Hermann Zapf, 1918–2015
One of the giants of the type world, Hermann Zapf, died on June 4. He was 96 and is survived by his wife, Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse.
The TDC mourns the passing of this eminent typeface designer, calligrapher, book designer, and advocate for all things related to type and letters. Zapf was important for reasons almost too numerous to describe, and he had a long and friendly relationship with the Type Directors Club. He is perhaps best known for his typefaces Optima and Palatino. In 1967 he was the recipient of the first TDC Medal, and in 2008 the TDC celebrated Zapf’s 90th birthday with talks by Paul Shaw and Jerry Kelly.
