Analysing The Swiss ‘International Typographic style’.
There have been many artistic movements over the years however there haven’t been any as influential upon the development of design, especially typography, as modernism. In order to gauge this effect, this essay will first define modernism, then the features of modernist graphic design. It will then take examples of ‘Swiss’ design and American modernist design to analyse the difference between the effects of modernism on Switzerland and America. Late 19th and early 20th Century Europe was a place fraught with radical political, social, economical and cultural changes that would bring about fundamental changes in the way people were to live their lives. Technological advancements such as the introduction of the train as an accessible form of transport and the invention of the automobile would make travel outside of small settlements much easier. Changes in the way people could communicate such as the invention of the telegraph and the telephone also meant that people were more inclined to move away to where job prospects were better. Industrialisation, as well as this mass shift of society and subsequent formation of large towns and cities meant that work in factories became the most common form of employment, where before it was farming. These changes along with some others, notably the development of capitalism and massive progression in the fields of science and technology made for a ‘distinctly different experience of living in the world’. (Barnard, M. 2005, pg 112) This distinct difference is known as modernity, and modernism as an aesthetic movement came around as a result of this change. Modernism is seen as a direct response to these changes in society and advances in technology or as a critique of modernity from the artists or designers perspective. Although modernism can be difficult to define, writers like Roy Boyne and Ali Battansi identify four features separating modernism from other artistic movements. Firstly, a feature dubbed by Boyne and Rattansi as, ‘aesthetic self-reflexiveness’. (Boyne and Rattansi, 1990, pg6) The idea that the designer makes comment about their practice using the practice itself. Such as a piece of design that says something about itself or a painting that makes the act of painting its subject. The second feature is montage, the use of photographic images edited together or, ‘the disrupting
of sequence and narrative by juxtaposing items from different’ ‘previously unrelated’ sources. (Barnard, M. 2005, pg113) The third feature and possibly the strangest that came about from the modernist movement is the use of paradox. This refers to, ’absence of a single clear meaning or the presence of multiple, contradictory meanings’. (Barnard, M. 2005, pg113) The fourth feature looks at the subject within the work, and the idea that they are tormented by inner conflict and suffer from a loss of harmony within themselves. Barnard within his writing then goes on to mention a fifth feature, very important to the modernist movement and coming about as a direct result of modernity. This is that modernism, and it’s proponents, hold a strong belief in progress and the vast possibilities of science and technology in the attainment of improved social lives or advances in humanity. These features however relate much more to the broader subject of modernism as opposed to its direct relation to graphic design as a practice. According to Hollis, modernist graphic design originated in Italian futurism with its beginnings around 1914, reduced from four main features of broader modernism to two main beliefs or values. However Meggs suggests that the earliest signs of a modernist graphic design aesthetic come about as a result of Russian constructivists drawing influence from both the Italian futurists willingness to experiment with typographic conventions and the works of earlier cubist painters, looking extensively at geometric compositions. Piet Mondrian, a painter from the de Stijl movement launched in the Netherlands, used principles defined by the philosopher M.H.J Schoenmaker to create pieces based around horizontal and vertical being the ‘two fundamental opposites’ and believed that ‘the cubists had not accepted the logical consequences of their discoveries’. (Meggs .P.B, 1998, pg270) So in essence he is taking foundations laid by cubists and building upon them, applying a much more logical, almost mathematical thought process to the production of his work. Something mirrored in the work of constructivists such as El Lissitsky, who made use of graph paper when producing layouts, thus ‘Imposing the modular structure and mathematic order of a grid upon his designs’. (Meggs. P.B, 1998, pg264) Again showing signs of applying logic and mathematical order to the production of design, however in Lissitsky’s case, with the aim of creating considered and ordered layouts that would aid communication.
