Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965

Originating in Russia, Germany, and The Netherlands in the 1920s, Modernist graphic design and typography found a firm foothold in Switzerland. By the 1950s, Switzerland had developed a uniquely clear graphic language, evident not just in posters but in pharmaceutical labelling, tourist brochures, train tickets, timetables, passports and bank notes. Abroad, 'Neue Grafik' or 'Swiss' style, as it became known, was admired for its formal discipline. Images and text were organized into geometrical grids used together with sans-serif typefaces such as Helvetica and Univers. These chief components of the Swiss style spread across the world and their influence is still seen today. Swiss Graphic Design gives a rich and fascinating account of this key period in graphic design history, setting the stylistic developments into the social and cultural context of the times.