Been analysing a variety of work by the prominent designers of the 'Swiss Style' of design, in terms of incorporation of grid, typeface, pt size, client, context, colours etc. It has allowed me to get a better grip of the defining characteristics and a glimpse into their process and logic a little bit - towards their overall intention.
Swiss designers
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Max Bill
Max Bill's work is a little different to work by someone like Muller-Brockmann, there's more interplay between shapes and type, it's not top heavy or bottom heavy, and the hierarchy of information is quite vertical with the shapes inter-related with the type.
The work's quite rustic and a lot of it looks hand-rendered as if the shapes have been cut and collaged together.
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Parallel lines and use of 45 degree angles to block out, and hold imagery in.
Often no more than 2 different pt sizes.
Less noticeable reliance on a vertical grid as other Swiss designers
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Josef Muller-Bröckmann
One of my personal favourite Swiss designers and obviously one of the best known, often clients are for music festivals, theatre and film. Often top heavy or bottom heavy, with abstract forms with great subtlety adhering to golden ratio and spirals. As seen on the Beethoven poster.
Even number of vertical columns, usually 4 or 8. use of white, knock out colours, often no more than 2 colours plus stock.
Stock is important.
Big emphasis on heading type, plus smaller size for copy and sub heading.
Assymetric
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Karl Gerstner
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Otl Aicher
One of the pioneers of semiotics, did iconography for 72 Olympics. Heavy use of grid, even using the grid to draw out human/body forms.
Olympic iconography grid
Something I feel really drawn to about publication and specification guides, they seem really usable and inviting to just open up and 'use' in terms of reading and writing in. They have a real intellectual quality to them. I'd love to produce something similar in terms of aesthetic quality.
Beautiful work, one of my personal favourites. Consideration of space and a lot of horizontal shapes and grid blocking out contrasting with vertical type alignment. Also use of photos instead of illustration as outlined by the Swiss philosophy of design to be more forward thinking and objective than a drawing.
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Armin Hofmann
Efficient use of colour, rarely using more than 2 colours and using the stock as a third colour - something I feel I always look to do and feel is incredibly important in design and cost effective too.
Colour coverage comes out much sharper and crisper when applied into yellow stock rather than printing next to yellow ink for example.
Often top heavy, bottom heavy like a lot of the Swiss style is.
Use of photography, sometimes the photo completely fills the poster, defeating the need for any illustration or explanation - as Vignelli mentions - "Scale".
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Richard P Lohse
painter and graphic designer, transitioned from realistic painting to grids, and shapes and combined painting and graphic design.
One of my favourite designers and again efficient with stock and ink coverage.
Strong use of grid, cleverly layers text, with imagery behind it, often which is knocked out of ink allowing stock to show through, so ink doesn't clash - keeps it crisp.
One of my favourite designers and again efficient with stock and ink coverage.
Strong use of grid, cleverly layers text, with imagery behind it, often which is knocked out of ink allowing stock to show through, so ink doesn't clash - keeps it crisp.
using grid to even apply colour, adds a lot of visual unity
Hans Hartmann
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Lesser known of the designers of the Swiss style. Colour scheme often red, white. Uses photography widely and still stands to this time.
Less use of copy on posters and more emphasis on photos.
Efficient use of ink and stock, often 2 colours max but using halftones and monotone plates gives a lot of depth.
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Lesser known of the designers of the Swiss style. Colour scheme often red, white. Uses photography widely and still stands to this time.
Less use of copy on posters and more emphasis on photos.
Efficient use of ink and stock, often 2 colours max but using halftones and monotone plates gives a lot of depth.
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Hans Neuburg
Use of two typefaces usually. Again using grid to add colour, rather than more abritrary methods. Adds a lot more cohesion and fitting to heavy grid like nature of the style.
Bauhaus influences here!
Didn't realise how ahead of it;s time the Bauhaus school was when you consider the Swiss style developed 30-40 years later, and you compare the stuff Bauhaus were doing in print alone compared to the posters and general graphic design around the 20's in Europe.
Advocates/interpretors the Swiss style - mid 20th century
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Wim Crouwel
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"total dutch style"
"total grid" more abstract letterforms, less photographic and more typographic than design by Swiss designers
Using grid to make unique typefaces
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"total dutch style"
"total grid" more abstract letterforms, less photographic and more typographic than design by Swiss designers
Using grid to make unique typefaces
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Massimo Vignelli
You can see the longevity in action with the American Airlines logo by Vignelli lasting for nearly 50 years.
Still in my opinion the strongest and most timeless - by stripping away the needless decoration
Often more corporate and much more recognisable style.
Branding, corporate US clients often.
A lot of verticality in design, Helvetica. Large headings, small copy.
Usability and function, disregarding personal stamp.
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Paul Rand
I really like these graph paper sheets, visually they're really interesting, and the way they're filed to create a sort of folder of interactive design. Something you'd want to keep and draw on to. Maybe I can create something like this for the Swiss style as an experiment and explanation into understanding how to design with the Swiss sensibility.
You can see the influence of the Swiss style finding it's way to America with the abc logo...
the famous circle logo was introduced in 1961 by Paul Rand, if you compare this logo to the most prominent one before in 1943 - you can see the huge influence and change in intention and the role of design.
Heavy use of grid, corporate branding.
Applying Swiss principles to American design.
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Alan Fletcher
Diversity in work, sometimes designing completely Swiss in objectivity and design language.
Other times less recognisable and more witty.
Diversity in work, sometimes designing completely Swiss in objectivity and design language.
Other times less recognisable and more witty.
PanAm cargo schedule 1971
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Karel Martens
Bold colour
Printing onto found materials, kind of abstract experiments.
Giving work "history"
Much more intricate grids, giving a system to draw over, and overprinting to create detailed illustrations and design systems
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