Benzin: Young Swiss Graphic Design

Wim Crouwel Paris Exhibition 09/02/07

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rumberodesign/sets/72157594527501778/

Wim Crouwel

Josef Muller Brockmann Remix

Here are two nice Swiss posters [top image] from the late 1950s, early 60s demonstrating the application of geometry in design.
"The poster left, 'Experiment in Plane and Space' exhibition poster by Jorg Hamburger [1962], uses the simplest geometry in flat areas of colour to express the theme exactly. The design resolves the conflict between the illusion of perspective and the two-dimensional surface which the Modernists were at pains to preserve."

The image below is a photograph by Werner Blaser of a Japanese house.
"This facade has obvious similarities to both Mondrian's paintings and the graphic work of Richard Paul Lohse. Blaser's photographs reinforced the Swiss interest in rectangluar and modular design and in Japanese culture, which had a special appeal for Swiss designers, whose work found some of its first admirers in Japan."

Ouest Est 06 by Buro Destruct

'Ouest Est, Programme Poster, Illustration: Helge Reumann, Client: Kulturhallen Dampfzentrale Bern, Print: Serigraphie Uldry, 2006'

I have chosen to post this image because the illustration reinforces the Swiss interest in rectangular and modular design. The horizontal and vertical lines of the architectural structures contrast nicely with the curves of the flames, mountains and use of typography.

WoodtliUnivers Font

I love Woodtli's approach to this typographical experiment - having each letter transform into these funny looking robot characters. Would love to see them transform in real time as opposed to just seeing images of each stage. Cant find anything about WoodtliUnivers on the net so I've used scans from his book, which look pretty cool. There isn't really much information given away about WoodtliUnivers in the book either so I'm just drawing my own conclusions from the images =]

Thoughts

At this stage I really want to move away from the screen and do something hands on relating to the research project. A few of my recent posts have included work that goes beyond the computer screen and touches on electronics (Sign Generator Hardware Edition) or design through experimentation (Hinting) and for me personally, this type of work has a greater appeal to it. It wouldn't be the first time I will have worked partly away from the computer as my last project from second year was heavily reliant on the use of a muio box and although the outcome wasn't amazing, there was definately a lot of potential there. For now, it's just worth bearing this in mind as I'm not going to commit to something this early.

Superscript² / Hinting

A series of typographical experiments in which physical grid-like structures are used as the basis for pixelated characters. It's such a simple concept but I think the outcome is really effective particularly on the grids in the street - it's giving the grid new meaning and purpose, becoming the canvas for a piece of art. I'd love to try this out myself =]

Superscript² / Forum après bac 2005

I was drawn to the simple geometric design that encases the title with this piece. Having been reading through 'Swiss Graphic Design - The origins and growth of an international style', geometry has been an influential part of the unique Swiss style. My research project at the moment may seem a little widespread but I think geometry is definitely an area I would love to look at closer regarding Swiss design.

Superscript² / deValence (luxº)

Superscript² / Vj² (luxº)

Click here to check out the videos

Superscript² / Interactive Landscape²

The visual aids that accompany the music are what caught my attention with this piece. Geometric shapes, both three dimensional and two dimensional, appear on screen to a selection of coloured back drops. I'm not sure whether the audio influences the visuals on screen but that would seem to make sense seeing as the piece is interactive. It was a nice video to watch as the shapes are constantly in motion.

Click here to see the live action video

9dots

Play 9dots here =]

Modulograph: Dessin Modulaire

Norm Sign Generator [Hardware Edition]

Pictures taken from www.lineto.com

Lego Font Creator

"This little application was a collaboration between the designers Urs Lehni and Rafael Koch with the developer Jürg Lehni, as a progression from the design of their Lineto Lego fonts. The irresistible logic of the Lego brick prompted them to start thinking about how the fonts could be shown in an interactive type specimen, offering ways to play with it online.

They later developed it into a stand-alone Shockwave application, offering a set of preselected design elements and both Lineto Lego font alphabets to play with. Results can be exported as vector data and opened in vector-oriented graphic design programs like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand."

Rubik Maker

"This Shockwave application, programmed by Jürg Lehni, was initially developed as a design tool for generating a set of fonts based on the legendary Rubik Cube.

The application allows users to pick and play with a set of 27 cubes, to modify them within certain parameters, and to export the result as vector data, which can be opened and edited in programs like Adobe llustrator or Macromedia Freehand.

