Hans Rudi Erdt was born in South Bavaria in 1883. After leaving school he studied at the Munich Industrial College. In 1905 he moved to Berlin where he became a commercial poster artist. Influenced by the work of Ludwig Hohlwein and Lucian Bernard.

During the First World War he produced posters for the German government. This included U-Boats Out!, a film about underwater warfare. Hans Rudi Erdt died in 1918.