Born in 1960 in Lucerne, Switzerland. He studied graphic design at the Schule für Gestaltung Zürich from 1977 to 1982. After receiving his diploma, he opened his own graphic design studio in Zurich. He designs publications, logos and corporate identities, but devotes himself above all to creating posters for cultural events. He has designed posters and program magazines for the Zurich repertory cinema “Filmpodium” since 1983. He has repeatedly been commissioned to design posters and exhibit announcements for the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich since 1984. In addition to his work for other institutions, he has also designed the posters for the African Film Festival “Cinemafrica” since 1989.
Ten years after graduating, Schraivogel returned to the Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Zürich as a lecturer, where he continued to teach until 2001. During 2000–2001 he was a guest professor at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. Since 2003 he teaches at the Hochschule Luzern and since 2010 at the Schule für Gestaltung Basel.
Ralph Schraivogel has received the Swiss Federal Prize for Applied Art three times, in 1995, 1997, and 2000. He was awarded Gold at the Warsaw International Poster Biennale in 1994; Gold at the Moscow International Biennalel of Graphic Design “Golden Bee” in 1994; Gold at the International Poster and Graphic Arts Festival of Chaumont in 1997,and 2010; Grand Prix at the International Biennale of Graphic Design Brno in 1998; Gold at the International Poster Biennial, Ningbo in 2001 and 2004; Gold at the Art Directors Club New York in 2003; Gold at the Tehran International Poster Biennial in 2007; and Grand Prix at the International Triennial of Poster in Toyama 2009. He is the Award Laureate 2009 for the Jan Lenica Award established by the National Museum in Poznań, Poland.
One-man shows in many locations including Osaka, Tehran, Paris, Chaumont, Brno, Ljubljana, Zurich, and Bern have helped make his poster work known to a wider public. His posters are included in numerous collections around the world including the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is a member of AGI, the Alliance Graphique Internationale, since 1995.
