International Style: Gerstner & Müller-Brockmann

Prompts:

  • How do each of these designers/authors think you should approach design?
  • Include an example of contemporary typography/layout that embodies the two 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” ?

The International Style brought order to the concept of design by means of templates or guidelines that would guarantee successful results. One Swiss designer that pioneered this movement was Karl Gerstner. Gerstner approached design as a mathematician. He believed that like equations, design elements could be composed into formulas that would yield an effective outcome. He created a table to assist in the design process by allowing the user to successfully combine elements together that had proven to be successful design methods in the past.

            Another Swiss designer that had a huge influence on The International Style was Josef Müller-BrockMann. His belief was more concerned with the grid and the composition within as a vehicle of facilitating, organizing, and enhancing the content to be displayed. He also believed that design was as valid as the work of a mathematician in that a good designer must consider all aspects of design and then combine them in perfect harmony to achieve success.

            A perfect example of both Gerstner and Müller-Brockmann’s design philosophies is Jacqueline Casey’s work. She was highly influenced by the International Style when she was working as a designer, alongside Muriel Cooper, at MIT from 1960’s thru 1980’s. Casey’s love for Helvetica as a sans-serif font of choice, combined with her expert use of the grid, and restrained use of color hark back to the principles of both Gerstner and Müller-Brockmann. Her use of basic shapes as abstract type is also notable as is her use of negative space in her compositions.

Jacqueline Casey Poster 1970
Jacqueline Casey Poster 1973

Ref:

  • “Cooper and Casey at MIT.” MIT Spectrum, 14 Mar. 2017, spectrum.

mit.edu/winter-2017/cooper-casey-at-mit.

  • Jacqueline Casey | Cary Graphic Arts Collection | RIT. www.rit.edu/carycollection/jacqueline-casey.