Swiss International Style

11 February 2022 / ERIKAFUKASAWA

Style and Period:

The standardization of visual form through simple, concrete and rational information, eliminating any type of visual interference, with the aim of being universally understood, were the characteristics of the modernist artistic movement called the International Style. (Diogo Terror, 2009)

  • Figure 1 – Josef Müller-Brockmann
  • Figure 2 – Geometric Swiss Style
  • Figure 3 – Proportion Swiss image style

Characteristics:

The Swiss manipulate typefaces just as they do with basic shapes, giving rise to great compositions where you see the full personality of the fonts without missing a photo or artwork for the design in question.
Asymmetric organization of design elements in a mathematically constructed grid, objective photography and text with clear and factual visual and verbal information.
The initiators of the movement believed that sans serif typography expresses the spirit of a more progressive era and that mathematical grid are the most readable and harmonious means of structuring information. (Callie Budrick – Swiss Style 2020)

Colour, Theme and Typify:

Large corporations used the new utilitarian design in their goods and corporate identities. Everything that wasn’t required for the product to work was removed. Its design ideas stress clean lines, form balance, and readability. Graphic cages that define asymmetrical layouts, sans serif typefaces, rigorous mathematical forms, and the usage of photos over illustration are used to achieve these results. (Darth Vader, 2022)

The main practitioners:

  • Josef Muller-Brockmann got popular for making the use of grids within design.
  • Adrian Johann Frutiger was a Swiss typeface designer.
  • Ernst Keller was teacher and pioneer of the Swiss Style.
  • Armin Hofmann was a graphic designer. His work is recognized for its reliance on the fundamental elements of graphic form – point, line, and shape – while subtly conveying simplicity, complexity, representation, and abstraction. (MoMA 2022)
  • Jan Tschichold organised most of the modernist design principles.
  • Figure 4 – Beethoven Poster, Josef Müller-Brockmann, 1955
  • Figure 5 – Beethoven Poster, Josef Müller-Brockmann, 1955
  • Figure 6 – Ernst Keller images
  • Figure 7 – Armin HofmannM B Co Zurich

Contemporary Design or Designers:

Kati Forner has worked in print, digital, packaging, and interactive design, and her work is beautiful and minimalist. She relocated her creative studio to Los Angeles five years ago and has been building identities for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle firms ever since. “Design has the capacity to communicate stories, increase engagement, alter companies, and build a business,” the firm thinks. (Jacque Ostrom, 2019)

  • Figure 8 – Muse + Metta Campaign
  • Figure 9 – Muse + Metta Kombucha
  • Figure 10 – Muse + Metta Kombucha
  • Figure 11 – Muse + Metta Kombucha

Kati’s branding and package design for Muse + Metta Kombucha is perfect for expressing an aspirational lifestyle; it appears strong, yet the lightness and effervescence are palpable. The cool colours she lends to each flavour are so varied and beautiful. (Jacque Ostrom, 2019)

  • Figure 12 – Smile Goods Campaign
  • Figure 13 – Smile Goods Campaign

Reference list:

Pictography:

Published by erikafukasawa

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