Paul Renner, famous for his typeface, Futura, is a product of the time he grew up in. He was born into the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the modern world. Not only was he influenced by the modern world but, also the battle between the old Germany and the push for a more modern Germany. Alongside Germany’s technological progression, came the changes and conflict of politics. World War I and the Nazis had a great impact on the art and design in Germany and thus greatly influenced Renner’s growth as a designer. Renner and his design attempts to find a balance and transition between the 19th century and the modern 20th century.
Paul Renner was born August 9th1878 in Wernigerode, Germany, which at the time was part of kingdom of Prussia. He and his four brothers were born into a family of religion. His father was an evangelic theologian and court Chaplin and in result left the family with little money, seeing as religious work was very much a classless occupation. Renner’s education is what brought him to middle class status he held as an adult. He first attended a Gymnasium, a secondary school and studied humanities. There he receive nine years of schooling in Greek and Latin; after completion, he was granted to opportunity to peruse further education in the area of study of his choice. The…show more content… Renner attended a lecture held designer Paul Schultze-Naumburg, where she showed design for various culture including Asian art and avant-garde Western art. At this show Renner witnesses a young painter get beat by the Nazis for asking the question “But where is the good in modern art?” Furious about what he had observed Renner writes how believes that Germany must “protect [German art] from nationalist associations who want to fight for it with slogans and knuckle-busters.” He began to distance himself from the Werkbund as it was too conservative to his