europe’s first art director
Twen was a high point in Fleckhaus’ career and set in motion great changes in periodicals throughout Europe. The idea of the importance of the position of art director went from almost nothing (at least in Germany at that time) to a position toward the very top of the magazine hierarchy. Twen was never defined by its editors, who came and went, unhappy at the total dominance of design. Only one other designer was so dominant: the mighty Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar in New York. In Germany and perhaps across Europe, Willy Fleckhaus was the great pioneer of art direction.
Willy Fleckhaus, Hersteller Scharlemann and Christian Diener, 1964.
when we make typography, we should really understand that we are not just dealing with characters, but rather that our real goal is to give people pleasure, to inform and entertain them. —willy fleckhaus
Donald Barthelme “Snow White”. Suhrkamp publishing house, 1968. Cover designed by Willy Fleckhaus.
suhrkamp
In 1971 Twen closed, and Willy Fleckhaus, already world famous, moved on to a new field. During the next two decades, he designed book series for the German publishing house Suhrkamp. The first was the Bibliothek Suhrkamp, better known as the Rainbow Series. This work wove together the simplicity and the sophistication of the finest German typography in exactly 48 shades. In 1983 the designer finished his last big project, Suhrkamp’s White Series. This time there was no color at all, just three dozen white covers.
Suhrkamp Literature Newspaper, March 1977. Layout designed by Willy Fleckhaus.