Max Huber Biography
Max Huber (Baar, 5 June 1919 – Mendrisio, 16 November 1992) was a Swiss designer and teacher, whose activity took place mainly in Italy. He began as an engraver, studying at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich, but immediately turned, thanks to the famous Swiss photographers Werner Bischof and Alfred Willimann, towards a contemporary visual culture, influenced by the avant-garde movements of the time, including Russian futurism. In 1939 he was called to collaborate with the Conzett & Huber graphics industry. Here he met Max Bill and Hans Neuburg. In 1940 he settled in Milan, collaborating with the most important graphic reality of the time, the Boggeri studio, studying at the same time at the Brera Academy and coming into contact with designers such as Bruno Munari and Lica and Albe Steiner. After a period in Switzerland (1941-1945), where he worked for the magazine Du and took part in Allianz (abstract art artists), he returned to Italy and began collaborating with Giulio Einaudi, for whom he renewed all the graphics of the his publishing house. In 1948 he developed the graphics for the new economic-financial newspaper 24 Ore, whose director Piero Colombi was his personal friend. In 1950 he designed the brand and logo for La Rinascente. With Achille Castiglioni and Erberto Carboni he designed important installations, such as RAI, ENI, Montecatini and various radio exhibitions: his activity also led him to distinguish himself in the publishing field and he collaborated with important companies such as Legler, Olivetti, Esselunga, Feltrinelli, Istituto Geografico De Augustines. He was also active in the field of teaching, at the Umanitaria in Milan (1959-1962), at the Polytechnic School of Design (1970s), at the CSIA in Lugano. He was a member of AGI, Alliance Graphique Internationale. Huber received the Compasso d'Oro award in 1954 thanks to the Molded Plastic project for the Italian company Stabilimenti Ponte Lambro. In 2005, the MAX, Max Huber Museum, which collects the master's legacy and is directed by his widow, the Japanese Aoi Kono, was inaugurated in Chiasso.
