Heinz Traimer - austrian graphic-designer

Heinz Traimer (1921-2002), born in Germany, was a German-Austrian graphic-designer and advertising copywriter who lived and worked in Vienna since 1956.

Childhood and Youth in Bavaria

Heinz Traimer was born in Schondorf/Ammersee in 1921. His parents worked as teachers, but his father died when he was 8 years old. Traimer went to grammar school in Munich until 1940. He had to serve in Army as an radio-operator in the Trains of the Deutsche Wehrmacht. In 1945 he became a prisoner of war in Russia. When he returned to Vienna he was incurable infected with polio.

Education at the famous Akadamie fuer das graphische Gewerbe

He was educated in Munich (Germany) at the prestigious schools “Blocherer-Schule” (Blocherer School of Applied Arts) and the “Akademie für das graphische Gewerbe – Meisterschule für Deutschlands Buchdrucker "(Academy for the graphics industry - German Master School for printing). Professor Eduard Ege and Eberhard Hoelscher, both well-known German graphic-designers, were his teacher.

In the first years after his training, he came into contact with bank advertising. He also won several competitions and was employed by the well-known agency “Suedgraphik”. 

Move to Vienna (Austria) in 1956 - posters for the Central Savings Bank of Vienna

Because of his girlfriend and later wife he came to Vienna and was immediately hired as studio manager at the prestigious advertising agency “Koszler”. Here he probably created the first ads for the Zentralsparkasse der Gemeinde Wien "Vienna Savings Bank”

Traimers own silk printer studio "Kahlenberg-Graphik"

In 1956, Traimer decided to start his own business. With his wife he installed a silk screen printer studio called “Kahlenberg-Graphik”. Henceforth, Austrians saving banks group was his main customer. Until 1970 his work was characterized by fast sketches or simple surfaces and often included humorous content. Pupils and young people, the middle class and the working class were his main target group in the years until 1970. Therefore, any of his posters gave advice how to save money in a colorful and narrative way. With the growing affluence of the population, bank advertising received new motifs, which showed "lifestyle" in the poster art photography - a technique which Traimer did not really like.

Traimers graphics appeared as posters, in newspapers, magazines, on slides at the cinema, public buildings, on buses and trams. He also developed TV and radio advertising. So it was impossible not to take notice of his works in the years between 1955 and 1980.

Further customers were the Automobile Club „ARBÖ“,the electronics company„Kapsch“, the City of Vienna, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), and numerous other businesses and private customers.

When Traimer died in 2002, he left an estate with nearly 2.500 objects including more than 300 posters.

Moreover posters by Traimer can be found in the collections of various museums or collections like the “Erste-Stiftung – Archiv” (Archive of the Erste Foundation), the "Wienmuseum" (Historical Museum of Vienna), the "Wienbibliothek" (Vienna Library), the “Museum für angewandte Kunst – MAK” (Museum of Applied Arts), the “Österreichische-Nationalbibliothek (ÖNB)” (Austrian National Library) and the "Strassenbahn-Museum" (Tram museum).

author: Matthias Bechtle

Bechtle, Matthias (2012): Heinz Traimer. Unveröffentlichte Diplomarbeit. Universität Wien, S. 349.