The application is sold as a stand-alone Shockwave application for Macintosh or Windows platforms."

Art from Code - Generator.x

I came across this website by doing a Google image search for a Swiss book I was interested in. The website is designed in the style of a blog/exhibition and examines the role of software and generative strategies in current digital art and design.

One of the past blog entries was about the Swiss based designers Lineto. After having browsed the Lineto website I was quite surprised that I hadn't heard more about them in the past. Some of the work I managed to find on their links in perfectly with my research project choice - two interactive pieces in particular:

- Rubik Maker (by Jürg Lehni and Cornel Windlin)
- Lego Font Creator (by Jürg Lehni, Urs Lehni & Rafael Koch)

New Book

I just bought the book 'Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style 1920-1965' by Richard Hollis. The synopsis can be found below.

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.

Grid Based Clock Screensaver (Build + Gedel)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I checked out the website of the Belgian interactive designer Geoffroy Delobel (aka Gedel) who designed the website for Build. Immediately I noticed the grid based clock screensaver and, to my surprise, was quite impressed with the simple, ever-changing nature of the piece. Clearly the Swiss influence is present in the simple grid structure, with clean cut graphics constantly in motion to create different structures every minute. This also makes a nice addition to my list of growing Swiss based interactive pieces i.e. BDD and Sign Generator 1.0.

The grid based clock screensaver is in fact based on an idea by Sleep At Work

To check out the grid based clock screensaver click here

Design By Build

I first came across their work on the Rumbero Design website. Xavier Encinas (Rumbero Design) is clearly a fan and collector and lists those works that he possesses and those that he needs to buy. I was quite impressed with what I saw so I checked out their website - a very sleek and minimalistic design. I couldn't help but check out the creator - Gedel (aka Geoffroy Delobel, a Belgian interactive designer). However, staying with Build for the time being, here is a small selection of their work. I have tended to select those pieces that, for me, include some sort of Swiss influence.

Swiss Legacy Blog

One of the more important things I came across on the Rumbero Design website was a link to the Swiss Legacy blog, which may prove to be an invaluable resource for my research project. I haven't yet had the chance to take a detailed look at what it offers, however, I have quickly browsed through the category list which includes some promising areas to explore.

Check it out for yourself here

Rumbero Design

I'm really not too sure how I came across this site but I'm glad I found it either way. It showcases the work of French Art Director Xavier Encinas, also known as Rumbero Design, and although not Swiss, he seems to have adopted their style and this clearly comes across in his work. One piece in particular which really caught my eye can be seen below. Yet another black and white design with emphasis placed on the use of type and strong clean cut imagery. The second poster design contains character traits of Muller Brockmann's work and I've included one of his posters just so we can compare the two.

Not only was his website a pleasure to navigate through, it also contained some really interesting leads, which were relevant to my research project and I will be posting about them soon. To check out his site click here

Tania Prill (Zurich)

I came across the image below in Area and was immediately drawn to the symbols that somewhat resembled layered alphabet characters. The layering of them, however, transforms their meaning completely and we are left with an icon that is unrecognisable and, in my opinion, quite beautiful. In fact, they are rather similar to the grid based work found in Norm's book 'The Things'.

(Below) "Self-commissioned poster Faxaction conceived in memory of Swiss typographer and teacher Hans-Rudolf Lutz / Switzerland / 2002 / In January 1998, while working on the conception of his exhibition Werkschau Hans-Rudolf Lutz, Hans-Rudolf Lutz passed away. His friends followed through with the exhibition, which took place in the Visosuisse Factory, Emmenbrucke, a few months later. A fax machine was installed in the exhibition space, allowing people from around the world to react to the loss. The faxes became part of the exhibition and a selection was used to make up this poster." - Area (Phaidon) p.274

Kei Matsushita (Tokyo)

One of the questions answered by Buro Destruct in my previous post was regarding similarities between Swiss and Japanese graphic design. The answer given by BD was that 'both tend to make it perfect'. Therefore it may be to my advantage to have a look into contemporary Japanese graphic design. I've already had a quick look through the book 'Area', which highlights 100 graphic designers form across the globe, and came across Kei Matsushita of Tokyo, whose work I find really impressive, inspirational and in tune with the Swiss design motifs. I've scanned in two pieces of his work from the book, which demonstrate his signature use of creating three-dimensional images by using a two-dimensional technique.

