Hans Schleger, corporate exhibition and graphic designer : papers

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 73 AAD/1995/32 : AAD/2008/11 : AAD/2014/10
  • Dates of Creation
      1919 - 2013
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
      English
  • Physical Description
      ca. 2210 files

Scope and Content

Posters, advertising, corporate identity and packaging designs, photographs of exhibitions, public relations material and research material.

Administrative / Biographical History

Hans Schleger (1898-1976) was born in Kempen, Germany. He served in the German Army during the First World War and studied painting and drawing at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Berlin from 1918 to 1921. From 1921 to 1924 he worked as a publicity manager and set designer for Karl Hagenbeck in Berlin. In 1924 he moved to New York and worked as a magazine layout artist and freelance advertising designer, establishing his own Madison Avenue studio under the name ʻZeroʾ, the name by which he continued to sign all his work. In 1924 he moved back to Berlin to work for the German branch of the W.S. Crawford advertising agency. In 1932 he moved to London to work as a freelance designer. He became heavily involved in the establishment of unified design policies for British industrial concerns including the British Sugar Corporation, Fisons Pest Control, and the John Lewis Partnership. In 1953 he helped set up the design studio Hans Schleger and Associates where he worked until his death. His commissions included work for British Petroleum Ltd, British Rail, the Edinburgh Festival, London Transport, and Shell-Mex. He was a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, a Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers and held various educational appointments, including that of Visiting Associate Professor at the Institute of Design in Chicago.

Arrangement

This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Study Rooms by appointment only. Full details of access arrangements may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.

Access Information

This archive collection is available for consultation in the V&A Study Rooms by appointment only. Full details of access arrangements may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.

Access to some of the material may be restricted. These restrictions are noted in the catalogue where relevant.

Acquisition Information

Acquired from an unknown source, AAD/1995/32.

Given by Pat Schleger, 2008, AAD/2008/11.

Gift and purchase from Pat Schleger, 2014, AAD/2014/10

Cataloguing supported by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of The David Berg Foundation, New York.

Conditions Governing Use

Information on copying and commercial reproduction may be found here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archives/.