NAKED: Swiss Design Exposed

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Design Exposed Swiss International Style



04 06 08 Introduction

Back To Basics

Chapter One

12 14 16 Gallery

Keep It Simple

Chapter Two

20 22 24 Gallery

Timeline

Index


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Introduction Swiss Design begun in the late 1940’s and it’s design standards are still used today.

Swiss Design, also known as International Typographic Style, has played a very important role in the development of modern design. Since the late 1940’s, it has promoted cleanliness, readibility, and objectivity. Swiss Design often features a sans-serif typeface such as AkzidenzGrotesk, Univers or Helvetica. It’s also recognizeable for its use of asymetrical compositions, use of flush left, ragged-right text, mathematical grid systems, extreme geometric reduction, and flat areas of color. Swiss designers go by the philosophy of “less is more”. The movement shows how a reductive design language can ultimately convey a universal and timeless message. Even though the use of minimalistic designs is key in Swiss Style, the message is always easily recieved by the reader. This book is a collection of Swiss posters throughout the decades.

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Massimo Vignelli

BA


BACK TO ASICS THE BIRTH OF SWISS DESIGN


Josef M端ller Brockmann, Olma St. Gallen (1959)

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How Swiss Design became successful The beginning Ernst Keller was known as the father of Swwiss Design.

The International Typographic Style developed out of the

modernist aesthetic of simplified layouts and emphasized on text, negative space, and objective imagery. Early influences of the style include Jan Tschichold’s Die Neue Typographie (1928), and Herbert Matter’s poster designs for the Swiss National Tourist Office (1934). Swiss Design also adopted Russian Constructivist elements of geometric reduction, use of images, and a simplified palette. From Bauhaus, it adopted the use of asymetrical layouts. The purpouse of the style is to create a clear, universal visual communication. Two major Swiss design schools are responsible for the early years of International Typographic Style. A graphic design technique that used the grid begun in the 19th century and became inspiration for modifying the foundational course at the School of Design in 1908. Shortly after that, in 1918 Ernst Keller (known as the father of Swiss Style) became a professor at the Zurich School of the Applied Arts, and began developing a graphic design and typography course. the philosophy he tought his students was that “the solution to the design problem should emerge from it’s content.” After World War II, the Swiss took the movement to another level.

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E

ven though Swiss Design has rules to follow, such as

Armin Hoffman was a famous Swiss graphic designer and

the use of the grid and minimalistic shapes, there have

teacher, who is known for his immeasurable influence on

been many famous graphic designers throughout the

generations of designers, teaching the power and elegance of

decades that have not only made the designs their own, but

simplicity and clarity. He is one of the most influential teachers

have elevated the movement to what it is today.

and designers the field of graphic design has ever seen.

Joseph Müller Brockmann was influenced by the ideas

Emil Ruder was a typographer and graphic designer who

of several different design and art movements including

helped Armin Hofmann form the Basel School of Design.

Constructivism, De Stijl, Suprematism and the Bauhaus. He is

He taught his students that typography’s purpose was to

probably the most well-known Swiss designer and his name is

communicate ideas through writing. He gave sans-serif

probably the most recognizable when thinking of the period.

typefaces a big role and his work is both clear and concise.

“If you can design one thing, you can design everything” - Massimo Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli, New York City Subway Map (1972)

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Wim Crowel designed his first poster in 1952. After leaving art school, he became an Expressionist painter, but as he designed this first poster he discovered the pleasure of organizing visual information in an aesthetical context. In 1967 he designed the typeface “New Alphabet”, that only contained horizontal and vertical strokes. Eduard Hoffmann commissioned Max Miedinger to design an updated sans-serif typeface to compete with the popular sans-serif Akzidenz Grotesk. The result was a typeface called Neue Haas Grotesk, later renamed Helvetica when Stempel and Linotype began mwarketing the font internationally in 1961. Max Miedinger, along with designer Eduard Hoffmann, is responsible for the creation of the typeface titled Neue Haas Grotesk, know known as Helvetica. Helvetica is one of, if not the most used typeface in Swiss Design to this day. It’s sucess was so big, and it put him number one on the map as a type designer. Massimo Vignelli was an Italian designer who worked in a number of areas ranging from package design through houseware design and furniture design to public signage and showroom design. His motto was “if you can design one

Work by Wim Crowel

thing, you can design everything.” He is also to thank for the creation of the New York City Subway Map, created in 1972. Hans Neuburg was a Swiss mod­ernist graphic designer who was one of the pio­neers of the Inter­na­tional Typo­ graphic Style. He mainly worked for industrial graphic design, posters, logotypes, exhibition stands and catalogues. He had at the time a big influence on industrial graphic design based on his strong constructivist principles. Wolfgang Weingart is a designer and instructor who is known for his typographic explorations and teaching at the Basel School of Design. He created a more experimental and expressive approach to typography that was influential around the world. Although Swiss design is seen through his works, being deliberately careless with it was his trademark.

