For this lesson task I had to research the Swiss International Style and write about the characteristics of the stye, main influences and the similarities and differences between The Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and The Basel School of Design.
- Research on the Swiss International Style:
As the name tells you it originated in Switzerland in the 1940s. It was led by designers Josef Müller-Brockmann at the Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and Armin Hofmann at the Basel School of Design and flourished in the 50s.
The style favored simplicity, legibility (easy reading) and objectivity. The use of grids and asymmetrical layouts is important to the style and crisp, blocky layouts and a minimalist design ethos is some of the characteristics to the style. Another important characteristic was the combination of typography and photography instead of illustration as visual communication.
During this movement the use of sans-serif typography was developed, and from the Swiss International Style came the famous Helvetica font family.
The Helvetica font (and other sans-serif fonts) is clean and simple, based on the philosophy behind the style: Less is more. The style worships clear-cut figures, strong color schemes, contrasts and bold typography which makes it more practical than visual. The purpose of the Swiss design was to transfer information from the designer to the viewer in the clearest way possible.
- Influences on Swiss International Style:
Swiss movement legend Armin Hofmann has influenced generations of designers. His designs were timeless and thoughtful, and the use of sans-serif typeface form the era has strongly influenced Mike Joyce’s (and many other designer’s) poster designs.
The most important feature developed during the Swiss Style was a mathematically determined grid to determine the placement of design elements—a method that remains extremely important to this day in web design. The grid lets you as designer to provide order and proper structure for your design to delimit elements on the page. By using the grid, you’re able to present text, images, videos, etc. in a way that creates visual hierarchy on page and emphasize key conversion points. The grid-system is a tool that allows designers to be free while still maintaining a structure in their design to create functional websites and landing pages.
- Analysis of the Swiss International Style:
The Zurich School of Arts and Crafts is one of the major universities of the arts in Europe, and it has a wide range of educations, ranging from design, music, dance, art and media. The school offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in many of the classes.
The school is built by designers who have been involved in influencing Swiss style, and well-known designers of Swiss style have had a close connection to the school, such as Josef Müller-Brockmann.
The Basel School of Design has influenced graphic design since 1960. This school offers bachelor and master degree’s of art and design, in addition to short winter and summer workshops. They have brought out today’s and tomorrow’s designers with the rich tradition of Swiss design and typography. The most famous teacher working at this school is Armin Hofmann.
Both schools are based on the Swiss style in one way or another. The Zurich School of Arts and Crafts has a few more guidelines than The Basel School of Design but there is a focus on Swiss style in both places. I may feel that The Basel School of Design is more about modern design and focuses more on digital communication than The Zurich School of Arts and Crafts does. ZHdK seems to offer more practical courses.
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 