The International Typographic Style, even known as Swiss-style was developed in the 1950s in Switzerland, and its style was defined by the use of sans-serif typefaces. Its unique composition of form and text alignment gave birth to design as we see it today, with the use of negative space and typography. The same tools and guidelines that were set back then are still used to this day, but not only in graphic design, on the web as well.
“Jan Tschichold (1902-1974), a German calligrapher, typographer, and book designer became a leader in new typography during the 20th century, due to him releasing two publications, that outlined theories and practices of a wide range of Avant-garde designers. Jan set out to establish a standardized set of principles for the new typography. In his publications, he demonstrated “the new typography, where he, for instance, showcased how to use negative space, asymmetry, the usage of a grid, limiting the colour palette, and much more. “
The Swiss-style was heavily influenced by Tschichold’s work with typography, especially the principles he set in, for instance in his work “Elemental typography” as well as “The new typography.
Helvetica is a Sans Serif typeface, based on the typeface Akzidenz Grotesk. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, Helvetica got its name changed to reach the international market. The typeface was created by Eduard Hoffmann and Max Miedinger in 1957, Switzerland. It was made because they wanted a neutral typeface with little to no characteristics. A re-release of the typeface was made in the 1970s, giving the typeface a wider variety in weight. It is a typeface that is widely used even today, especially in commercial use.
Emil Ruder (1914-1970) was a Swiss typographer, graphic designer, and educator. Ruder was a very influential person in the Swiss style, being an instructor at the Basel School of Design, and taught that typography’s purpose was to communicate ideas through writing. His book, Typography: A Manual of Design, explained his new rules for typography, in which he looked for order and experimentation. He also promoted the Swiss style in his book, which became a significant book that taught typographers and graphic designers the principles of his new rules. Ruder favored asymmetrical compositions, placing a high importance on the counters of characters and the use of negative space.
Armin Hofmann (1920-2020) was a Swiss graphic designer and educator, as well as a very important person in the involvement of the Swiss Style of design. With a completed apprenticeship in lithography, Hofmann began his career at the age of 27 at the Basel School of Design.
Due to his unorthodox and widely based teaching methods, he set new standards that became widely known in design education throughout the world, such as the point, line, and plane. He also published a book, which still is, until today, a reference book for all graphic designers, called “Graphic design manual”.
Just like Emil Ruder, Armin Hofmann played a key role in the development of graphic design and his involvement in it changed how we see and use the graphic design of today.
Josef Müller-Brockmann (1914-1996) was a Swiss graphic designer, author, and educator.
His work is best known for its simple designs and clean use of typography and is said to be one of the more influential in Swiss-style graphic design. His work was influenced by previous iconic art movements, such as De Stijl, Suprematism, Constructivism, and the Bauhaus. His compositions are based on grids, which later on became his trademark. With his avid use of the grid system in his designs, he is believed to be the father of the usage of the grid system.
Wim Crouwel (1929-2019) was a dutch graphic designer, type designer, and typographer. After serving for two years in the military, he moved to Amsterdam where he chose to pursue his career in applied art. He got introduced to modernist graphic design for the first time through attending evening classes at the Academy for Applied Arts. Through this, Crouwel as a graphic designer established a consistent and distinctive visual language. A few key aspects of the Swiss design deeply affected him, as we can see in his posters, such as the clarity, the structure, and the employment of grids. During his lifetime Crouwel also designed a few typefaces, such as New Alphabet and Gridnik.
It was interesting to see what people were behind the design as we see it today, looking back at their work, you would believe they would have been done today. The International Typographic Style changed graphic design in a way, where we can’t really imagine what design today would look like without it. The grid system, for example, is widely used in design now and it’s hard to imagine what layouts on websites and apps would look like without it, and what chaos would be if it didn’t exist.