Have you ever heard of Helmut Lortz? No? At IFA, neither had we- until we started delving into the brand’s history for its 100th anniversary that is. What is – at first glance- just a scribble of a human head with arrows pointing at eye and ear has, over tens of decades, become IFA’s most iconic symbol: The “Funk-Otto”. His creator? None other than Helmut Lortz

Helmut Lortz, born in 1920, was an important figure in his day with a multifaceted body of work that encompasses everything from graphic art to painting and photography. Armin Lindauer, a student of Lortz’s at the Berlin University of the Arts, author, professor, and designer/artist in his own right, offers some valuable insights into Lortz’s work and its impact on the world of design.

How was Helmut Lortz as a person and as an artist?  
Anyone who met him for the first time was taken by his friendly and approachable nature. He interacted with people with an openness and innocence that was highly attractive. A slender man, with thick reddish-blonde hair and bright eyes. His curiosity about almost everything was striking. Man and artist were inseparable. 

How did your journey with Helmut Lortz begin? 
As a student at the University of the Arts Berlin in the early 80s. I wanted to join his class and introduced myself to him. That’s how it was back then, you would speak to the head of a class, show your portfolio, and he would decide whether you could stay or not. I was allowed to stay. 

How would you describe his art?  
His artistic journey began with an apprenticeship as an ivory carver in the Odenwald. He won the nationwide professional competition two years in a row. He then received a scholarship for sculpture at the State University of Fine Arts Berlin, now the University of the Arts. His studies were interrupted by World War II. After the war, he began to work as a self-taught graphic artist and quickly achieved great success. He then designed posters, logos, postage stamps, book series, and illustrated books. His entire working method was based on drawing; on a clear line that bears the mark of the hand. 

Where does graphic design end and art begin?  
Who evaluates what is what? Let’s think about the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. Clearly a commissioned work. Today, no one would deny that it is also great art. So why should an applied work, a work with a client, not have the same quality as a free one? Helmut Lortz made no distinction between applied and free. He worked with the same intensity in both areas, showing no preference. From my perspective, Helmut was a true boundary crosser. 

Which aspects of Helmut Lortz’s art are particularly fascinating to you?  
His enormous drawing talent is particularly noteworthy. This was expressed primarily in his constant sketching, his “grasping” of the world through drawing. This is the essence of all his design work, both free and applied. It is also the origin of the IFA logo. 

Read the full interview here.

Photo (header): Helmut Lortz – © Kunst Archiv Darmstadt e.V.  Nachlass Lortz  

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An enduring symbol

Helmut Lortz created the Funk-Otto logo , representing a head with arrows pointing at it, Armin Lindauer believes, in or around 1969, at a time when he was already internationally successful as a designer. Developed from a series, as was customary for the artist, the final IFA logo used for many years emerged from numerous sketch sheets with countless variations. “The principle of variation and selection runs through his entire body of work,” notes Mr Lindauer, and in the case of the former IFA logo, “its concentration and minimalism hint at the detail-oriented search behind it.” 

To understand the significance of the IFA symbol, it’s best to look at the logo itself, Mr Lindauer points out, which represents a stylised head in profile receiving information through the eye and ear. It may not be evident today, but the frame around the head forms a screen, which denoted a television at the time when it was created, while the arrows represent sending and receiving.

As IFA marks its 100th anniversary, the show has undergone a new brand update, but the historic Funk-Otto logo continues to be relevant and an important part of IFA this year. Armin Lindauer emphaises, “It would be hard to express the topic more succinctly and meaningfully visually. That’s probably why this symbol has endured to this day.”