Overview
The focus of these texts is the evolution of the International Style/Swiss Typography from the New Typography movement and the Bauhaus. To give a perspective on the influence of this style, the third reading is a review of a 2016 exhibition featuring young Swiss designers.
- Karl Gerstner, Designing Programmes 1964 Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong pg 55-61
- Joseph Muller-Brockman, “Grid and Design Philosophy” Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong pg 62-63
- Margaret Rhodes, “The Swiss Designers Breaking Tradition” AIGA Eye on Design 2016
Key Themes and Takeaways
Karl Gerstner, “Designing Programmes” 1964
Karl Gerstner’s approach to design embodies the International Typographic Style, aka the Swiss Style, in its systematic methods and formal rigidity. In Designing Programmes, Gerstner describes the quasi-scientific technique of establishing a programme to address design problems.
- There is no ‘absolute solution’ for design problems, only “programmes for solutions”
- ‘The creative process is to be reduced to an act of selection.’
- Systematic tools such as the ‘morphological box of the typogram’ provide the necessary components for the selection process
- The grid can be a ‘proportional regulator’ but is not a programme onto itself
Joseph Muller-Brockman, “Grid and Design Philosophy” 1981
Grid Systems is a practical manual for grid-based design solutions, a theoretical treatise, and a brilliant example of the grid system at work. Müller-Brockmann’s strict rule-based methodology anticipates the digital workspaces that would come to dominate design in subsequent years. The short excerpt defines this philosophy.
- The grid is ‘an expression of a certain mental attitude’
- The designer’s work should be a ‘contribution to general culture’
- Design should be ‘objective, committed to the common weal… the basis of democratic behavior’
- The grid represents a ‘will to systematize, to clarify’
Due Date(s)
Your reading response is due the day before the next session to allow time for review.
Instructions
1. Open the reading & enable Hypothesis.
In a new tab open the text Armstrong, Helen. Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Navigate to pages 55-63.
In another tab open Margaret Rhodes, The Swiss Designers Breaking Tradition
If the reading link above doesn’t automatically open Hypothesis, use the Paste a Link feature. Login to your account and select our group COMD Theory Fall2023 Group (IMPORTANT!) from the dropdown to make sure your annotations and highlights will be recorded in the group. See Using Hypothesis for details.
2. Consider these questions.
Here are the questions to which you should respond in your reading response:
- How do each of Gerstner and Muller-Brockman think you should approach design?
- Include an example of contemporary typography/layout that embodies the design systems or philosophies described by Karl Gerstner and Joseph Muller-Brockman. And explain why!
- How do the contemporary Swiss designers described in the Margaret Rhodes’ essay “flirt with breaking the rules of the International Typographic Style“?
3. Read & Annotate.
Consider the questions/prompts listed above. Start to formulate the answers to these questions while you practice close reading with annotations. Share at least 3 annotations in the Hypothesis group, including your questions, definitions, and ideas with your classmates. See Using Hypothesis for details. Add the tags: International Style and Reading Response 4 to your annotations.
4. Draft your Reading Response.
Write a draft of your 200-word response in your Writing Portfolio. Check for grammar/spelling errors using Google Docs spell-grammar check or Grammarly. Use the word count tool too. Add a numbered or bulleted list of links to at least (3) of your Hypothesis annotations. In Hypothesis, select the Share icon and copy the URL. (see Using Hypothesis > Share)
Use links to visual examples to supplement your reading response. Consider looking back at the Learning Graphic Design History videos or the AIGA Archive to see if there are historical examples that will help support your ideas.
5. Add your Reading Response in a comment.
When ready, add a comment at the bottom of this post. Paste your reading response from your Writing Portfolio into the comment box. Adjust any formatting issues that may have occurred while pasting.