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Wim Crowel, Eugéne Brands (1969)

(Left) Hans Neuburg Zürcher Künstler in der Kunsthalle Basel (1966) (Right) Emil Ruder Seit Langem Bewährt (1970)

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Helmut Schmid, Die Neue Gesellschaft 12 (1974)

(Left) Josef M端ller Brockmann Musica Viva (1969) (Right) Armin Hofmann Giselle (1959)

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Wim Crowel


LESS IS MORE THE FUTURE OF SWISS DESIGN


Wolfgang Weingart, Wolfgang Weingart (1981)

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How Swiss Design changed everything “Form follows

function” became a

Design methods Swiss Design’s keen attention to detail, precision, craft skills and technical training, laid out a foundation for a

war-cry of Modernist

movement that has been exported worldwide and really

after the 1930s.

become an international style. Emerging from the modernist and constructivist ideals, the Swiss Style can be defined as an authentic pursue for simplicity – “the beauty in the underlines of a purpose, not beauty as a purpose in itself.” The principle “form follows function” became a war-cry of Modernist architects after the 1930s. As a consequence of this principle, most of the Swiss Style craft is devoted to the minimal elements of style such as typography and content layout rather than on textures and illustrations. This style of graphic design was born in the institutional context. The majority of pieces from this movement are in the form of posters, stamps, institutional typographical identity, street signs, etc. Today, it has also been adapted to the web. Because form follows function, graphic artists are creating not only simple, beautiful sites, but user-friendly ones as well. The Swiss Style is considered the King of Web Design. It can be easily identified for its immense simplicity and exhortation to beauty.

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U

niformity and geometry are very important and

than just a tool for placing elements. The visual organization of

primary when it comes to Swiss Style. Graphic

content is a huge part of Swiss Design’s essence. The dispo-

artists have experimented with abstract geomet-

sition of information reinforces and hints certain meanings of

ric patterns, uncommon color combinations, text

what the content is about, and its importance. Visual hierarchy

manipulations and striking abstract visuals that are used to

is a prime rule in Swiss design. By separating chunks of texts

clearly convey their purpose.

in a layout, you get the idea of a visual grid, without actually

White space can never be overlooked or underrated. It is a

placing it in the design.

very important element both for visual impact and readability.

Elementary and minimal design is all about removing the

In Swiss design, white space is considered a part of the image. unnecessary and emphasizing the necessary. It is about It is space to breathe, and it shows cleanliness in a simple, yet

functional and simple uses of fundamental elements of style for

effective way. White space is as important as type and form.

the purpose of the artist’s objectives. This is oneof the reasons

Grid system is a rigid framework that is supposed to help

whi Swiss Style graphic designers pay so much attention to

graphic artist in the meaningful,

“Basic elements, have so much aesthetic logical, and consistent organipotential, that there is rarely any need for zation of information on a page. other visual graphic elements.” Rudimentary versions of grid sys-

typography. According to the movement, adding more elements without fully exploring the potential of fundamental

tems have existed since medival times, but a group of graphic

ones can be considered a “waste”. Basic elements, have so

designers, mostly inspired by the ideals of graphic literature,

much aesthetic potential, that there is rarely any need for other

started building a more rigid and coherent system for page

visual graphic elements. Take away elements until impossible.

layout. The core of the idea, which is still in much use today,

Serif Typeface is one of the strongest characteristics of the

was first presented by Josef Müller Brockmann in his book Grid Swiss Style. Some of these mainly include Akzidenz Grotesk, Systems in Graphic Design. This was in the year 1968.

Univers, and the all-mighty Helvetica. With this philosophy,

Structured information is also an important rule in Swiss

designers were aiming once again at clarity, simplicity and

Design. Eventhough it is easy to embrace the grid system as a

universality. Helvetica, for instance, is a typeface that is famous

purely visual framework, it is important to notice that it is more

for its pervasiveness. It is widely used in corporate identity,

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because it does not have to be expressive itself. It must be an unobtrusive instrument of expression. Readability is key. It is very common to spot the use of fontsize contrast in the Swiss Style works. Different typographic sizes not only generate visual impact, but also providee readers with a hint about the hierarchy of the presented content. Big type is the entry point, the top-level elements in the content’s information architecture and the page’s hierarchy. This is a very efficient way of guiding the readers eyes through the page, thus working as an interface to the content. Photography is used many times in Swiss Style design work. Following the modernist ideas in which photography was a much better tool to portray reality than drawings and illustrations, the Neue Grafik magazine, a very important Swiss design publication at the time, dedicated a big part of its content to photography and its application in design. Most Swiss designers tend to use photos rather than images as the former gives an impression of realism and drama to the whole design. Commonly, these photos are taken in black and white. The Swiss Style follows a very simple philosophy: less is more. This design style is focused on its function rather than its look. This norm should guide all aspiring Swiss Designers. Add what is needed, and nothing more. By following this, Swiss design has been successful in both meaning and aesthetics.

