Peter was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1940. where he served a four-year typesetting apprenticeship. After several years as typesetter and designer in Holland, England and Switzerland he returned to the Basel College of Design, were he received his Master’s Degree in Design Management in 1965.
After a stint at the Geigy Pharmaceutical design studio, he emigrated to Montreal in 1968. After working in several advertising agencies he became advertising manager for Syntex Ltd., and then, in 1971 was invited to join the new Visual Communications Design Program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. This marked the beginning of a 29-year commitment to design education in Canada. His personal passion is typography, and he established a strong typography program at U of A. In 1985, he was instrumental in introducing computers to the program as well as the local design community.
While at the U of A, he also maintained his own design practice, designing annual reports, posters, signage and brand identities, mainly for institutional clients. He designed books for the University of Alberta Press, developed signage systems for U of A Hospital and the Edmonton Space Sciences Centre. He pursued independent research into the field of visual communication and design profession resulting in many articles in professional publications. He lectured widely and conducted workshops at design schools and professional conferences across North America, Europe and Japan.
He established the Alberta Chapter of the GDC in 1972 and was involved with the foundation of GDC National. In 1985, he started a small letterpress venture, called Press at Pilot Bay, in Kootenay Bay, BC.
After his retirement from the Uo f A in 2000, he moved to Cincinnati (where his wife, Jane Merks, taught graphic design). In 2002 he returned to British Colombia, settled in Balfour BC near Nelson, changed the name of the press to PB+J, to reflect the co-operation with his wife Jane Merks. The publication program consisted of hand printed letterpress books and limited edition prints, crossing the boundaries from design into art. Involvement in the local community resulted in designing exhibition panels for local historical sites, mentoring young designers, curating a juries exhibition about local designers, designing books for local authors and spreading the word about the book arts to schools, colleges and other interested groups. In 2012 he sold most of the equipment to a young designer/artist/printer who continues the letterpress tradition.
Peter now lives in Nelson, BC., where he is still creatively active and involved with the local community.