Who is Hermann Schmidt?
Hermann Schmidt is the father of Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs. It was he who gave Bertram the incurable »typography virus« and who advised him to follow up his straight A’s in school with an apprenticeship as typesetter. To him, caps were more important than capital. He handed the Universitätsdruckerei and the associated – then still regionally active – publishing house over to Bertram and gave him full rein. In gratitude the publishing house bears his name. The responsibility for publishing decisions, however, is that of Karin and Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs. So, send any criticisms to us. We’ll share the praise with Hermann Schmidt.
Working at Schmidt
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius
We decided to remain small, to make fewer books with fewer staff, so that we, as those in charge, can remain close to the product, close to the customer, close to the content and close to the writers. For us, this makes up the fascination of publishing and perhaps you perceive this fascination in the beautiful and award-winning books. Yet, this also means that we rarely offer new permanent positions. We’re happy about this because we can only work up to your expectations with staff members who can put up with and who share our perfectionism.
Nonetheless, we do regularly offer jobs to interns. We always have at least one opening for an intern in production and design, but from experience we only accept interns with Mac skills and who apply for an at least six month position. We also offer an internship in sales that lasts 18 months.
If you have any questions, please contact Brigitte Raab at +49 (0) 6131 – 50 60 15 or b.raab[at]typografie.de.
How can I get the beautiful Schmidt books?
At best, order them right here and now. Ms. Tegenkamp and Mr. Weimann are a skilled turbo-team and usually dispatch books ordered the next working day. During Fastnacht – since we are located in Mainz – it can take a bit longer because we then share Mr. Weimann with the Hechtsheimer Dragonern.
If you would prefer to purchase our books in a shop,
Mr. Leis (j.leis[at]typografie.de / 06131 – 50 60 82),
Ms. Ballerstedt (a.ballerstedt[at]typografie.de / 06131 – 50 60 21) and
Mr. Haack (m.haack[at]typografie.de / 06131 – 50 60 84)
can inform you of a bookseller near you that is well stocked with Schmidt.
What does the Aldus leaf in the company logo signify?
The Aldus leaf – an ornament from the early days of printing – is named after Aldus Manutius (1448 - 1515), the great Venetian typographer, printer and publisher, who used the heart-shaped leaf to adorn his timeless, exemplary books.
Bertram discovered the leaf while working on his thesis on ornaments and typography in the early 1980s at what is today the Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart. At first, it adorned private letters to Karin. When BSF entered the family company, he added the Aldus leaf to the company logo as a symbol of his philosophy of quality. Since then, it has lent the S of the Universitätsdruckerei direction and support.
At the publishing house, it has a more liberated life and is interpreted anew by every author for their book. In this way, a living logo is created for a lively and creative publishing house.
It is said that the art of printing was invented in Mainz, but typography was invented in Venice – to which Aldus Manutius made his contribution.
We do our best to strengthen Mainz’s reputation in the arts of printing and typography.
How can I become an author for Schmidt?
Six steps to a book at Schmidt
[… and how nothing will come of it for certain]
You have the idea for a book and dream to one day hold this book in your hands in the most beautiful form possible? You like our Aldus leaf, our attitude, our programme and think your book would thrive in this environment? Then we’d be delighted if you contact us! We are curious about good ideas and rely on good proposals. Nevertheless, your project will have to take a few hurdles:
a) How do you win the eyes, minds and hearts of Karin and Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs?
You send a BRIEF concept that reveals who the book should address and with what content, what it will require and what it will convey, who you – the owner of the ideas – are and an idea of how the design could be implemented [sample pages].
PLEASE don’t send it by email – because even we like to switch off the computer at times, yet nonetheless like to look at and choose the future of our publishing house in the form of beautiful projects...but on paper. Not too much paper, because we sometimes have to carry these project portfolios home with us and there, from the desk to the balcony.
b) What prerequisites do the projects need to fulfil? Are there series, a corporate design, etc.?
We don’t produce book series and have no rigid corporate design. This surprises many people; they expect it from a publisher for graphic design. However, we think that EACH of our books should be permitted to be an individual. Therefore, the concept need solely be consistent in itself – not so difficult – and it has to be fascinating because that is ultimately what you, too, expect from books by Schmidt.
c) Can you trust us?
We are constantly being asked to please make an appointment for the initial presentation of a project. From approximately 300 project proposals each year, we choose about 25 that will become books by Schmidt. We want to put all of our energy, our skill and our productive creativity in those books. For this reason, we CANNOT make any appointments to get to know a project. But, you can rely on us to consider your proposal with respect for your authorship, to inform you without delay if we have something similar "in the making" and that we will not steal your ideas. If we were to do that, it would mean the end of the publishing house and we want to spend at least another twenty years making books with and for you.
d) Then what happens?
We try to examine projects sent to us quickly. But, especially right after the book fair and during other stressful times, it may occur that we need to ask you to be patient. We apologize for this. When we have together dealt with your project in detail, we will get in touch with you, either to express our interest or give you a justified refusal.
In the best case, we then commence a cooperation borne by our mutual aim to put a particularly beautiful book with outstanding content on the market. This involves shared and differing opinions and standpoints, lots of discussions and long working meetings together in Mainz. So far, in almost every case this has led not only to a good book, but also to something like friendship. If you work together long enough on higher and highest quality, you get to know and appreciate one another.
e) Will it make me rich?
To be honest, neither you nor we will get rich. »The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it« said John Ruskin. This has pleased many of our authors so much that they sat down to a second book. Nevertheless, there is, of course, a contract that regulates the question of fees. We are considered very fair and intend to stay that way.
f) What if I insist on presenting the project myself?
