Zembsch began his career in graphic arts as a typesetter. He subsequently studied graphic design at Mannheim and Stuttgart. While working as a packaging designer for the pharmaceutical firm of Mann & Schröder, in his spare time he designed the winning entry in Letraset’s International Typeface Competition for 1972/73, a typeface named Beans. He later worked as advertising manager for a German publishing house and, in 1977, he became an independent graphic designer. In addition to illustrating book jackets for other authors, he has written and illustrated several of his own works. Zembsch and partner Sophie Weiss currently run a design firm in Munich.