Fritz Gottschalk Art

Fritz Gottschalk is an internationally renowned Swiss-Canadian graphic designer, and a pioneer of Canadian graphic design. During the early 1950s, he attended the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich (School of Arts and Crafts), and the AGS (Allgemeine Gewerbeschule School of Design) in Basel, studying under Armin Hofmann and Emil Ruder, who took only two students per year. From 1954–58, he was apprenticed as a typographer at the Orell Füssli Art Institute, a leading Zurich printing and publishing house. In 1959, Gottschalk moved to Paris and started working as a freelance graphic designer. Two years later, he relocated to London, working there for three years. In 1963, he immigrated to Canada and worked at Paul Arthur & Associates, a pioneering Canadian design agency, designing the Expo 67 sign system.

In 1966, he established Gottschalk+Ash Ltd. in Montreal in partnership with Stuart Ash, a prominent Canadian designer, who also worked at Paul Arthur & Associates. It quickly became one of the world’s top design firms rivaling with Pentagram, Total Design and Unimark International. Gottschalk+Ash immediately started to serve major clients and soon opened new offices. In 1972, Stuart Ash opened G+A Toronto, where he worked for the rest of his career. In 1976, Gottschalk was appointed Head of the Olympic Commission’s Design Office collaborating with Georges Huel and Pierre-Yves Pelletier on the outstanding identity of Montreal 1976 Olympic Games. The same year G+A New York City was founded in collaboration with Ken Carbone and Leslie Smolan (today Carbone Smolan Agency). In 1978, he left Canada and a year later, he established G+A Zurich. In 1982, he also opened G+A Milan working in collaboration with Walter Ballmer until 1989.

Gottschalk was Head of the Visual Communication Department of the ZHdK – Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich University of the Arts) in 1980–82. From 1983–89, he acted as a faculty member of the Kent Summer Graphic Design Workshop in Rapperswil. He also lectured at Kent State University, Ohio State University, Washington University and Yale University. Member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) since 1975, he acted as its Secretary Treasurer from 1985–91. Member of the board of directors of Graphis from 1990–2000. Member of the Connix Museum’s board of trustees since 1991. During the early 1960s, he received three Awards of Excellence from the Swiss Department of Interior. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Society of Graphic Designers. Gottschalk lives and works in Zurich, the city where he was born in 1937.