IxD 102: International Typographic Style – Ciara Fraser’s IXD blog

Another change…

During the 1950s in Switzerland and Germany, a design movement emerged which has been called Swiss design or the International Typographic Style and it remained a major force for over two decades, but its influence is still prevalent today. The style creates a unity of design by focusing on asymmetrical organisation, which is achieved by using a mathematically constructed grid. This is paired with objective photography and sans-serif typography that is aligned in a flush left or ragged right margin, which is presented in a clear and factual manner, distancing itself from the previously exaggerated claims of propaganda and commercial advertising. The thought process behind this by the initiators of the style was that it would represent the spirit of a more progressive age which offers a more legible and harmonious way of presenting information.

Compared to the art movements that came before like de Stijl and the Bauhaus, the early pioneers of this typographic style had the attitude that design is a socially useful and important activity. This led to the rejection of personal expression and unconventional solutions, resulting in a more universal and scientific approach being adopted. Those involved didn’t consider themselves artists, but rather as objective means of communication to spread information through society.

New style, new families…

Throughout the fifties, the growth of the new style was demonstrated with several new sans-serif typeface families being designed. The instruments used before to created typefaces were rejected, favouring the more refined designs taking inspiration from earlier 19th century fonts like Akzidenz Grotesk. Some of these fonts are still being used today, like Helvetica which was inspired by Neue Haas Grotesk.

The people behind the scenes…

Emil Ruder’s (1914-1970) influence in the Swiss style began right back when he began his collaboration with Armin Hofmann. Their teaching achieved an international reputation and developed a programme based on objective principles which changed design forever. Hofmann (1920-2020) provided an alternative and experimental style that was based off deep aesthetic values and the point, line, plane principles, which linked up well with Ruder. Together, they both became very influential. Ruder advocated for an overall systematic design and grid structure with the purpose to bring everything together. He used the Univers typeface a lot and explored the possibilities that contrast, text and scale could bring to his work.

“Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing”

A leading theorist and practitioner within the International Typographic Style was Josef Muller-Brockmann. He sought after creating an absolute and universal form of graphic expression by objective and impersonal presentation. This communicated to the audience the context of the design without his feelings interfering. A key feature of his designs is the grid which is clear in his work and has since become a major graphic design tool and element. His work is perhaps best known for its simple designs and clean use of typography and the shapes and colours he incorporated into his work still inspire designers in todays society.