Vancouver designer, visual artist and calligrapher Friedrich Peter was born in Dresden, Germany in 1933. He moved to West Berlin in 1950, where he studied lettering design, painting, graphics, typography and calligraphy at the Academy of Visual Arts. After finishing his studies, Friedrich and his wife Christine were enticed by a poster of the Canadian Rockies and sought out the Canadian consulate to explore the possibility of leaving Germany: … "the rugged nature of the North touched him deeply". Upon their arrival in Canada in 1957, they took a train from Montreal to Vancouver, where in 1958 Friedrich became an instructor at the Vancouver School of Art. He continued to teach at the school and its successors, the Vancouver College of Art and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, until 1998. He also taught courses at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and conducted workshops in lettering and calligraphy at the Emily Carr Institute and painting sessions in West Vancouver and Whistler, BC.

Besides teaching, Friedrich has worked creatively in many areas of art and design. He continues to be actively involved in painting and exhibiting, calligraphy, typeface design, drawing and book illustration. He has had solo exhibitions in public and commercial galleries and has participated in national and international group shows and traveling exhibitions of painting, calligraphy and medallic art. His designs for postage stamps, coins and medals include issues commemorating Canada’s National Anthem in 1980; patriation of Canada’s Constitution in 1982 and the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope, also in 1982. Winning designs include the 1998 Sports Series of four 50-cent proof coins for the Royal Canadian Mint; $100 gold coins for the Constitution, the 1988 XV Olympic Winter Games in Calgary and the official Sports Medal of the Games.

He was commissioned to design large banner murals for the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches and the MacPherson Centre in Burnaby, BC; murals for Trinity Western University and Regent College at the University of BC, and street banners for the City of Vancouver.

His typeface design work has received awards in several international Typeface Design Competitions. The widely used “Vivaldi” and “Magnificat” fonts, traveling exhibitions of his calligraphy and his book illustrations have made his work known abroad. Elected as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1974, Mr. Peter is listed in the Canadian and American editions of "Who’s Who of Art".

Friedrich and Christine have raised three children, all born in Canada, and believe that "God’s guidance, not our dreams of freedom…brought us to Canada."