Resources
More info
- Tutorials > Using Hypothesis
- Assignments > Writing Portfolio
- OpenLab Help > Commenting on a Site
Texts
- Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong on pages 19-24 from DesignOpenData
- Margaret Rhodes, Eye on Design AIGA, The Swiss Designers Breaking Tradition
The New Wave of Swiss Design in the 1950s and 60s called for design that was neutral, objective and rational. To achieve this, Swiss designers such as Karl Gerstner and Josef Müller-Brockman developed formal methodologies that revolutionized the ideals of the Avant-Garde. Moving away from the subjective aesthetic approach that was, designer Karl Gerstner believed in designs that were a result of choosing “determining elements and combining them”. Gerstner took a systematic approach to design, and in his book Design Programmes he outlined the various parameters that could be used to identify and solve design problems. Two of his most well known programs were the typographic grid that laid out compositions and the typogram system which was used to create logos and wordmarks. Much like Gerstner, Josef Müller-Brockman had a similar design approach. Brockman pioneered the grid system which allowed designers to logically develop layouts that emphasized clarity and regularity. The ideologies of Gerstner and Brockman resulted in the International Style, a design movement that stood the test of time. An example of their philosophies can be seen in this poster created by Andreas Gysin and Sidi Vanetti in 2013 (they also happen to be Swiss). Upon first look the use of a grid system is apparent, as the main body copy sits in four evenly spaced columns of sans-serif type. The large visual element at the top develops a clear path for the eyes of the viewer to travel. Here are more designs by the pair. Their work acknowledges their predecessors, but not to full rigidity. Elements of their own aesthetic and style come through their work. And this is further examined in the Margaret Rhodes essay which features more posters by Swiss designers that morph modernity with the ideas of the International Style. I believe that this proves a point I made in one of my previous responses, we should acknowledge the traditions of the past while developing our own styles.
Addition:
How I believe Gerstner and Muller-Brockman would want to you approach design is by empathizing with users, define the user’s problems, requirements, and your opinion on the same, ideate with innovations and challenging assumptions, prototype to devise solutions, test the solutions, and finally, implement them. Though both had different ideologies I feel that this is as close as I can get. Contemporary Swiss designers embody letting subjectivity cease to the value of the work. Most importantly, the deployment of a mathematically determined grid to decide the placement of design elements. Behind this common typeface lies the meaning of a symbolic design principle. To this day, this part of design history is still influential. The use of Helvetica didn’t define the International Typographic Style, but its essence did. To organize information and communicate clearly, without any complications.
Annotation 1 https://hyp.is/NTp5Pl13Ee6qQztg_XHJcA/designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/graphicdesigntheory_helenarmstrong.pdf
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https://hyp.is/VX4fpl1zEe6o_Rv6qceUng/eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-swiss-designers-breaking-tradition/
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https://hyp.is/p2q1NF16Ee6JPTtxeyda_Q/eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-swiss-designers-breaking-tradition/
Gerstner’s design methodology is based on the idea of programs as logic, “Instead of solutions for problems, programmes for solutions”. He developed a strict formula of criteria that created an almost scientific approach to design. He believed that understanding the problem was just as crucial as solving it, and that the more exact intellectual criteria there was, the more creative the work would become. Muller-Brockman’s methodology revolved around the use of a grid. He felt that society would benefit as a whole if design was created in the pursuit of being objective, intelligible, and systematic. Both held the belief that design should be entirely objective and had strict rules on how design should be approached and executed.
Mehman Mammedovs visual identity concept for “Säker Switzerland Sparbank” follows the objective and mathematical principles laid out by Muller-Brockman and Gerstner. A clear link can be seen in this identity design concept and 1960s Swiss international style. Despite these similarities the designer’s choice of color and iconography makes the design recognizably contemporary. 
This is seen across the board with contemporary swiss design. Designers today are allowing more room for individual style and subjective aesthetics. The foundations laid out by Gerstner and Muller-Brockman are still visible, but they remain foundations to the design and take a back seat to more intuitive expressions of aesthetics.
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Great job here, SarahJane. I’ve added a few comments/questions in Hypothesis where, as a reader, I was looking for a little more clarification. Let me know if you have questions.
NOTE: Private response is visible only to instructors and to the post’s author.
