Henry Steiner (; born 13 February 1934) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

graphic designer, best known for his

corporate identity A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...

designs. He has created designs for some of the most identifiable brands, such as IBM,

Hyatt Regency Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

, Dow Jones, HSBC, Standard Chartered,

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

, and was commissioned to design the city's bank notes by the Hong Kong government in 1975. Steiner was educated at the Sorbonne and at Yale. In 1964, he founded his own consultancy firm, Steiner&Co, in Hong Kong. Hailed as the "Father of Hong Kong graphical design", Henry Steiner pioneered the expression of identity through branding, particularly in Asia where his skill for incorporating Eastern cultural symbols into Western design has garnered international acclaim . Steiner was included in Icograda’s list of the ''Masters of the 20th Century'' in 2002, and was named a ''World Master'' by ''Idea'' magazine.

Biography

Steiner was born into an

Austrian Jewish The history of the Jews in Austria probably begins with the exodus of Jews from Judea under Roman occupation. Over the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewis ...

family as Hans Steiner. His parents, a dentist practising in Baden bei Wien and a seamstress, enjoyed "a nice bourgeois life" until the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'' in 1938, after which the family decided to flee the country. After many failures, his mother turned to help from a Hollywood film producer, Julius Stoeger, who agreed to assist in their escape as he mistook a young Steiner as Chinese. When the family arrived in New York City in 1939, an immigration officer changed the boy's name to Henry, since ''Hans'' sounded "too

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

". The Steiners lived a hard life there and the couple divorced in 1940s. Henry Steiner was admitted to Stuyvesant High School and then Hunter College, where he decided to turn his deep interest in scientific fiction into a graphic design career. He enrolled for a Master's degree in graphic design at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

to study with

Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum; August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was an American art director and graphic designer, best known for his corporate Logotype, logo designs, including the logos for IBM, United Parcel Service, UPS, Enron, Morn ...

and won a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to further his studies at

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. He then returned to New York City and worked as design director for ''The Asia Magazine'', which was a pioneer as colour-printed magazine. In 1961, Steiner signed a nine-month contract for the magazine's launch in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

where he started Graphic Communication (now Steiner&Co.) in 1964. When Hong Kong saw an economic boom in 1960s to 70s, he settled in the Asian city and was inspired by its traditional aesthetics.

Selected designs

HSBC

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

is a world recognized brand for banking, finance, brokerage, and insurance. In 1984, Henry Steiner developed a corporate identity for the bank based on St. Andrew's cross flag, alluded to the Scottish heritage of the bank's founder.

Hong Kong Bank Notes

Henry Steiner designed the Hong Kong banknote for the Standard Chartered Bank between 1975 and 2016. He noted that banknotes of the city have a rare practice of not featuring portraits, therefore he incorporated mythical Chinese creatures in his designs on the observe side – the notes appeared in five denominations and showcased a hierarchy of aquatic, amphibious, terrestrial and celestial creatures. In 2003, Henry Steiner updated the designs incorporating the latest anti-counterfeiting technology, with the reverse featuring Hong Kong’s dynamic harbour from various time periods. In 2010s, he was commissioned for the last time to design banknotes which featured

Chinese traditional Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took at ...

and

modern technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

. He also designed an unprecedented 150-dollar commemorative banknote for the bank's 150th anniversary in 2009, which featured the

Standard Chartered Bank Building The Standard Chartered Bank Building () is a skyscraper located in Central, Hong Kong. The tower rises 42 storeys and in height. The building was completed in 1990. It was designed by architectural firm P & T Architects & Engineers Ltd. His ...

and a group of people representing Hong Kong's history watching over the coasts of

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in ...

Recognition

Honours

*President of

Alliance Graphique Internationale Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) is a club of the world's leading graphic artists and designers. There are 527 members from 43 countries. Its members have been collectively responsible for the identity design of most of the world's top co ...

*Fellow of the

Chartered Society of Designers The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is a professional body for designers. It is the only Royal Chartered body of experienced designers. Its membership is multi-disciplinary – representing designers in all design, disciplines including I ...

*Fellow of the Hong Kong Designers Association *Honorary member of Design Austria *Member of the

American Institute of Graphic Arts The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

*Member of the New York Art Directors Club *Awarded an honorary Doctorate by

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts institution with a Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of American Baptists, who provided both operatin ...

*Awarded the Hong Kong Print Outstanding Achievement Award *Awarded the Asia-Europe Foundation Logo Award *Awarded the Golden Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria for design achievement and service to the Austrian community *Honorary professor at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...

's School of Architecture *Honorary professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design *Named Hong Kong Designer of the Year (1990) by Hong Kong Artists' Guild *Named a World Master by Japan’s ''Idea'' magazine *Listed a Masters of the 20th Century by

Icograda The International Council of Design (ICoD; formerly known as ico-D, International Council of Communication Design or Icograda, which was formerly an initialism for International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is an international organisa ...

*Cited as one of the 100 most important people affecting Hong Kong's development since 1841 by '' Next Magazine''

Awards

*Outstanding Entries, Fourth Asian Advertising Congress, Hong Kong (1964) *Award of Excellence, Typomundus 20 (1966) *Excellence, The Mead Library of Ideas, Annual Report Shows, USA (1969 to 1985) *Creative Awards, Asian Advertising Congress (1968 to 1974) *Governor's Award for Hong Kong Design (1970) *First Prize, Seventh Asian Advertising Congress, New Delhi (1970) *Bronze Medal, Biennale des Arts Graphique, Brno, Czechoslovakia (1972) *Award, International Poster Biennale, Warsaw (1972, 1976) *Outstanding Packaging Award, Hong Kong Packaging Council (1973) *First Prize, Festival of Hong Kong Stamp Exhibition (1973) *Asiastar Packaging Award, The Asian Packaging Federation (1974) *First Prize, Financial Advertising, The Times, London (1974) *Award of Excellence, Communication Arts, USA (1974 to 1992) *Gold, Bronze, Silver Awards, Hongkong Designers Association (1975 to 1999) *Design Excellence, Print Casebooks (1975 to 1978) *The One Show Merit Award, The Art Directors Club, New York (1976) *Merit Award, Hong Kong Packaging Council (1976) *Merit Awards, The New York Art Directors Club (1976, 1990) *Awards, Asian Graphic Design Biennale, Tehran (1978) *Awards of Excellence, Society of Typographic Arts USA (1978 to 1980) *Typographic Excellence, Type Directors Club, New York (1979 to 1988) *Silver Award, Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Hong Kong (1983, 1984) *Bronze Medal, Book Art Biennale, Brno, Czechoslovakia (1984) *Gold Award, TTF Paper Creative Award, Hong Kong (1988) *Excellence, The Best of International Self-Promotion, Australia (1989) *Designer of the Year, Hong Kong Artists' Guild (1990) *Silver Award, Annual Report, Hong Kong Print Awards (1990) *Sponsor's Award, The 33rd All-Japan Poster Exhibition (1991) *Awards of Excellence, The Best of International Self-Promotion, USA (1993) *'Best in Business Publication' Award, Chartered Society of Hong Kong (1995) *Premier Award, std International TypoGraphic Awards, England (1998) *Gold Award, Hong Kong Designers Associations (2000) *Golden Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria (2006)

Bibliography

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References

External links

Henry Steiner: “A very ‘weanerisch’ Sensibility”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Henry Austrian graphic designers Logo designers Living people University of Paris alumni Yale University alumni 1934 births