Swiss typography
The International Typographic Style is on the New Typography constructive design direction of typography since about 1955. Characteristic of this direction are design patterns , asymmetrical factual account, sans serif fonts in a few font sizes , extreme white spaces and the absence of decorative elements.
Swiss graphic design and typography developed in the 20th century. It was passed on from generation to generation in formal and informal learning processes, including in the context of dual vocational training. The Swiss graphic design and typography work is recognized and valued abroad, but it is only little appreciated in Switzerland itself. In its creation it was shaped by external influences from the Bauhaus to Russian Constructivism . In Switzerland these movements found a favorable breeding ground and developed into a separate branch, that of visual communication. Since the rise of the “Swiss international style”, the graphic designers and typographers trained in Switzerland have been active on both a national and international level. In Switzerland, their formal and cultural influence is clearly visible through the various products that determine the relationship to information and the environment (banknotes, traffic signs, passports, publishing, SBB signs , etc.). The great importance of Swiss creativity can also be felt in fonts known for their legibility and optical harmony, such as Helvetica, designed by Max Miedinger in 1957 .
Well-known typographers who shaped the Swiss style are Max Bill , Adrian Frutiger , Karl Gerstner , Walter Haettenschweiler , Armin Hofmann , Hans Eduard Meier , Max Miedinger , Josef Müller-Brockmann , Bruno Pfäffli , Emil Ruder , Helmut Schmid and Anton Stankowski . This style was also taught in the training as a typesetter at the Zurich School of Applied Arts in the 1950s and 1960s. The typographic monthly sheets were the journalistic exchange organ of the typographic movement in Switzerland.
literature
- Emil Ruder: Typography. A design textbook . Foreword by Adrian Frutiger. Niggli, Teufen 1967; 7. A. 2001, ISBN 3-7212-0043-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ This copyright-free text comes from: Swiss graphic design and typography, in: Report of the expert group on the creation of a list of suggestions (list indicative) of the intangible cultural heritage in Switzerland , Federal Office for Culture , 2014, p. 17.