The graphic artist Hans Leistikow was born in 1880. From 1925 he belonged to the group around Ernst May and headed the Graphic Office of the City of Frankfurt. Here he developed, for example, a colour concept for the Structural Engineering Department for the new housing estate in Praunheim. In this period he also created his design for the Frankfurt Eagle, which, although used as Frankfurt coat of arms under Ernst May, simultaneously precipitated a scandal. In contrast to many of his colleagues Leistikow remained in Germany from 1933 onwards. In 1948 he was one of the cofounders of the so-called »Kasseler Schule«. He became Head of the graphic class of the Kassel Art Academy and worked together closely with Hans Hillmann, Gunter Rambow and Jan Lenica, who became famous predominantly for their work in the fields of poster art, book and magazine layout. Leistikow also worked in textile printing, he designed the windows of the Frankfurt Dom and the cupola of the Frankfurt Synagogue. Hans Leistikow died in 1962.