Maja Allenbach was born in 1907, presumably in Kaiseraugst, as Frida Maja Meier. Her family moved with her to Basel in 1912, and Allenbach then moved to Zurich in 1926. There, she initially worked as a window dresser for the Grieder fashion house. However, she returned to Basel for a year in 1929 and attended the graphics class at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel.

She then settled in Bern, where she worked with the architect Werner Allenbach in the studio of his apartment. The two married a year later. Allenbach took her husband's surname and began using only her first name, Maja.

Many of Maja Allenbach's works were attributed to her husband, as they were probably created in their shared studio through an exchange of ideas.

Allenbach was particularly active in book and poster design in the 1930s.

In 1931, she was commissioned to design the signage and lettering in the new building of the Swiss National Library. The following year, she, Eugen Jordi, and Ernst Mumenthaler submitted designs for the standardized exterior signage of the PTT offices to an open competition. Her design in sans serif minuscules attracted international attention and set an excellent example but was still not awarded the prize. Allenbach was later commissioned to revise the winning design.

In 1935, she designed a poster for the SWB exhibition, and in 1941, 1943, and 1947, she created the exhibition catalog and poster for the "Gesellschaft der Malerinnen, Bildhauerinnen, Kunstgewerblerinnen, Sektion Bern" (now SGBK). In 1941, Allenbach designed the children's book "Güggerügü, 's isch morgen am drü. Alti Värsli mit neue Bildli vo Bärner Malerinne" (Güggerügü, 'tis tomorrow at three. Old verses with new pictures by Bernese painters), with illustrations by SGBK artists.

Maja Allenbach repeatedly designed stamps for Swiss Post. These included an Apollo stamp to mark the 50th anniversary of the renewal of the Olympic Games in Lausanne in 1944, a stamp for the Salvation Army in 1958, and one for the University of Basel in 1960.

Her best-known works, however, date primarily from her early days in the studio, which made her a pioneer of the photographic poster. Thanks to Herbert Matter’s simultaneous combination of photography and typography in tourism posters, Allenbach was also able to use these stylistic elements for consumer posters.

She designed numerous posters for "Astra Fett" and "Stalden Creme." For these, she worked with photographers such as Ernst A. Heiniger and Gotthard Schuh. Her avant-garde design approach is also evident in these works. (kl)