The Manufacture of Type for Typewriters in Switzerland

Projects

The Manufacture of Type for Typewriters in Switzerland

Between the 1940s and the 1990s, three companies manufactured type components for typewriters in Switzerland: Caractères SA, Setag and Novatype. During more than fifty years, they supplied the biggest manufacturers of office machines in Europe and around the world, such as IBM, Remington, Olivetti, Paillard-Hermès or Triumph-Adler. Having held a leading position worldwide, the three manufacturers played a key role in the design, development, and production of type components and typefaces for typewriters, as well as for all kinds of impact printers.

Research project (2024) with Sophie Wietlisbach

Know-how
Type design

By looking in details at their production methods, the research observes what influence did the manufacturing processes and the mechanical characteristics of the typewriter have on the design of the typefaces. Additionally, it takes interest into the surprising role played by the criminal police. Specialized in the dating and identification of typewriter typefaces for judicial and criminal purposes, forensic experts developed over the years specific methods and compiled rich documentations on typewriter typefaces. Being in direct contact with the type manufacturers to gain first-hand information, they even interfered in the design of some lettershapes. Based on oral history and archival research, this project aims to shed light on this little-known part of the industrial and typographic history.

Main applicant

Sophie Wietlisbach, researcher

Research team

Davide Fornari, scientific supervisor
Roland Früh, scientific supervisor

Period

01.01.2023–31.12.2024

Supported by

ECAL / University of Art and Design, internal research grant
DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion, DNP Graphic Culture Research Grant 

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Measurement of the height of a typewriter typeface with a magnification tool. © ECAL/Sophie Wietlisbach
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Digging through the Federal Archives in Bern. © ECAL/Sophie Wietlisbach
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IBM Typeball produced by Setag. ©ECAL/Sophie Wietlisbach

Projects related to Type design

Type Design BA3 S1 2024-2025

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design BA3 S1 2024-2025

with Aurèle Sack

Third-year students had to develop a typography and digitise it. 
Type Design BA2 S1 2024 - 2025

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design BA2 S1 2024 - 2025

with Aurèle Sack

The second-year students had to develop the lower-case letters of two display fonts by hand. 
Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025 – 2025

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025 – 2025

with Robert Huber

First-year students were invited to manually sketch the typographic skeleton of lowercase alphabet letters. The objective was to maintain the proportions, curves, and characteristic axes of each letter while paying close attention to visual coherence and consistency in the drawing.
Type Design BA2 S2 2024 - 2025

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design BA2 S2 2024 - 2025

with Aurèle Sack

The second-year students had to vectorize a typeface they had drawn last semester.
Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025 – 2025 #2

BA GRAPHIC DESIGN

Type Design BA1 S1 2024/2025 – 2025 #2

with Robert Huber

  Designing a logotype means defining a strong visual identity anchored in a specific context. First-year Graphic Design students developed a hand-drawn logotype based on a subject, theme, or environment of their own choosing. This creation was informed by prior research in typographic archives. Each student produced a reference booklet and a specimen system based on six or more typefaces, to ground their visual and conceptual exploration. Balancing typographic culture and contemporary expression, each project investigates what makes a visual identity truly distinctive.  

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