Yesterday, March 22, the exhibition Erik Spiekermann. The Face of Type. opened in the Bauhaus-Archiv Museum of Design in Berlin. The organisers of the Bauhaus-Archive must have been surprised by the size of the attendance an art form as little known by the larger public as typography could attract. With an intelligent and concise presentation Johannes Erler of Factor Design introduced the visitors to the "Spiekermann principle". Those who understand German can read the full speech on our German sister-blog Fontblog.

The exhibition shows a cross section of the work of TYPO Berlin 2011 – Shift will be able to visit the exhibition too.

This is a translation of a post that originally appeared on Typografie.info.

The exhibition poster designed by Erik Spiekermann.

From the Bauhaus_Archiv website:

All fonts are not created equal. And Erik Spiekermann knows best how typography, branding and perception are interrelated. The 63-year-old is one of the world's best known designers and typographers. In his own view, the greatest achievement in his life's work – for which he received the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany from the Design Council in February 2011 – is the network of designers that he has trained over the past several decades.

His agency, Fontshop, the first mail-order business for computer fonts.

The citizens of Berlin are probably most familiar with Erik Spiekermann in connection with the signage and guidance system that he created for the Berlin Transport Authority (BVG) after reunification of the capital city in 1989. The Bauhaus Archive/Museum of Design provides insights into his working process and shows how he developed this font as well as others – including some classics in the realm of typography.

All photographs of the opening of the exhibition by Ralf Herrmann.