Born in 1924, Swedish designer Bo Berndal started his career working as a typesetter in a small print shop during World War II, and went on to become one of Sweden’s most prolific type designers. His career spans several technological shifts in the typographical world; from hot to cold type, from filmsetting to digital type. He has also worked as a book designer, logo designer, exhibition designer, calligrapher, author and lecturer.
In 1950 Berndal was hired as a typeface designer by TYMA (AB Typmatriser), a manufacturer of Linotype matrices. He later worked as a book designer and illustrator at Nordisk Rotogravyr, and taught at the School for Typographers, Graphic Institute and Crafts and Design School of the Swedish Industrial School of Arts.
During the 1980s Bo Berndal started the advertising agency BIGG, along with an associated gallery for typography, Hålet. He designed many trademarks for Swedish institutions and companies, including the National Archive, National Museum, National Board of Health and Welfare, the Transport Administration and the National Bank of Sweden. He participated in the conversion of the renovated Rosenlöf printing house into a museum.
Nowadays Bo Berndal is a fulltime typeface constructor. Although retired, he regards type design as his favorite hobby, designing typefaces to order for museums, ad agencies, companies and even private persons.