We hold a portfolio presentation day twice a year in our offices. We spend them doing nothing but talking to those who come about their projects, offering advice and ideas and, of course, also »sniffing out great ideas«.
Do you hire graphic designers? Do you take on agencies?
No, unfortunately, we don’t hire. That may sound remarkable considering we’re the leading specialized German-language publishing house for graphic design. Yet, if you think about it further and deal more closely with our programme, you will notice: almost all of the authors are designers themselves. Naturally someone like Kirsten Dietz, like Friedrich Forssman, like Borries Schwesinger, like Fons Hickmann or like Erik Spiekermann design their book themselves.
The few who »merely« write usually come to us with a graphic designer in tow. Such as Mario Pricken, whose successful books »Kribbeln im Kopf« and »Visuelle Kreativität« were created in a congenial ping pong game with Christine Klell.
There are, however, book projects that we run across without a graphic designer: Corporate Language, for example, whom we found Matthias Ballmann to design – the same fellow who put typografie.de on the Internet [thank you, Matthias!].
In addition, every couple of years we have the basic layout and every two years the cover of our publishing catalogue redesigned or revised so that you continue to enjoy leafing through it!
The few remaining design tasks beyond books are taken up by Karin and Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs themselves with a passion [actually BSF only became a publisher so he would be allowed to design…].
So, it’s not worth your while to send us an application for a staff position as graphic designer, but we’d be happy to take a look at your profile. Yet, even if it fascinates us, it can often take a very, very long time until this turns into a partnership.
Please don’t take this personally; it’s simply a matter of the professional skills of the authors – and you certainly appreciate that, right???
What happens to my personal data? – Data protection
Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz takes the protection of your personal data very seriously. We do everything possible to keep your personal data confidential. In the following, we explain to you the extent to which personal and use data are stored and employed.
Are personal data recorded on typografie.de?
Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz does not record any personal data of the visitors during their use of its website typografie.de. Such data are only recorded, processed, stored and used when you as user of our site transmit book orders to us.
Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz is entitled to record, to process, to store and to make use of the personal data of users upon transmitting book orders via typografie.de where required to enable unobstructed flow of the order process and the delivery of the books ordered. Therefore, when a user orders one or more books, the data cited for this purpose are recorded, stored and processed for the purposes of accounting, delivery of the shipment and bookkeeping.
The same applies to data received by us in the form of email enquiries. Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz guarantees confidential treatment of this data.
What data are recorded when using typografie.de?
The only electronically recorded information pertains to the type and operating system of your computer. This data is provided to us by your browser. In order to ascertain the extent to which the offer is of interest to the user and can be improved, general non-personal, chiefly statistical data are recorded on the use of typografie.de. For this purpose, data and information are compiled from server log files on an integrated basis and employed for statistics and analyses.
Are the recorded data provided to third parties?
This website may contain links to other websites. Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz does not transfer your personal data to these websites nor is it responsible for their handling of personal rights. We advise you to contact these companies for information about their policies for the protection of personal rights.
This declaration on data protection may be amended at any time. Please regularly check back with this page to learn of any modifications.
What did Karin and Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs do before the publishing house and what do they do besides?
Karin Schmidt-Friderichs
Born on 29 October 1960
Following her Abitur, a photography traineeship at F. C. Gundlach in Hamburg and architecture traineeships in Germany and abroad
1980 – 1990 studied architecture at the Universität Stuttgart
Studies interrupted by the births of daughters Hannah [1985] and Julia [1986]
1990 – 1992 employed and freelance work as architect
Since 1992 development, together with Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs, of Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz to what is now the leading German-language publishing house specialized in typography | graphic design | creativity. Chief responsibility here in the areas of marketing [branding], PR, sales and programme.
Since 1997 regular teaching assignments in typography and visual communications and marketing in the graphic industries. Furthermore regular project-related brand consulting, moderation and event organization as well as articles published in the industry press
Since 2003 chair of the occupational training committee of the Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels
Since 2004 member of and vice chair of the Universities Council of Rhineland-Palatinate and member of the Society of Typographic Designers
Since 2008 increasingly active in consultancy for publishing companies. Beside of that, because enthusiasm for graphic design is not everything: member of amnesty international and the Hospizgesellschaft [society of hospice care]
Since 2010 member of DDC and ADC
Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs
Publisher - Printer - Typographer
Born on 13 June 1959
Following his Abitur, training as typesetter [using the traditional hot type] alongside studies in art history and book studies in Mainz
1979 – 1982 studied printing engineering at the Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart [then FH Druck];
Thesis on ornament and typography
1982/83 bookmaker at Klett-Cotta
1983 – 1984 assistant to management at Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei, Stuttgart
1985 assistant in business consulting at Baumgartner & Partner, Sindelfingen
Since 1986 managing partner of the Universitätsdruckerei
1986/87 first typography books, including a reprint of Jan Tschichold’s Elementarer Typografie
Since 1988 periodically received awards and prizes in various national and international competitions, now counting far over 150
Since 1989 German Liaison Chairman of the Type Directors Club of New York, e.g. responsible for the TDC Show
Since 1996 teaching assignments and seminars in typography and visual communications together with Karin Schmidt-Friderichs
1999 division of the Universitätsdruckerei and Verlag Hermann Schmidt Mainz into two independent companies after the publishing house developed to the leader for typography, graphic design and advertising
In addition, regular presentations and articles on the subject matter of typography and visual communications
Founding member of Forum Typografie
Member of the executive committee of the Gutenberg Society
Member of the Type Directors Club of New York (TDC),
the Association Typographique International (ATypI),
the Society of Typographic Designers
Since 2010 member of ADC
