The
HfG (
Hochschule für Gestaltung - School of Design)
Ulm, founded 1955 by
Inge Scholl (sister of
Sophie and
Hans Scholl),
Otl Aicher and
Hans Werner Richter, was one of the most influential schools of art and design in
Germany.
Aim of the school was to unify technical competence, cultural design and political responsibility. It was deliberately defined as a sucessor to the
Bauhaus and became famous mostly for
Aicher's sober designs and the radical refusal to
capitalize (it called itself "hfg ulm").
Teachers included
Max Bense,
Otl Aicher,
Max Bill,
Hans Werner Richter,
Alexander Kluge,
Edgar Reitz and
Gui Bonsiepe, whose works made the school and its products known
all over the world.
The HfG made valuable contributions to the development of
industrial design and design education, and these make up the intrinsic relevance of the school today.
It was shut down only 15 years after its opening, in 1969. Due to its
chronic lack of money it had become more and more dependent on finance from the state of
Baden-Württemberg, and during the student protests of 1968 the politicians decided that there was no reason to let this
progressive school live on.