Xanti Schawinsky influential Swiss Designer

Advertisements
Xanti Schawinsky

Alexander Schawinsky was a Swiss designer born in Basel. He studied painting and architecture in Zürich, Cologne, and Berlin. He was at the Bauhaus in Germany between 1924 and 1925.

Professional Career

Between 1926 and 1927 he was a theatre designer in Zwickau. Following that he was a Graphic Designer for the city of Magdeburg.

Moved to Italy

In 1933, he moved to Italy, becoming an illustrator and graphic designer in Milan, notably for Olivetti and Motta.

Black Mountain College, North Carolina

In 1936 he was invited by Joseph Albers, he settled in the USA teaching at Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

Schawinsky collaborated with Walter Gropius and Marcel Bruer on the 1939 ‘New York World’s Fair,’ and with Luigi Fugini and Gino Pollini on the 136 Studio 42 portable typewriter for Olivetti.

From 1950, he began to paint and set-up a studio near Lake Maggiore (Italy) which allowed him to work both in New York and Italy.

Selection of his Work

You may be interested in

Sigfried Giedion – Swiss art historian and designer – Encyclopedia of Design

Sigfried Giedion (1888-1968) was a Swiss art historian and designer. He was born in Prague. He studied engineering, at the Technische Hochschule, Vienna. Between 1916-22, he was a student of art history, Zurich, Berlin, and Munich, under Heinrich Wolfflin. In 1923, he met Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus, Dessau, and, in 1925, Le Corbusier in Paris.

Pier Luigi Nervi – Italian Architect – Encyclopedia of Design

Pier Luigi Nervi (1891 – 1979) was an Italian architect born in Sondrio, Lombardy. He studied engineering at the University of Bologna, to 1913. After experience with a concrete contractor, he set up his firm in Bologna in 1923.

More on Swiss Designers

  • Kurt Thut (1931 – 2011) Swiss Designer and Manufacturer

    Kurt Thut (1931 – 2011) Swiss Designer and Manufacturer

    Kurt Thut (b. 1931-2011) was born in Möriken, Switzerland. In his father’s workshop, while attending the School of Art and Design in Zurich, Thut improved his carpentry skills.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Mario Botta (b.1943) Swiss Architect and Designer

    Mario Botta (b.1943) Swiss Architect and Designer

    While the space arrangements in this structure are inconsistent, its relationship to its site, separation of living from service spaces, and deep window recesses echo his stark, robust and towering style. Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Alpine Eagle XL Chrono – Design Classic 🥇

    Alpine Eagle XL Chrono – Design Classic 🥇

    The Alpine Eagle collection of sporty-chic timepieces stretches its wings, embracing a flyback chronograph in a new 44 mm diameter case for the first time. The Alpine Eagle XL Chrono clock with the integrated bracelet is inspired by the might of the eagle and the beauty of the Alps, as is the complete series.Read More…


    Learn More →


  • Hannes Wettstein (1958 – 2008) Swiss Furniture Designer

    Hannes Wettstein (1958 – 2008) Swiss Furniture Designer

    He started to work for Cassina in 1994 with his Juno bed, and some more recent projects were presented in 2003. Since 1991 he also taught; he was a lecturer at the ETH of Zurich and taught at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung in Karlsruhe.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Swatch Watch a Design Classic

    Swatch Watch a Design Classic

    Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Penguin Book Covers (1946 – 1949) Designer: Jan Tschichold

    Penguin Book Covers (1946 – 1949) Designer: Jan Tschichold

    Tschichold created new standards of text arrangement and style that inspired all of the British postwar graphic design, although only working for the publication for three years. Then, with the formulation of the “Penguin Composition Rules,” he was able to apply Modernist theory to the requirements of book manufacturing.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Wolfgang Weingart – Swiss Typographer and Designer

    Wolfgang Weingart – Swiss Typographer and Designer

    He was dubbed “the father” of New Wave or Swiss Punk typography . LEARN MORERead More →


    Learn More →


  • Johannes Itten (1888 – 1967) Swiss designer colour theorist

    Johannes Itten (1888 – 1967) Swiss designer colour theorist

    Itten was a founding member of the Weimar Bauhaus, along with German-American painter Lyonel Feininger and German sculptor Gerhard Marcks, under the guidance of German architect Walter Gropius. TELL ME MORERead More →


    Learn More →


  • Max Ernst Haefeli (1901-1976) – Swiss architect and designer

    Max Ernst Haefeli (1901-1976) – Swiss architect and designer

    Max Ernst Haefeli (1901-1976) was a Swiss architect and designer born in Zurich. He worked in the Otto Bartning studio in Berlin between 1923-24.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Sigfried Giedion (1888 – 1968) – Swiss art historian and designer

    Sigfried Giedion (1888 – 1968) – Swiss art historian and designer

    Sigfried Giedion (1888-1968) was a Swiss art historian and designer. He was born in Prague. Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Longines – Elegance is an Attitude – Masters Collection

    Long experience meets vast expertise. Longines has created outstanding timepieces as a traditional watchmaker since its inception. Today, the LonginesRead More →


    Learn More →


  • Hans Gugelot (1920 – 1965) Dutch-Swiss Product Designer

    Hans Gugelot (1920 – 1965) Dutch-Swiss Product Designer

    Hans Gugelot (1920 – 1965) began his career in engineering (1940–2) and architecture (1940–6) in Switzerland and was closely associated with the radical Hochschüle für Gestaltung (HfG) in UlmRead More →


    Learn More →


  • Jean Dunand (1877 – 1942) 🇨🇭 Swiss sculptor, metalworker, artisan

    Jean Dunand (1877 – 1942) 🇨🇭 Swiss sculptor, metalworker, artisan

    Jean Dunand is a Swiss sculptor, metalworker, and artisan. He was born in 1877 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and died on the 27th of December 1942.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Max Bill (1908 – 1994) – Swiss painter, sculptor, architect, designer, teacher, and writer

    Max Bill (1908 – 1994) – Swiss painter, sculptor, architect, designer, teacher, and writer

    Max Bill (1908 – 1994) was a Swiss painter, sculptor, architect, designer, teacher, and writer. He studied at the Bauhaus from 1927 to 1929, then returned to Switzerland, primarily in Zurich. He saw himself as primarily an architect, but he worked in several fields, with the ultimate goal of bringing the various branches of the…


    Learn More →


  • Marianne Straub Swiss weaver and designer

    Marianne Straub Swiss weaver and designer

    Marianne Straub began weaving as a child and later trained under Heinrich Otto Hürlimann Between 1928-31, at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Zürich. Between 1932-33, she was involved with machine production, at Bradford Technical College.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Gertrud Preiswerk 🇨🇭 Swiss textile designer

    Gertrud Preiswerk 🇨🇭 Swiss textile designer

    Gertrud Preiswerk was a Swiss textile designer she was born in Basel. Between 1926 and 1930, she trained in-the weavingRead More →


    Learn More →


  • Herbert Matter (1907 – 1984) Swiss Designer and Photographer

    Herbert Matter (1907 – 1984) Swiss Designer and Photographer

    Herbert Matter (April 25, 1907 – May 8, 1984) was a Swiss-born American photographer and graphic designer known for his pioneering use of photomontage in commercial art.Read More →


    Learn More →


  • Hélène de Mandrot (1867 – 1948) Swiss Designer and Arts patron

    Hélène de Mandrot (1867 – 1948) Swiss Designer and Arts patron

    She was a wealthy lady with cultural aspirations, who spent her time travelling between the great cultural centres and fashionable holiday resorts of Europe, and who liked to gather artists and authors around her. Read More →


    Learn More →


Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.