Both Karl Gerstner and Josef Muller-Brockmann conceptualized design and broke down the process of achieving a visual message making graphic design a more widely understood and accepted profession. Karl Gerstner did so by applying the design process described within his “Design Programmes”, which allowed for a number of design decisions and approaches to be taken based on a set of guidelines. By following these guidelines, it allowed designers to remain objective in their work because ultimately, the designers were following guidelines instead of making personal decisions. This also allowed designers to expand their design options and ways to approach a design topic. Although these guidelines were set in place, they were not limited to following a single option, combinations were also applied. Josef Muller-Brockmann approached design through the grid system which gave way to a more logical, concise structure within design, allowing it to be perceived in a more universal manner due to its mathematical approach. The Swiss designers in Margaret Rhodes’ essay take their own approach on the International Typographic Style by applying their own aesthetic approach and challenging the standards set in place. The symmetrical values were challenged through asymmetry and the grid is challenged by the playful placement of type, it has indeed become more expressive and personal to each designer. I do not believe this to be a negative approach on design, if anything it allows for more variety and more diverse design possibilities.
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Gerstner and Muller-Brockman think we should approach design by understanding how the problem started in the first place and combining elements. In his article, “Designing Programmes” he created a diagram that helped with designing. Combining all of the materials is not just grabbing everything you have and putting it together. You have to choose what elements fit your design and not only that, if one element doesn’t work, combining it with another one might. A grid is an important visual representation between variables. Swiss Style had to be kept neat and simple for others to understand the message clearly. One of Paula Scher’s works has all the different elements combined. None of the typefaces and fonts are staying constant. It’s hard to find balance in design but Paula was able to make it work and blend it. In Margaret Rhodes’s article, “The Swiss Designers Breaking Tradition” it says “…I had to ignore all the typography stuff I learned,” BrechbĂĽhl says. Besides the array of type styles, most of the text falls in the center—another rule broken, given that one of the hallmarks of the Swiss Style is asymmetry.” Just like the reading response #3, they want to be able to start something new, designing asymmetry, starting at different angles instead of reading from left to right.
Gerstner was all about having a systematic, logical approach to design. He came up with these detailed diagrams breaking down all the possible elements you could use to make a design, like the direction text goes, how letters are spaced, the size, all that. He wanted to take creativity and turn it into this almost scientific process.
MĂĽller-Brockmann was also into the whole logical, objective approach. For him it was all about using grids to bring order and keep things super clean and minimal. He thought following mathematical systems took out the subjectivity and let designers create these timeless designs. His poster designs were all about strict grids.
A contemporary design that reminds me of their systematic approaches is that brand identity Collins did for Cigna. It uses different configurations of the letterforms on a grid to represent the company. The designers even said they were going for that International Typographic Style look.
As for how Swiss designers today are breaking the rules – they’re keeping some of the colors and bold shapes of the Swiss style but making things less rigid. That zine It is all in the detail has its title going down in different sizes on each line, it throws off the grid but keeps it interesting. And BrechbĂĽhl’s theater poster uses all different styles of fonts and handwriting, asymmetric alignment and stuff like that to make it more unique. The exhibit shows Swiss design now has way more personality.
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Gerstner and Muller-Brockman both seem to advocate for a grid-based approach to design. Emphasizing the importance of structure, organization, and rationality in design. They believe that design should be based on objective principles and should not rely solely on personal taste. An example of a contemporary typography/layout that embodies the design systems of Gerstner and Muller-Brockman is the website “Grid Garden.” This website uses a grid-based layout design, with clear divisions and consistent alignment. It showcases the principles of structure and organization emphasized by both designers. By using a grid, it creates a well-balanced and visually appealing design that’s easy to use. The contemporary Swiss designers described in Margaret Rhodes’ essay Swiss Designers Breaking Traditions incorporate elements of experimentation into their designs. They challenge the strict grid-based layouts and experiment with asymmetrical compositions, unconventional typography, and more playful colors. These designers still pay homage to the principles of the International Typographic Style, but they push the boundaries and introduce new elements to create innovative and dynamic designs.
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Karl Gerstner and Joseph Muller-Brockmann were Swiss designers who used systematic and rational approaches when designing. Gerstner used “programmes for solutions” that guided your decisions and defined the design process as an act of selection. He created “the morphological box of the typogram” that allows designers to find combinations of design elements using a system. Muller-Brockmann was mostly known for his use of grid systems that allowed clarity, order, and function in designs. An example of contemporary design that embodies these philosophies can be modern websites. Today, websites use grid systems to create a simple layout, use sans-serif typefaces for readability, and have a clean aesthetic, similar to Gerstner and Muller-Brockmann’s approach. In Margareet Rhodes essay, the designers are depicted finding new grounds and evolving from the traditional Swiss Style. They created designs that are clean but incorporate asymmetry, multiple typefaces, and non-mathematical grids. For example, Erich Brechbuhls poster “Anne Babi im Sali” uses Swiss traditional red and white while combining new innovative styles.
