Peter Schmidt spent decades shaping the visual identity of brands and institutions. His design work was as precise as it was poetic. Peter Schmidt passed away in Hamburg on 24 July 2025, aged 87.
by the ndion editorial team
Born in Bayreuth in 1937, he was deeply influenced at an early age by an encounter with Richard Wagner. ‘I felt like King Ludwig and was overwhelmed,’ he said in an interview with ndion in 2019. He added, ‘When we talk about branding and corporate design, we are also talking about staging a world.’ Following his studies at the Werkkunstschule in Kassel, Peter Schmidt relocated to Hamburg in 1967. There, he began working as a creative director and, in 1972, joined forces with Waltraud Bethge to establish the Peter Schmidt Studios. He remained at the helm of the agency until 2006, after which it transitioned into what is now known as the Peter Schmidt Group. The agency has been a foundation member of the German Design Council for many years.
Following his death, the Peter Schmidt Group published a tribute describing him as ‘an outstanding designer and a wonderful human being’. The agency emphasised that his vision and values continue to shape the way it thinks and works to this day. Now employing around 240 people across five locations, including Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich, the Peter Schmidt Group is one of the leading branding and design agencies in the German-speaking world. Its interdisciplinary approach combines strategy, design, and digital experiences, reflecting Peter Schmidt’s concept of holistic design.
Design between Identity and Staging
Schmidt’s diverse and international body of work includes perfume bottles for Jil Sander, Hugo Boss and Laura Biagiotti, packaging for Apollinaris, 4711 and Arzberg, corporate design for the city of Hamburg, the Hamburg State Opera and the German armed forces, and magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar.
Peter Schmidt set new standards, particularly in corporate design. His work was characterised by a clear, often minimalist design language that did more than just make brands look good – it gave them an identity. From heritage mineral water brands like Apollinaris to cultural institutions like the Hamburg State Opera, Schmidt had an exceptional ability to distil and express the essence of an organisation through design. His visual language was never just a stylistic tool; it was the product of a design philosophy that seamlessly connected form, function, and cultural context. The bottle he designed for Jil Sander was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for a period of time.
In 2019, he was honoured as ‘Personality of the Year’ by the German Design Council as part of the German Design Awards. The jury justified its decision as follows: ‘Peter Schmidt stands for the holistic staging of brands like no other. Not many consumers will know him by name, but there is hardly anyone who has not come into contact with the countless logos, packaging and products he has designed.’
Stage, Books and Personal Ethos
Theatre also became an important part of his creative output. Since the 1990s, he had designed stage and costume sets for the Hamburg Ballet under John Neumeier, including productions such as Death in Venice (2003) and Parzival (2007). He approached these projects with the same discipline and precision that he brought to his branding work. “When staging something like the premiere of a play by Elfriede Jelinek, you have to be precise; otherwise, you’re not doing her language justice.”
Beyond theatre, he had a particular love for books as a medium. Book design allowed him complete creative freedom. ‘It’s wonderful to design a book. You have all the possibilities because you’re the one who decides, not everyone else. The secrets of a book belong to us.’
Peter Schmidt described himself as reserved: ‘I’m actually a very shy person,’ he told ndion in 2019. Yet his work spoke volumes, demonstrating clarity, conviction and consistency. With his passing, the German design world has lost one of its most influential figures.
Share on Social Media
