Swiss design

This style emerged 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.

Swiss design became famous through the art of very talented Swiss graphic designers, but it emerged in Russia, Germany and Netherlands in the 1920’s. This style in art, architecture and culture became an ‘international’ style after 1950’s and it was produced by artists all around the globe.
 Despite that, people still refer to it as the Swiss Style or the Swiss Legacy.It originated in Switzerland in the 1940s and 50s was the basis of much of the development of graphic design during the mid 20th century. This style is Often referred to as the International Typographic Style or the International Style. Led by designers Josef Müller-Brockmann and Armin Hofmann, the style favored simplicity, legibility and objectivity.

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to remove.” Said Antoine de Saint-Exupéry  [Vitaly Friedman and Sven Lennartz. 2006-2014]

ARMIN HOFMANN
By the age of 27 Armin Hofmann had already completed an apprenticeship in lithography and had begun teaching typography at the Basel School of Design. His colleagues and students were integral in adding to work and theories that surrounded the Swiss International Style, which stressed a belief in an absolute and universal style of graphic design. The style of design they created had a goal of communication above all else, practiced new techniques of photo-typesetting, photo-montage and experimental composition and heavily favored sans-serif typography.

JOSEPH MÜLLER-BROCKMANN

As with most graphic designers that can be classified as part of the Swiss International Style, Joseph Müller-Brockmann was influenced by the ideas of several different design and art movements including Constructivism, De Stijl, Suprematism and the Bauhaus. He is perhaps the most well-known Swiss designer and his name is probably the most easily recognized when talking about the period. 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.

Develop from the two schools where Brockmann and Hofmann taught: the Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and the Basel School of Design. The use of, sans-serif typography, grids and asymmetrical layouts were used. Also stressed was the combination of typography and photography as a means of visual communication.

 The primary influential works were developed as posters, which were seen to be the most effective means of communication.There was a keen attention to detail, precision, craft skills, system of education and technical training, a high standard of printing as well as a clear refined and inventive lettering and typography.

The grid system was used, it is a rigid framework that is supposed to help graphic designers in the meaningful, logical and consistent organization of information on a page.The core of these ideas were first presented in the book Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann which helped to spread the knowledge about the grids thorough the world. One of the strongest characteristics of the Swiss style typography is the use of sans-serif typefaces such as Akzidenz Grotesk and Neue Haas Grotesk also known as Helvetica.

These words will briefly discribe the swis design style:

• simplicity, minimalism
• order, clarity, grids
• geometric, abstraction
• typography, legibility
• rational, objective
• universal, unity

Flat design today.

One can describe this style as flat, and flat design is once again becoming polpular again. One can conclude that much of what we consider the fundamental principles of design arose from Swiss design and the movements that influenced it. While aesthetic styles have certainly come and gone, the guiding principles of Swiss design have never left us and have served as the foundation for graphic design ever since.

Bibliography

DangerDom, Design is history,[web] available at :<http://www.designishistory.com/> Accessed at 10 December 2014.

Vanseo Design 2005–2014, Swiss (International) Style Of Design: The Guiding Principles That Influence Flat Design, [web] available at :<http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/swiss-design/> Accessed at 10 December 2014.

Vitaly Friedman and Sven Lennartz. 2006-2014, Lessons From Swiss Style Graphic Design
By Diogo Terror, [web] available at :<http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/17/lessons-from-swiss-style-graphic-design/> Accessed at 10 December 2014.