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TYPE

LIFE

STYLE

COLLECTION
 Max Bill and
Otl Aicher
Works by
About 125 miles northeast of
Hofmann and Ruder’s School of
Design, Max Bill and Otl Aicher
opened their own school in Ulm,
Germany. Bill, who is known not
only for his work as a designer,
but also for his theoretical writings
and connection to the Modern
Movement, is often thought of
as the most “decisive influence
on Swiss graphic design.” His
school in Ulm included courses
Works by Josef
in semiotics, or the study of signs Müller-Brockmann
and symbols. These teachings
fell into step with the objectivity
and readability of the International
Typographic Style, which aims
to create content that is easily
recognized and understood by
anyone who views it.

Grids, sans serifs, and photos—oh

my! Swiss Style has made its way
around the world and continues to
inspire artists and designers every
day. Don’t believe me just yet? Just
ask Cyrus Highsmith who tried
to spend a day without Helvetica
in New York City, only to realize
that it was nearly impossible. The
use of Helvetica might not define
International Typographic Style,
but its everywhere presence is a
constant reminder of the impact
those radical Swiss have in our

by er
everyday lives. Danke schön
for making our lives a little more
organized, guys.
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W ns
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 AKZIDENZ-GROTESK THE DESIGNERS
They may not have designed
the wonderfully inexpensive,
build-it-from-the-box furniture so
many college students live with
and love, but they definitely had
some influence. Obviously, IKEA
started in Switzerland, so it’s no
surprise Swiss Style made it into
their branding. But what about the
hundreds (thousands?) of other
businesses, theaters, schools,
artists, etc. that use Swiss Style
every day? Who came up with it
anyway?
Enter Ernst Keller, lovingly known
as the “father of Swiss design.”
The year is 1918 and Keller just
received a teaching position at
the Kunstgewerbeschule (literally
translated “arts and crafts school”)
in Switzerland. His teachings mark
UNIVERS the beginning of the grid systems
for which Swiss Style is known,
and his belief that design should
adapt to content placed focus
on the importance of typefaces.
Little did Keller know, some of
his students would become the
forefront runners in the creation of
the International Typographic Style
movement. Shall we call them the
sons of Swiss Style?
HELVETICA
Armin Hofmann, along with Emil
Ruder, founded the Schule für
Gestaltung (School of Design) in
1947. Hofmann began teaching and
was often regarded as unorthodox
in his ways. Much of his work
focused on elements of graphic
form while remaining simple
and objective. His compositions,
having been influenced by Ernst
Keller’s teachings, often made
use of typography over illustration.
Hofmann’s curriculum has been
somewhat adapted, yet is still
taught today at the School of
Design in Basel, Switzerland.
Josef Müller-Brockmann, another
student of Keller’s, heavily focused
his work around the grid system
and Akzidenz-Grotesk typeface.
After taking over Keller’s teaching
position at the Kunstgewerbeschule
and later opening his own design
firm, Müller-Brockmann helped
spread the Swiss aesthetic far
beyond the borders of Europe
by establishing the Neue Grafik
(New Graphic Design) journal—a
trilingual magazine he co-edited
with Franco Vivarelli, Hans
Neuberg and Richard Paul Lohse.
+
 A typeface for teaching
By Elizabeth Stinson 3

Does History Repeat itself 8
Ricardo, A tale of two worlds
By Jasper DeWaard 12
Typography of Rock and Roll
By Simon Martin 16
20

+
Grand Type Auto

Swiss Style:
The Principles,
The Typefaces,
The Designer
By Calllie Budrick 24
Rediscovering an old typeface
By Jason Mannix 28
Decriminalizing Typography
By Paul Shaw 32
Architecture and type : A modern marriage
By Virginia Smith 36
The Power of Branding 40

Sports typography heads to the playoffs 44
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SW he Ty esig
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If you’re a designer in the 21st century, chances are you’ve studied the International Typographic
Style (more commonly known as ‘Swiss Style’). Let’s take a moment to honor some of modern
design’s most influential principles, typefaces and artists who started this central-European trend.

The Principles:
CLEANLINESS.
READABILITY.
OBJECTIVITY
Just a few key words that
describe the driving force behind
Swiss Style. The 19th century
marked the separation of design
from fine art, and with it, the birth
of grid-based design.
Band poster designed by
Mike Joyce and inspired by
Swiss Style
P.B. Meggs’ History of
Graphic Design explains that
International Typographic
Design begins with a Because of this, the typefaces
mathematical grid. These grids
are considered to be the “most
legible and harmonious means
for structuring information.”
Using a grid for design makes
creating a hierarchy for the
content much easier—think
web design. Why are so many
websites broken into grids?
Grids are flexible, consistent
and easy to follow.
They are clear-cut and work
well with ratios (Rule of Thirds,
Golden Ratio, etc.). In addition
to the grid, Swiss Style usually
involves an asymmetrical
layout, sans serif typefaces and
the favoring of photography over
illustrations.
The movement’s innovators
combined elements of other
artistic trends to create the
beauty and simplicity of the
Swiss Style that we know today.
Elements from Bauhaus, De Stijl
and The New Typography are
sprinkled throughout the works
of Ersnt Keller, Max Bill, Josef-
Müller Brakmann and Armin
Hofmann—i.e., the pioneers of
Swiss Style.
The Typefaces:
Appreciating Swiss Style
means appreciating the typefaces
that started it all. Those grid
systems wouldn’t be anything
without the classic sans serif
typeface that so seamlessly
folds into Swiss Style. Those
who taught Swiss Style argued
that design should focus on
the content and not decorative
extras. By stripping away
the embellishments, Swiss
Style eliminates distractions
for the viewer and allows the
information-heavy design to be
read and studied rather than
merely seen and admired.
chosen to represent Swiss Style
are those that really hone in one
the movement’s key principles:
AKZIDENZ-GROTESK
Probably the most influential
typeface for this movement,
Akzidenz-Grotesk was released
by the Berthold Type Foundry
in 1896 and was arguably
the first of its kind. It soon
became one of the most widely
used typefaces and was even
sold in the U.S. under the
names “Standard” or “Basic
Commercial.” If that doesn’t
shout “FIRST!” I don’t know
what does.
UNIVERS
Adrian Frutiger, one of the most
influential typeface designers
of the 20th century, created
Univers in 1954. Pulling
elements from Akzidenz-
Grotesk, Frutiger created one of
the first typefaces that formed a
font family, allowing documents
to use one typeface (instead of
several) in various sizes and
weights, creating a beautifully
simple uniform via text alone.
Originally released by Danberry
& Peignot in 1957, the family
passed through the hands of the
Haas Type Foundry before being
purchased in 2007 (along with
all of Linotype) by Monotype.
HELVETICA
When Max Miedinger and
Eduard Hoffmann created
Helvetica in 1957, did they
know their work would result
in what is arguably the most
ubiquitous sans serif typeface
in the world? Probably not. Did
they think, for just a moment,
their typeface would inspire a
film? Again, probably not. But
here we are, nearly 60 years
later, with an 88% fresh rating
on Rotten Tomatoes, and Simon
Garfield regarding Helvetica as
“ubiquitous because it fulfills
so many demands for modern
type.”