“Swiss
graphic design and "the Swiss Style" are crucial elements in the
history of modernism. During the 1920s and '30s, skills traditionally
associated with Swiss industry, particularly pharmaceuticals and mechanical
engineering, were matched by those of the country's graphic designers, who
produced their advertising and technical literature. These pioneering graphic
artists saw design as part of industrial production and searched for anonymous,
objective visual communication. They chose photographic images rather than
illustration, and typefaces that were industrial-looking rather than those
designed for books. Written by noted design authority Richard Hollis, this
lavishly illustrated volume looks at the uniquely clear graphic language
developed by such Swiss designers as Theo Ballmer, Max Bill, Adrian Frutiger,
Karl Gerstner, Armin Hoffman, Ernst Keller, Herbert Matter, Josef
Müller-Brockmann, and Jan Tschichold. The style of these artists received
worldwide admiration for its formal discipline: images and text were organized
by geometrical grids. Adopted internationally, the grid and sans serif
typefaces such as Helvetica became the classic emblems of Swiss graphic design.
Showcasing design work across a range of media, including posters, magazines,
exhibition displays, brochures, advertisements, books, and film, this essential
book shows how many of the Swiss designers' modernist elements remain an
indispensable part of today's graphic language.”
