Swiss Style Now: a cliché-busting cross-section of Swiss graphic design

The Swiss Style Now exhibition aims to upturn clichés of Switzerland’s design identity. Bringing together over 120 works by assorted generations of graphic designers in Switzerland, the show features both the modernism the public will expect, and plenty more it won’t. Split into two sections, contemporary and classic, this is a comprehensive cross-section of the country’s graphics culture.

“What people think is classic Swiss design, actually isn’t,” says Alexander Tochilovsky, one of the curators. “There’s so much more nuance and variety, and I think we tend to bracket things in a simplistic way. Joseph Müller-Brockmann is the name most people associate with Swiss design, and he deserves a lot of credit, but he’s by far not the only practitioner.”

“I think what most people have in their minds when they think of Swiss design is this 60s aesthetic with a minimalistic use of grid and type,” says Xavier Erni, another of the curators for the show. “There was a motto that individual emotion shouldn’t be a part of the design. Now, it’s much more diverse, personal, lively and playful. But you can still see the modernist legacy. That’s never really disappeared.”

Here, Alexander and Xavier together with co-curators Erich Brechbül and Noel Leu have chosen seven themes they’ve spotted across the exhibition and the designers demonstrating them, in turn representing the core pillars of contemporary Swiss design.

Craftsmanship

Materiality and craftsmanship is still really important in Swiss design, and many designers are experimenting with printing processes and things like binding. Dafi Kühne works with letterpress, woodcuts, lino cuts, and the process is always considered. Another good example is David Mamie and Nicola Todeschini’s work, they print it themselves and the choice of paper is really important.

Swiss symbols

It’s common to see symbols and codes of Swiss design used in new ways. This poster by Erich Brechbühl (one of the curators) uses the well-known aesthetic of a board outside a restaurant to promote a theatre company. Another example by Xavier Erni (also one of the curators) and his studio Neo Neo appropriates the flags and traditional crests of different Swiss states in a modern way.

Humour

In the 60s design was very serious, but now there’s a lot more humour and lightness. People are using this combination of modernism and inappropriate imagery to communicate their message, for example this poster by Notter + Vigne.

Self-expression

We don’t just have emerging artists in the show. These posters (above and top) are by established designer Niklaus Troxler, but demonstrate how his recent work has become much more expressive.

Book design

Swiss designers are very attached to book design, and it has a big presence in the exhibition – there’s around 60 books on show. There’s still a lot of passion for physical objects, craftsmanship and finesse, and attention to the experience. This work by Ludovic Balland is a good example.

Type design

Similarly to choosing paper and printing processes, the ability to control the shapes of the type, and pay attention to those intricate details, is really important to Swiss graphic design. We have around ten type foundries, including Grilli Type, in the exhibition, with historical and contemporary type specimens, some of which are almost visual identities for the typeface, where the face becomes a brand of its own.

Legacy

There are also examples of designers still working with the 60s grid aesthetic but with a modern slant, bringing something new to it. Kasper Florio and Gavillet & Rust are good examples. They’re using recognisable cues but pushing the design approach in new directions.

Swiss Style Now opens 7 September – 1 October at the 41 Cooper Gallery, part of The Cooper Union, New York.