Swiss Style, Is It the Best Style?

Swiss Style, also known to many as International Typographic Style, is a graphic style of writing that started in Russia, Germany, and the Netherlands. This highly influential design influenced graphics as part of a modernist movement but also architecture and art as well.

The Style in a Nutshell
There are some notable looks when it comes to the International Typographic Style. To start with it asymmetrical tends to use a grid and is lined flush on the left, but on the right, it remains uneven. Many early works in this style used typography as a central part of the design, and it is through this use and technique that it was eventually named.

The Swiss Style lead to many other movements over the years, all of which have been relatively popular. Such movements include Bauhaus, Constructivism, and Suprematism and are just a few of those that embraced this style and ideas.

Expansion into Today’s Market
A large part of this style is due to the Akidenz Grotesk typeface being developed and released in 1896. It was an attempt to create an objective style in fonts, and it is from this that the Swiss style stemmed. It was an effort to make and portray messages in a clear and concise manner that would be understood the world over.

Over the years, this style has been utilized again and again in many different art forms. Recently, it was even used in Korea to develop new tourism posters and to create new ways of thinking. Many companies also use this style to a greater or lesser degree. For example, heading over to barnebys.com visitors will notice the high readability of the format, clear text and easy message. A minor throwback to this style albeit not an exact replica.

Conclusion
While it has lost a lot of popularity over the years, it remains a highly distinctive style. With a sans-serif font style, objective photography, and a style aiming not to influence people, it is easy to see why it was to become so popular. Sites that aim to build upon a solid typographic base but do not want to make any unusual statements through there typographic choices use some form of the style, and many of them do not even do it intentionally. The Style has become an intrinsic method of conveying written word.