What Influenced Swiss Graphic Design?

Swiss graphic design is a style of graphic design that originated in Switzerland in the 1940s and 1950s. It is known for its clean, minimalist aesthetic and use of grids, sans-serif typefaces, and asymmetrical composition. Swiss graphic design has been incredibly influential on modern design practices and has been adopted by many different countries around the world.

The Swiss Style of graphic design was first developed by a group of designers known as the International Typographic Style, or The New Typography. This group was led by Max Bill, Armin Hofmann, Josef Müller-Brockmann, and Emil Ruder.

They believed that design should be based on objectivity rather than subjective expression. They sought to create designs based on clarity, order, and legibility.

The Swiss Style was further developed by other designers such as Karl Gerstner and Wolfgang Weingart who added more color to designs and experimented with typography. This resulted in a more diverse range of styles within the Swiss Style.

One defining feature of Swiss Graphic Design is its use of grids. Grids are used to organize elements into an organized structure which results in a visually balanced layout that can be easily read and understood by viewers. The use of grids also allows for a greater degree of flexibility when it comes to incorporating text, images or any other graphical elements into a design.

Another important element of Swiss Graphic Design is the use of sans-serif typefaces such as Helvetica or Akzidenz Grotesk which give designs an uncluttered appearance while still being easy to read at small sizes.

Swiss Graphic Design has also been heavily influenced by modern art movements such as Bauhaus, De Stijl, Constructivism, and Suprematism which all embraced geometric forms and abstract shapes as means for creating artworks. These movements were influential on the development of the grid-based systems used in Swiss Graphic Design.

Conclusion: What Influenced Swiss Graphic Design? A combination of modern art movements such as Bauhaus, De Stijl, Constructivism & Suprematism along with the International Typographic Style movement led by Max Bill & Armin Hofmann greatly influenced the development & growth of this style of graphic design. Its defining features include its clean & minimalist aesthetic along with its use of grids, sans-serif typefaces & asymmetrical composition making it a hugely influential style that has been adopted globally over time.