The Swiss movement grew out of the Bauhaus and New Typography Movements, which were grounded in functional typography, clear communication, and geometric designs. The Chief characteristics of the international typographic style are designs that include minimal graphics and a focus on typography, sans-serif Typefaces, black and white photography, and grid based layouts. Pioneers of the Swiss style were Max Huber, Emil Ruder, Josef Müller-Brockman, and Armin Hofman. What really helped facilitate the success of this movement was the Swiss governments support of it, adopting it as the look and feel for Switzerland.
Over time the Swiss Style has been used in publications, on posters, and in signage, but I have noticed it is beginning to evolve and become popular online. This evolution has been happening for some time now in the design community but is quickly being spread to social media sites, and the Online News Industry. What has spawned this Swiss revival? I am sure there are lots of factors, but I personally think it may be in part to the renewed interest in typography that has happened since the release of the film Helvetica by Gary Hustwit. Helvetica was one of the premiere typefaces created during the Swiss movement (along with Akzidenz-Grotesk); it’s name is derived from Confoederatio Helvetica the latin name for Switzerland. The film traces the history of the typeface and interviews famous designers who all can relate to Helvetica. It helps to trace the origins of todays design back to the International Typographic Style, and makes typography cool.
While very few sites stay strict to all of the defining qualities of The international typographic style, many are heavily influenced by the overall look, and stay true to many of the features. I put together some comparisons and examples and were amazed by the similarities.
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