’s former professors, the famed designer, Armin Hoffman, recruited him to teach at the Kansas City Art Institute. After a quick stint in the U.S., Allemann went back to Europe for a short time, only to come back to America to teach at The University of the Arts.

Upon arriving at the school, he immediately observed what proved to be a flawed teaching method: Giving students an assignment in one class, and critiquing them in another. This disjointed approach often led to poor results that were only confirmed in the critique. To improve this process, he developed a rigorous routine of in-class work; a shift that, to his surprise, was widely embraced by the students.

Allemann wasn’t the only agent of change in design education. Beginning in the 80s, the computer radically transformed the practice of design, and, along with it, design education. Speaking candidly with the audience, Allemann shared his misgivings about the use of technology in design, while acknowledging its benefits. He urged educators in the audience to incorporate technology in a responsible manner, and to continue to stress the importance of design principles—a point that was met with a large round of applause.

Few individuals have shaped the graphic design profession like Hans Allemann. As both an educator and a practitioner, Allemann has made a lasting impact on the design community of Philadelphia and beyond.



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Philadelphia Photo : Kimmel Center : AIGA Member Aryon Hoselton