(top) Promotional leaflet for paper-processing company PCM Takeo / PCM Takeo / Japan / 1997

(bottom) Poster advertising the entertainment robot AIBO / Sony Creative Products Inc. / Japan / 2001

BD FAQ

Found some interesting questions and answers regarding the work of Buro Destruct on their website - 4 questions in particular really stood out for me, which I have pasted below. For the full set of Questions and Answers click here

Switzerland, is known for order and cleanness. Do these attributes also qualify your work?
Yes, we think so. But the description would not be complete by just using these words: We chose our name ’Büro Destruct’ to communicate a vision of tension between two poles. ’Büro’ stands for order and ’Destruct’ for breaking with conventions and aiming for new results. But in the end it mostly turns into order again – so yes: we are very Swiss;-)

How would you describe Swiss graphic design?
Swiss graphic designers take care of good forms, clear shapes, legible characters and order. These things are installed in the people of Switzerland. Mention Swiss graphic design, and the first names that come to mind for those raised on a diet of modernism are Max Bill, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Richard Paul Lohse and Armin Hofmann. These designers, whose work has come to epitomize an approach to graphic design adopted internationally, have also defined the way the rest of the world sees Swiss design – as economical, austere and formal.

Why do you think Swiss graphic design is so popular these days?
We’re truly seeing a revival of Swiss tradition all over the world nowadays. No other region has got such a high density of high-quality graphic designers like Switzerland. Even though Swiss Designers were always very well educated, the ’70s and the ’80s did not necessarily bring forth the greatest achievements. That changed in the beginning of the ’90s when the new technological developments were adopted by young and upcoming designers. Since then, they have been confronted and inspired by new cutting-edge design from the outside world. Now, Swiss design has the advantage of a typographic, font-related design, combined with pictography and the ’folklorist’ habit of reducing elements, breaking things down and making them simple – a strong proposition. Swiss graphic design has become a trademark again that is here to stay.

What do Swiss and Japanese graphic designers have in common?
Both tend to make it perfect: They are very disciplined, aim for a high quality standard and demonstrate a big love concerning details. Swiss graphics are still a bit more reduced and clean than Japanese ones. Contemporary Japanese graphic design is very similar to the minimalistic and formal Swiss design from the ’40s and ’50s: Designers are very much inspired by a lot of Swiss fonts from that time.

Buro Destruct Designer

In very similar style to Norm's Sign Generator, the BD Designer uses a grid based system to generate 'wonderful patterns, logos and colour-combinations'. The tool is a tribute to the famous swiss 60s design. Buro Destruct have also made the BD Designer downloadable to use offline. I will more than likely be returning to the BD Designer and Sign Generator 1.0 later on in my project.

Norm Website

>>> http://norm.to/

Norm's website takes an unconventional approach to user interactivity. Small pop-up windows contain different areas of the site and clicking one link may trigger a reaction of 3 pop-up boxes to appear, which sure can be quite confusing, but also inspiring and unique. They have obviously attempted to explain what their approach to design is all about immediately when you enter the site, without having to read anything. There are two parts of the site in particular that I think work really well and are worth playing with. That is their 'screenshot contest' and my personal favourite the 'Sign-generator 1.0', which also plays a part in their book 'The Things'.
The screenshot contest is a simple drag and drop exercise. We are given a library of 2D and 3D objects that we must arrange into our own composition. We are then asked to crop around the 'playground area' and e-mail the screenshot as a JPEG to Norm. Although the contest is long over now, it is still a nice interactive exercise to have a go at. It can be quite addictive. Some examples of the winning compositions can be seen below. The bottom composition is one of my own.



The 'Sign generator 1.0' is a 9 point grid-based tool that allows us to calculate and generate all possible combinations of a number of lines. It seems complicated to explain but is really easy and fun to use. It reminds me of the Buro Destruct Designer and strong comparisons can definitely be made between the two.

'The Things'

Received Norm's award winning book 'The Things' in the post today and once again (as with Woodtli's book) I am highly impressed with it. Not only is the book a great piece of design work in itself, it also provides pages of inspirational work, which have already started triggering some of my own ideas for the third year. As usual with the Swiss, they have taken massive pride in every aspect of their work and nothing has been done half hearted - just what I love about them. Enjoy these pictures I took of some of the page spreads.