Leading me to the first of the two fundamental beliefs underpinning modernist graphic design practice and defining the aesthetic that came with it. This is the rejection of ornament or decoration in favour of clean and simple design free from objects that clutter the page and dilute it’s message. A belief followed unanimously within the ‘Swiss’ design movement that is based around the idea that the appearance of a design should be a direct result of the job it was to perform. The notion that ‘Form ever follows function’, (Sullivan .L, 1988, pg111) something that Louis Sullivan writes about at length in terms of architecture, a process intrinsically linked in the modernist era to graphic design. Layouts are then set to a grid, much in the same way as Lissitsky had been doing previously, but with absolute precision and meticulous attention to detail. Pioneer’s of the movement like Max Bill formulated a Manifesto of Art Conret, in which he called for a ‘Universal art of absolute clarity based on controlled arithmetic construction’. (Meggs .P.B, 1998, pg321) When working for publication Bill ‘applied the more scientific approach of a modular system, which he derived from architecture’. (Aynsley .J, 2001, pg100) This is due to his formal training, like many other pioneers of ‘Swiss’ design, as an architect. Modernist design also favoured sans-serif typefaces over serif and decorative typefaces due to their geometric construction on mathematical grids, and the clarity with which they communicate. The second belief of modernist graphic design is derived from modernisms optimistic belief in technology and its ability to better humanity. A view adopted from the Italian futurists and also the socially and politically driven works of the Russian constructivists. Evident within their work is the idea that technology has had an effect, summed up nicely by Roger Remington on the subject of the Ring Neue Werbegestalter or ‘the circle of new advertising designers’, a ‘Band’ of German designers who believed in an entirely different approach to typography and graphic design.
‘Important to their modernist views was the idea of production. Along with many other modernists, the Ring Neue Werbegestalter treated the techniques of manufacture not as neautral, transparent means to an end, but as devices equipped with cultural meaning and aesthetic character’ (R.Roger Remington, 2003, pg26)
A large part of this belief in progress and mechanisation was the ability to standardise, ‘in mechanised industry standardisation was essential; for parts of buildings; engineering; and in the industries in which Switzerland had an International reputation’. (Hollis. R, 2007, pg18) Graphic design in a modernising Switzerland followed in these footsteps and went along with this same need for standardisation. Hollis continues by saying, ‘in the advertisements and catalogues required for marketing such standardised items can be found the origins of the objective, rational manner of presentation that became commonplace achievement of Swiss graphic designers’. (Hollis. R, 2007, pg18) He is saying here that this style of industrial design became an integral part of the ‘Swiss style’, one based entirely upon, organisation of information and clarity of communication. In order to effectively analyse the ‘Swiss’ design movement and the visual systems that go with it, it would be beneficial to analyse works important to the movement against those important to other modernist design of the same era. In this case, ‘swiss’ design against American modernist design from the same period, work from entirely different cultures helping to gauge the development of design in certain countries. In defining the ‘Swiss’ design movement there are no better examples than the 1959 journal, Die Neue Grafik, (Fig.1) edited by Carlo Vivarelli , Richard P.Lohse, Joseph Muller-Brockman and Hans Neuberg all Zurich based designers. These designers played an integral role in the development of the ‘International typographic style’ and Die Neue Grafik laid foundations for an ongoing international aesthetic.
Figure 1 shows an image of the first issue of Die Neue Grafik that was published quarterly in Switzerland between 1958 and 1965, ‘this trilingual periodical presented the philosophy and accomplishments of the ‘Swiss’ movement to and international audience.’ (Meggs.P.B, 1998, pg329) As is evident from Figure 1, the cover shows clear signs of the ‘Rejection of ornament’ that Barnard discussed in his explanation of the two main values of modernist graphic design. The elements upon the page are stripped down to the bare minimum so that communication becomes the priority. The information appears to be ordered with the use of a mathematical grid and it is made clear in its layout that this is how it is produced.
