Zero: Hans Schleger - A Life in Design

Known by his pseudonym Zero, Hans Schleger was a pivotal figure in the history of modern graphic design. His nom-de-plume suggests his devotion to the Bauhaus principle of reduction, a design of simple unadorned essentials. Indeed, Schleger pioneered the concept of corporate identity, the task of distilling a company down to its visual essence.

Coming to New York in 1924, Schleger was one of a handful of European emigre artists and designers who brought modernism to American advertising. After a brief return to Berlin, he emigrated to England in the wake of Hitler's rise to power. His work, first for the War Office and then in advertising, demonstrates his skill at combining photography, line, and type in humorous, sometimes surreal, and always ingenious ways.

With a foreword by legendary designer Paul Rand, Zero is the first comprehensive survey of Hans Schleger's work and includes drawing, painting, and photography, as well as the graphic design work for which he is best known: posters, symbols, advertising and corporate design, and packaging. Zero is itself essential reading for any designer.

Pat Schleger