Teaching

During his extensive career, education has always been a crucial element that Hermann devoted his time to. From Technische Hochschule zu Darmstadt, lectures across multiple prestigious universities such as Harvard and Stanford, one of the most important teaching assignments was at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Hermann began his special professorship for typographic computer programs in 1977, the first of its kind in the world.

To this day, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse has kept the tools she used to cut Hesse Antiqua
To this day, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse has kept the tools she used to cut Hesse Antiqua

In Hermann’s words:
“I taught at RIT from 1977 to 1987, flying back and forth between Darmstadt and Rochester. It would have been so convenient for me to teach typographic computer programs in Darmstadt; I could have walked from my home to the Technische Hochschule nearby. But in Rochester I had the chance to develop my ideas further, particularly once I made contacts with companies like IBM and Xerox through my students. I also learned a great deal from the computer specialists during our discussions, which often continued into the night. More and more I realized how necessary it was to have a hand in the new technical developments, and not leave everything to the computer engineers.”

Today, RIT’s Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection holds many works by Hermann and Gudrun Zapf.

Watch an interview from 1978 at the RIT here:

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