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Designers no longer follow the trend from the early century. Modern style from Europe was eliminated and new style started taking place in the world and becoming the International style. The neutrality, objectivity, and rationality of grid design are now more reliable and professional. Constructivist design makes the process of design more easy, efficient, organized, brings impact and help develop the industry. By including grid in design, the aesthetic of the society will be enhance, and also shows off designer’s mathematical thinking.
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After the 1950s, there started to be a separation between artists and designers. Graphic Design started being its own profession. Design trends were changing once more and the Swiss Design/International Style emerged. Karl Gerstner and Josef MĂĽller-Brockamnn were Swiss designers who approached design with a strict set of rules, as design in the International style was to be objective, minimal, and universal.
Karl Gerstner created programmes for solutions, his idea was that there is no universal absolute solution but instead different options. From these options, one should fit the best depending on the situation. Gerstner noted not all solutions can be derived from one programme but they could be used to analyze the issues. Gestner also thought about the use of grids as a programme, and not physical grids as in a piece of squared paper. He thought of grids more like the “module of Le Corbusier” which was a programme and a grid that used mathematical order based on human scales. Josef Müller-Brockmann also agreed to the strict use of grids. For him, design was to be ordered and divided into a grid of Swiss typography, which took chaotic elements of design and put them under a tight measure of control. Müller-Brockmann focused on form and content, by using grids, design was submitting to laws of universal validity.
An example of the International style based on Gerstner and MĂĽller-Brockmann descriptions is this
” rel=”nofollow ugc”>poster, created by Mike Joyce in a series of works where he redid flyers using Swiss design. In this poster the grids are easy to see, the typography is simple and it is colorful but minimal at the same time.
Margaret Rhodes mentions the new Swiss designers and how Switzerland gave a lot to the design world, minimal, clear, and mostly using Helvetica. She talks about how at this point the designers were separated from the artists and notes the Cooper Union show “Swiss Style Now”. This show can demonstrate how design is derived by previous or other work but is always evolving.
Every designer has their own process when it comes to design. There is no one process that works for every designer. Gerstner and Muller-Brockmann had very different processes but it shows how the designer is unique. When it comes to Gerstner he had a passion for chemistry so he looked to the idols of science to get his design methodology. He adapted Fritz Kwicky’s method but adapted that to his designs. Muller-Brockmann wanted to stay confined to a certain set of rules or, as he states, “submit to the laws of universal validity.” They had 2 different methods but still strived for one goal, organization. You can see both of their methods have some form of structure.
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Please disregard this post – duplicate of #3
Gertzner described a “programmes for solutions” grid type system for design. In this system, there was a series of systems that determined by using art and mathematical formats. He believed that design involved a process for determining which elements to use and how to combine them. The type-grid is used at a regulation system for where type and photography and other design elements are arranged in line with the grid. The grid allows the designer to place these elements to a system aligned with columns and rows to optimize use of the space.
Muller-Brockmann believed in using the grid system to place subjective design elements and place them within the grid to give a sense of stability. His work popularized the grid and spread the ideas of the Swiss style of Design.
References:
David Karson &PaulaScher
Both Muller-Brockmann and Gertzner believed in the rationality and of design and looking forward to approach design with a fresh mind.
Gerstner and Muller-Brockman both saw the importance of structure, organization, and rationality in design and that design should be all expressionism and they should stick to one type of design structure. One example is “the grid for the periodical Capital”. The basic unit is 10 points; the size of the basic typeface including the lead. The text and picture area are divided at the same time into one, two, three, four, five, and six columns. There are 58 units along the whole width. This number is a logical one when there are always two units between the columns. That is: it divides in every case without a remainder: with two columns the 58 units are composed of 2 x 28 + 2 (space between columns) with 3 columns 3 x 18 + 2 x 2; with 4 columns 4 x 13 + 3 x 2; with 5 columns 5 x 10 + 4 x 2; with 6 columns 6 x 8 + 5 x 2 10-point units. This shows them using a set rules to create a constant and structured design