Hansruedi Scheller (1931–2007) was a Swiss graphic designer and a pioneer of signage systems and information graphics. From around 1967, he created signage, paintings and wayfinding systems for roughly 230 large buildings, mainly in the cantons of Zurich and Thurgau, as well as elsewhere in Switzerland [1]. Under the firm name “Atelier Scheller,” he designed posters and numerous signets (logos) for associations and companies [2].
Design and History
Scheller was among the trend-setting Swiss graphic designers from the 1960s into the early 1990s [2]. His client work included the signet for Swiss Sporthilfe (Swiss Sports Aid) [3] and the first logo of the Swiss Orienteering Federation (SOLV), created with Roland Hirter and used from 1978 to 1997 [4]. The Olympic Museum in Lausanne also holds objects attributed to Scheller, including a plexiglass plaque with the logo of the International Federation of Rowing Societies (FISA) and a logo project for orienteering [5].
Documented examples of his logo work include the Hunziker Transporte mark from 1957, described as a logotype-picture with the letter H and squares [6], and the Drogerie Büchi symbol from 1970 [7]. A 1972 poster for Mustermesse Basel is also credited to him [8].
Meaning and Symbolism
His professional reputation rested on functional clarity: his signage work was guided by a few simple rules that remain valid today, reconstructed by Thomas Bruggisser, who completed his graphic design apprenticeship at Atelier Scheller [1]. The Horgen municipal flyer “Wegweisend” describes his work as “timeless logo graphics” and notes that Scheller lived in Horgenberg from 1966 [9].
Typography and Design
Specific typographic details of Scheller’s logos are not documented in the available sources. His design approach is characterized in the Triest Verlag monograph as that of a signage and information graphics pioneer whose work helped shape the beginnings of these disciplines [1].
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