Dorothea (née Schmid) Hofmann (born 9 October 1929), also known as Dorli is a Swiss graphic designer, artist, educator and the author of ''Die Geburt eines Stils'' (The Birth of a Style). She is one of the first students who passed the Basel education model. She took several educational trips to various parts of the world. Hofmann collaborated closely with her partner Armin on developing design education.

Life and work

Hofmann trained as a graphic designer at

Schule für Gestaltung Basel The Schule für Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design), located at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in Basel Switzerland, and its students have influenced the international graphic design community since it opened in 1968. Its tradition is shaped ...

, Switzerland. Dorothea married graphic designer and pedagogue

Armin Hofmann Armin Hofmann ( HonRDI) (29 June 1920 – 18 December 2020) was a Swiss graphic designer. He began his career in 1947 as a teacher at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel School of Art and Crafts at the age of twenty-six. Hofmann followed Emil Ru ...

in 1953 during her third year of a graphic design course where Armin was her teacher. Armin had opened a graphic design studio with Dorothea in 1947. They have been married for over 60 years and lived together in Lucerne, Switzerland.Hoffmann undertook numerous further education trips to Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Mexico, Guatemala, Egypt, India, the US and more. Dorothea Hofmann has taught at various art and design schools such as Yale University School of Art, New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, Atlanta College of Art, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca in Mexico, The New York Studio School of Art, and the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad and has presented her work at exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad. When the Hofmanns visited

National Institute of Design The National Institutes of Design (NIDs) are a group of autonomous public design universities in India, with the primary institute, founded in 1961, in Ahmedabad, with extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru. The other NIDs are locat ...

in Ahmedabad, Dorothea acted as Armin's translator while he advised in the formulation of the graphic design course and she took one course in Letter Design at the institute in 1964 during the six months spent there. The Hoffmans had their summer home at

Brissago Brissago () is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Brissago lies on the western shore of Lake Maggiore and includes the Brissago Islands. History An ax and ceramic pieces from the Neolithic era as w ...

where the in-between semesters Yale Graphic Design workshops took place from 1977 to 1996. Hofmann's book ''Die Geburt eines Stils'' (The Birth of a Style) studies the influence of the Basel education model on Swiss graphic Design. It includes works of Swiss Graphic designers who were teachers and students of Basel Allgemeine Gewerbeschule or

, like Hermann Eidenbenz,

Emil Ruder Emil Ruder (20 March 1914 – 13 March 1970) was a Swiss typographer and graphic designer, who with Armin Hofmann joined the faculty of the Schule für Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design). He is distinguishable in the field of typography ...

, Karl Gerstner, Gérard Ifert, Nelly Rudin, Pierre Mendell,

Wolfgang Weingart Wolfgang Weingart (6 February 1941 – 12 July 2021) was an internationally known graphic designer and typographer. His work was categorized as Swiss typography and he was credited as "the father" of New Wave or Swiss Punk typography. Childho ...

, Kenneth Hiebert,

Dan Friedman (graphic designer) Dan Friedman (1945– July 6, 1995) was an American educator, graphic and furniture designer. He was a major contributor to the postmodern and new wave typography movements. Early life and education In 1945, Dan Friedman was born in Cleve ...

April Greiman April Greiman (born March 22, 1948) is an American designer widely recognized as one of the first designers to embrace computer technology as a design tool. Greiman is also credited, along with early collaborator Jayme Odgers, with helping to i ...

, Thérèse Moll, Elisabeth Dietschi, Heidi Schatzmann, Sigrid Bovensiepen, Inge Druckrey, Barbara Stauffacher Solomon and more. Hofmanns at NID

Exhibitions

Hofmann’s first verified exhibition was ''Dorothea Hofmann, Meret Oppenheim, K.R.H. Sonderborg - Zeichnungen'' at Galerie Handschin in Basel in 1966, and the most recent exhibition was ''39è Mini print Internacional de Cadaqués a Pineda'' at Fundació Tharrats d’Art Gràfic in Barcelona in 2019. Hofmann is most frequently exhibited in Spain, but also had exhibitions in United States, Switzerland. Some of her notable exhibitions have been:

Solo Exhibitions

* 1990 - Dorothea Hoffman: Drawing Exhibition - Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery - The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, USA * 1986 - Dorothea Hoffman: Drawings and Etchings - Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, USA

Group Exhibitions

* 2019 - 39è Mini print Internacional de Cadaqués a Pineda - Fundació Tharrats d’Art Gràfic, Barcelona, Spain * 2019 - 39é Mini Print Internacional de Cadaqués 2019 - Mini Print Internacional de Cadaqués, Barcelona, Spain * 2018 - 38th Mini Print Internacional De Cadaques 2018 - Mini Print Internacional de Cadaqués, Barcelona, Spain * 1999 - Armin and Dorothea Hofmann - The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States * 1966 - Dorothea Hofmann, Meret Oppenheim, K.R.H. Sonderborg - Zeichnungen - Galerie Handschin, Basel, Switzerland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Dorothea Graphic designers Swiss graphic designers 1929 births Living people Swiss women artists Designers at National Institute of Design __FORCETOC__