swiss international style
history& philosophy The Swiss International Style of design emerged in the 1920’s and developed even further in the 1950’s. It originated in Germany and Switzerland as well as other regions in the Netherlands. Factors that influenced the Swedes graphic design were their appreciation of artists such as Piet Mondrian and Vilmos Huzar, their educational system, and their love of flags. They gravitated toward hierarchy and color in their graphic design; they utilized flag design into their
emphasized readable text; it did not matter if the text was visually impactful or not (Heller pg 45). Swiss International Style was made to stick in people’s memories. It demanded unprinted white spaces on the page be recognized as being as much as element in design of the page as the printed forms themselves. It required a layout on a grid structure as well as actual photographs instead of illustration. It reinforced the configuration of text- flush left or flush right (Amir
graphic design (Rollins 10). The time period played an important role too because post World War I was a time of technological and artistic combination. The Swedes wanted their graphic design to be bold and bright as a way of rebellion against traditional design; they had anti-military sentiments and class economic struggle in mind while making these creations (Rollins 10) The demand for change created a new emerging group of graphic designers called Modernists (Rollins 10). The philosophy behind Swiss International Style was perfection, tidiness, attention to detail and cleanliness, and heavy use of the modular grid. Early pioneer Max Bill described it as portraying art on the basis of mathematical thought. (Heller pg 10) It
Berbic) Swiss style required attention to font sizes to establish hierarchy; it rejected modernist’s view of expressive typography and surrealistic imagery. (Heller p. 45) Lastly, it demanded a minimalist and simple approach to color and design (Jobling p. 50). Pioneer Antoine de Saint Exupery stated, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing left to remove” (Jobling p. 51). Often, Swiss style was slammed for its flatness. Designer Lissitzky defended it saying, “Every flat surface is a sign- not a mystical symbol but a concrete sketch of reality. A sign is a form through which we express reality” (Meggs p.144).
timeline 1896- Akzidenz Grotesk is developed 1891- Ernst Keller 1901-1902- Early pioneers Max Bill & Theo Balmer contribute to graphic design 1913-1933- School of the Bauhaus forms 1914-1996- Joseph Brockmann 1954- Univers is developed 1957- Helvetica is developed by Max Miedinger
“Giselle, Basler Freilichtspiele,” 1959.
ernst keller 1891-1968 Ernst Keller is often considered the father of Swiss design. He was a graphic designer who created posters, logotypes, letterings on buildings, and postage stamps (Meggs 373). Ernst Keller (1891-1968) taught at the Zurich School of Applied Art and in his teaching he maintained an excellence that lasted over decades (graphicdesignhistory.com).
He believed the solution to a design problem should emerge from its content. His style incorporated symbolic imagery, simplified geometric forms, expressive edges, lettering and vibrating contrasting color. (Meggs p.380) The students he taught often went on to become further revolutionaries in the Swiss International Movement.
“Tabak” 1929, Ernst Keller
“Pferd und Mensch” 1956
Afrikanische Kunst im Kunstgewerbemuseum Zürich, 1945
Max Huber jazztime magazine, No 1. 1952.
Max Huber
1902-1965
He was an influential Swiss twentieth century graphic designer.. Max Huber was born in Baar, Switzerland in 1919. In his early years he met Werner Bischof, Josef M端llerBrockmann, Carlo Vivarelli and Hans Falk. He designed musc magazines and record covers. He worked as an art instructor as well.
Sirenella 1946 poster.
500 Miglia di Monza 1957, poster.
theo balmer 1902-1965 Theo Balmer was a designer, photographer and teacher. He is best known for his political posters using only simple images in silhouette with his own powerful lettering. He also was
known for his use of the grid to arrange horizontal and vertical elements (Meggs p.374). In some of his designs, he would openly show the lines of the grid as well.
Neues Bauen (New Building) 1928.
“Buro” 1928
“Bureau Bale” 1928.
school of the bauhaus
1902-1965
A school that greatly contributed to the Swiss International Movement was the Bauhas. It was located in Germany in 1919 and was the most famous school of design of the 20th century. It contributed to early forms of the Swiss movement. It favored simplified forms, rationality, and functionality. It’s rules for ‘Bauhaus typography’ were essential in the development of Swiss International Style. In the school, they paid high attention to detail and how the type interacted with color as well
Poster fo r the 19 2 3 B auhaus E x hibitio n in Weimar v, j o ost sch midt
as what printing paper to use. They believed white space helped establish relationships and meaning with the text. The school of Bauhaus leaned toward using photography more than illustrated images. They demanded the use of sanserif or lowercase letters only because they believed lowercase letter forms were richer than capitol letters (Rollins 54). Additionally, lowercase was easier to learn and read they stated (Rollins 44).
c over design S ta atliches B auhaus in Weimar, H erber t bayer,1923.
max bill 1901-1994 Max Bill was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer and graphic designer (smearedpaint.com). He studied at the school of Bauhaus. In 1944, he became a professor at Zurich. Like the others, he displayed many exhibitions showcasing early forms of Swiss International Style. He stated the colors of Swiss have no meaning behind them, rather they are abstract to establish hierarchy in the type (Meggs p.373)
Affiche-Negerkunst-1931
U S A B aut, 19 4 5
joseph brockman 1914-1996 He opened his own Zurich studio in 1936. He was born and raised in Switzerland and by the age of 43 he became a teacher at the Zurich school of arts and crafts. He became one of the founders of Swiss Graphic Design.
He began as a apprentice and worked his way up, publishing several notorious books later. He inspired major use of the modular grid.
Olma cow, 1959
Moins de bruit, poster, 1960
1955 Beethoven poster
typefaces The three typefaces that contributed to the Swiss
Helvetica in 1960. The second typeface was Univers which
International Style were Alkidenz Grotesk, Univers and
was developed in 1954 by a french man named Adrian
Helvetica. When utilizing the typefaces, the Swedes took
Frutiger It was used in expressing longer texts and was
into consideration while designing whether the fonts were
sans-serif. Helvetica was the third one; its well-defined
condensed, light or bold (Meggs 377). Akzidenz-Grotesk
forms and excellent rhythm of positive and negative shapes
(1896) was one of the first sans serif typefaces to be widely
made it the most specified typeface internationally during
used and influential. It was released in 1957 and renamed
the 1960’s and 70’s (Meggs 377).