International Typographic Style

also: Swiss Style · Swiss International Typographic Style

style c. 1950-1970 Switzerland Germany

The International Typographic Style - usually called Swiss Style - emerged in postwar Zurich and Basel and became the dominant language of graphic design from the 1950s through the 1970s. Designers such as Josef Müller-Brockmann, Armin Hofmann and Emil Ruder, teaching at the art schools of Zurich and Basel, treated the page as an information problem: a mathematical grid set the placement of every element, sans-serif type (Akzidenz-Grotesk, later Helvetica and Univers) carried the message, and flush-left, ragged-right text and objective photography replaced ornament and illustration. Max Bill and Otl Aicher carried the approach into product, exhibition and corporate design, and the journal Neue Grafik exported it worldwide. Its premise - the designer is an objective transmitter, and clarity itself is the aesthetic - still underlies modern web and interface design.

Poster designed by Armin Hofmann for an exhibition at the Gewerbemuseum Basel (Museum of Arts and Crafts).
Poster designed by Armin Hofmann for an exhibition at the Gewerbemuseum Basel (Museum of Arts and Crafts).Public domain (credit: Armin Hofmann) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Strict underlying mathematical grid governing every element's placement
  • Sans-serif typography - Akzidenz-Grotesk, Helvetica, Univers - as the neutral voice
  • Flush-left, ragged-right asymmetric text blocks replacing centred symmetry
  • Objective photography instead of illustration or ornament
  • Bold flat colour, often black and red on generous white space
  • Clear information hierarchy: content dictates form

Key figures

  • Josef Müller-Brockmann (1914-1996) — Zurich designer whose concert posters and grid systems codified the style
  • Armin Hofmann (1920-2020) — Basel teacher whose posters proved the expressive power of pure type and contrast
  • Emil Ruder (1914-1970) — Basel typographer whose teaching and writings set the style's typographic rules
  • Max Bill (1908-1994) — Designer-artist who extended the approach into architecture, product and exhibition design
  • Otl Aicher (1922-1991) — German designer (Ulm School) whose Munich 1972 Olympics identity scaled the style up

Example works

  • Der Film — Josef Müller-Brockmann (1960)
  • Munich 1972 Olympic Games visual identity — Otl Aicher (1972)

Sources

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