Fig.1
As is suggested as a feature of the broader category of modernist art, with the idea of ‘aesthetic self-reflexiveness’. In a sense the design is making comment upon how it is made using the process by which it is made. This use of a grid and defined system of visual organisation also means that the clarity of communication and ease of navigation for the reader is of utmost importance. Colour is kept to a minimum, sticking to the use of only black and white, again so as not to complicate information, although within the journal there are colour images, however the majority of the layout is kept neutral. This idea of keeping layout neutral to aid the communication of copy is also covered in detail by Beatrice Ward, in her text ‘The Crystal Goblet’ from 1930. In this writing she suggests that choosing type and the way in which it is presented on the printed page is like choosing the perfect vessel for a fine wine. That the type (vessel) should be invisible so that the message (wine) is the only thing that comes across and is not diluted by unnecessary decoration. That the layout of the page should go unnoticed, as it is so easy for the reader to navigate and find the message or fine wine within. Ever present within the layout is the idea that ‘form follows function’, the page is
not designed so that it looks nice, and the pages appearance is as a result of the function that it is to perform. The function of this particular page is to be the cover for a magazine, to give a brief overview of what is inside, and it is dictated by the information it needs to get across, not the information on it by how it is to look. Also suggested within the layouts of Die Neue Grafik are modernist and ‘Swiss’ designs belief in progress and belief in technologies ability to better humanity. Everything about the layout suggests mathematical and scientific precision, and the very idea of using a modular structure in its production suggest that they believe it is improving the outcome. The use of sans-serif type, created in much the same way the pages are laid out, with mathematical grids and a huge amount of precision, in favour of serif faces also concur with this idea. Also the layout shows a certain ‘machine’ or ‘industrial aesthetic’ (Hollis.R, 2007, pg47) synonymous with modernist design that makes evident the method with which it was produced.
Fig.2
Fig.3
Figure 2 and 3 show cover designs for California Arts & Architecture magazine, another design related journal from a very similar time to the ‘Swiss’ Die Neue Grafik. Figure 1 shows very clear signs of modernist characteristics such as the use of montage, and however unlike the ‘Swiss’ style from the same period, American modernism shows a style almost going back to the handmade, rather than forward to machine produced.
There is also an element of ‘aesthetic self-reflexiveness’ in the method of production, as there is no attempt to hide the fact that it’s montage, thus making montage the subject of the piece, as it doesn’t appear to have any other meaning. The designs are fairly clean and simple, however with them being more image than type based, there is a suggestion that they are ‘decorated’, with the use of colour and content of the image having more of an impact on the design than the presentation or organisation of information. This seems to go against most of what the ‘Swiss’ designers stood for in terms of ornamentation and organisation of components. There is a feeling within these pieces that they are created to look nice and the function comes as an afterthought, again, totally unacceptable from a ‘Swiss’ design perspective. Another element of these two examples of American modernism that comes up is the treatment of type, which appears to be much different to that of Die Neue Grafik. Although using sans-serif faces, they appear, especially in the case of the title type, much more decorative faces than the clean and clear faces of the ‘International typographic style’ like Aksidenz Grotesk, later to be Helvetica. Especially evident in the figure 1 is that the type doesn’t appear to be set to a grid, and is also placed on a diagonal, this certainly wouldn’t aid the clarity of the type and certainly seems to be a decorative element within the layout. To conclude, it is clear that despite technological developments happening in a very similar manner internationally, the ‘International typographic style’ of the Swiss pioneers didn’t reach as far a field as America until much later. There seems to be two very different developments in the design of each culture, ‘Swiss’ design going down a route of meticulous precision, typographic layout with grid systems and the reduction of elements on the page to a minimum. American modernism going down a route much more based in the use of image, line and colour to decorate or in the eyes of a Swiss modernist, clutter their works. Both of these styles have their pros and cons hence both of them still holding a place in contemporary design practice to varying degrees and forming the basis of other movements and design practices that followed them. Such as those of the American deconstructivists like David Carson taking the typographic layouts of the Swiss and Image base of the Americans, and deconstructing them to a point that makes the work purposely difficult to follow creating entirely new design ideas.
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