The Swiss Style and the development of The International Typographic Style
The Swiss Style first emerged in the 1950's and also became known as the International Typographic Style due to its reliance on typographic elements. The look of Swiss graphic design became associated with the use of clear, legible typography especially sans-serif often in lowercase form. The most recognised font, even today was born out of this style; Helvetica. The international style was a branch of modernist ideals, and graphic designers began to replace what had been known to work well in the past in favour of new technologies, one of these was the photograph. During the years of the first and second world wars hand drawn illustrations were commonplace in propaganda and advertisements. Post war graphic design saw the introduction of photography into advertising and traditions such as hand painted posters were replaced. Swiss designers saw photography as a way of complimenting the text and re-enforcing an idea (typo-photo) rather than solely decoration. Swiss graphic designers began using geometrical grids and mathematics as the basis of their designs, an influence from Swiss concrete art. These grid systems helped them to organise content efficiently and and produce a structured and simplistic layout.
All of these elements helped these designers to develop a unique style which became recognised internationally for its simplistic, structured approach and its clean use of typography to produce elegant and interesting compositions.
The Swiss Style first emerged in the 1950's and also became known as the International Typographic Style due to its reliance on typographic elements. The look of Swiss graphic design became associated with the use of clear, legible typography especially sans-serif often in lowercase form. The most recognised font, even today was born out of this style; Helvetica. The international style was a branch of modernist ideals, and graphic designers began to replace what had been known to work well in the past in favour of new technologies, one of these was the photograph. During the years of the first and second world wars hand drawn illustrations were commonplace in propaganda and advertisements. Post war graphic design saw the introduction of photography into advertising and traditions such as hand painted posters were replaced. Swiss designers saw photography as a way of complimenting the text and re-enforcing an idea (typo-photo) rather than solely decoration. Swiss graphic designers began using geometrical grids and mathematics as the basis of their designs, an influence from Swiss concrete art. These grid systems helped them to organise content efficiently and and produce a structured and simplistic layout.
All of these elements helped these designers to develop a unique style which became recognised internationally for its simplistic, structured approach and its clean use of typography to produce elegant and interesting compositions.
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