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Gregor Huber & Ivan Sterzinger, Helmhaus Zürich Talk To The Hand (2013)

(Left) André Felipe, Le Corbusier La Photographie (2012) (Right) Mike Joyce Swissted Kraut (2012)

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Ross Gunter, Bridging The Gap (2011)

(Left) Quim Marin Sala Pasternak Vic (2014) (Right) AndrĂŠ Meca Ultima Contemporary Music Festival Oslo (2013)

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4. 5.

1. 2. 3.

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Evolution of Swiss Design Although Swiss International Style has evolved immensly, the style and rules still stand. A

6.

poster from the 1960’s, could

7.

be easily misktane for one made today. By using the grid as a guide, and being faithful

8. tes i crea

to cleanliness, objectivity and readability, and by “keeping it the

simple”, Swiss Designers have

ignell a imo V sing Mass ap, u ay M w and b , u d 5. ity S etho e ork C hic m of th ew Y grap e N t, n u o ht o an, e. thoug of all Hoffm wellpefac ners rmin ca ty desig rt. 58- A e s 9 lv 1 is e ti w einga H 1. S e l a th ng W nti olfga er influe W th t s o y o b le r m o a wh Poste 1 y to 8 b n 9 r e 1 ig 6. g th oste Des time. f llen p wiss reakin ple o ok S t. Ga for b exam own He to lma S n n k O A s . a nn ign 959 He w ckma s des 2. 1 level. Swis er Bro eless f Müll rs m ti . d Jose n poste grid ern a f the y mod one o ed m is n how t ig u s Kra de M ted, y is. 12ll s to S 0 a is 2 s d l’ . tu e w 7 S ac sign rowe eries is de im C ing the s of W oster keep from One d at The p e . 9 d e 6 e c 9 c Joy the 3. 1 l suc g at . Mike rowe restin 980’s rs. C ré the 1 ut inte b in Poste r And e le b p im signe s ork ic De h w p t is ra h bou )- G nn’s ster a 12 (2 time. ckma s is po 8. 20 same f Swis er Bro ned th ll o ü ig e s a M n e f o o of ed usier, One Felip a part rb )o ’s (2 It C e a. 969 ect L a Viv 4. 1 . rints. archit Music nces ple p influe rs for l, sim te u ’s s n rf o ig lo p es co D ry e s of v serie 1972

been able to continue creating impeccable, timeless designs.

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Index

A Antonelli, Paola. THE SUBWAY

History Graphic Design.

Swissted. Swissted. Web. Nov.

AND THE CITY: MASSIMO

Helvetica. Web. Nov. 2014.

2014

VIGNELLI, 1931–2014.

J

W

InsideOut. 23 June 2014.

Joseph Müller-Brockmann

Wim Crouwel. Design Museum.

: Design Is History. Joseph

Web. Nov. 2014.

Armin Hofmann : Design Is

Müller-Brockmann : Design Is

History. Armin Hofmann :

History. Web.Nov. 2014.

Design Is History. Web. Nov.

M

2014.

Marin, Quim. Ultima

B

Contemporary Music Festival.

Burton, Phillip. Wolfgang

Quim Marin Design. Web. Nov.

Weingart. AIGA. Web.Nov.

2014.

2014. Meca, André. André Hernâni

E Emil Ruder : Design Is History.

Meca. Work. Web. Nov. 2014.

Emil Ruder : Design Is History.

P

Web. Nov. 2014.

Postergalerie - Talk To The

G

Hand. SERIGRAPHIE ULDRY.

Gunter, Ross. BTG Poster

Web. 26 Nov. 2014.

Series. Behance. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.

Poynor, Rick. Armin Hofmann.

H

AIGA. Web. Nov. 2014.

Hayez, Sébastien. Hans

S

Neuburg (1904-1983) |

Supero: Le Corbusier.

Designers Books. Designer’s

Typographic Posters. Web.

Books. Web. Nov. 2014.

Nov. 2014.

History Graphic Design. Josef

Swiss Design : Design Is

Müller-Brockmann. Web. Nov.

History. Swiss Design : Design

2014.

Is History. Web. Nov. 2014.

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