What’s on the Swiss Style poster
A definition and 6 facts worth remembering.
A Swiss and German school of graphic design from about 1950, built on the modular grid, asymmetric layout, flush-left sans-serif type, and photography in place of illustration.
- Müller-Brockmann, Ruder, Hofmann, Gerstner, Vivarelli.
- The Basel and Zurich schools, from about 1950.
- Grid Systems in Graphic Design, 1981.
- Helvetica and Univers were both released in 1957.
- Objectivity claimed as a design value.
- Became the corporate identity language of the 1960s.
- From — about 1950
- Type — Helvetica, Univers, 1957
- Ruder taught that a grid exists to be filled with judgement, not to fill itself.
The claim of neutrality does not survive scrutiny. A grid encodes a hierarchy, and a hierarchy is a set of choices.
Questions about the Swiss Style poster
- What’s on the Swiss Style poster?
- A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. A Swiss and German school of graphic design from about 1950, built on the modular grid, asymmetric layout, flush-left sans-serif type, and photography in place of illustration. Müller-Brockmann, Ruder, Hofmann, Gerstner, Vivarelli.; The Basel and Zurich schools, from about 1950.; Grid Systems in Graphic Design, 1981.; Helvetica and Univers were both released in 1957.; Objectivity claimed as a design value.; Became the corporate identity language of the 1960s.; From — about 1950; Type — Helvetica, Univers, 1957; Ruder taught that a grid exists to be filled with judgement, not to fill itself.. The claim of neutrality does not survive scrutiny. A grid encodes a hierarchy, and a hierarchy is a set of choices.
- Who is the Swiss Style poster for?
- Swiss Style belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning art history can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Swiss Style poster?
- Use it as the reference point in any argument about grids in graphic design. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Swiss Style belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Swiss Style?
- Abstract Expressionism, Arts & Crafts and Bauhaus sit alongside Swiss Style in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Abstract ExpressionismArts & CraftsBauhaus
- Is the Swiss Style poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Swiss Style downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Swiss Style poster print at?
- Swiss Style is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Swiss Style loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Swiss Style on the same wall.
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