An Exploration into Swiss Graphic Design /International Style of Design
Swiss Design
Swiss Design, otherwise known as the International Typographic Style was a popular and influential movement that took over the design world in the 1950’s centered around Switzerland. Two art schools in particular, the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich, and the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in Basel would impart design philosophies like ‘form follows function’, and creating rational designs. These ideas, along with having a strong understanding of the design fundamentals, geometric shapes, grids, and sans serif fonts like Helvetica would shape the movement.
What I Learned and My Opinion
At first, I wasn’t all too impressed with Swiss design. Sure, it looked clean and communicated an idea clearly, but I was under the impression that it was a simple and easy design style, nothing too special. After doing more research and attempting to make a Swiss design poster of my own, I can confidently say; one, it’s not easy, and two, it’s much more important in the history of design than I initially realized.
I understood this especially after researching Armin Hofmann and attempting to understand his design philosophy through his work and the stories from students who worked under him. Armin Hofmann would teach his students a strong set of fundamental skills that they could build off of. He gave them the minimal means of supplies to work with on projects and pushed them to create complex and extraordinary designs.
Originally, Swiss design felt in some cases too simple to me. The International style of design was built on a strong understanding of how to use the fundamental principles in design to communicate an idea. To remove all the elements deemed unnecessary and convey a message. I realize now that there is a lot of work that goes into making designs seem so simple, yet visually appealing. I think that complex simplicity is something really special that all designers should understand and take into account when creating. Through my research, I’ve come to appreciate Swiss Design and wish to explore the style more. I now really appreciate the fundamentals and wish to practice and implement some of the Swiss design philosophies in my work.
Citations:
Bigman, Alex. “What Exactly Is Swiss Design, Anyway?” 99designs, 99designs, 24 Jan. 2020, https://99designs.ca/blog/design-history-movements/swiss-design/.
Budrick, Callie. “Swiss Style: The Principles, the Typefaces & the Designers.” PRINT Magazine, 11 Oct. 2021, https://www.printmag.com/featured/swiss-style-principles-typefaces-designers/.
Dj. “Heroes – Armin Hofmann.” Designers Journal, 6 Mar. 2012, http://www.designersjournal.net/jottings/designheroes/heroes-armin-hofmann.
“International Typographic Style.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Jan. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographic_Style.
Nord, Project. “Everything You Need to Know about the Swiss Style.” PROJECT NORD JOURNAL, PROJECT NORD JOURNAL, 14 Oct. 2019, https://journal.projectnord.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-swiss-style-xbPHo.
Image Citations:
Flask, Dominic. “ARMIN HOFMANN.” Armin Hofmann : Design Is History, http://www.designishistory.com/1940/armin-hofmann/.
GeorgiaFollow this publisher – current follower count:0. “Typography 2 Part B Emil Ruder.” Issuu, 12 Nov. 2017, https://issuu.com/georgiagrace1996/docs/typography_202_20part_20b_20emil_20_c167aafadfd2e1.
“Josef Müller-Brockmann.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_M%C3%BCller-Brockmann.