Josef Müller-Brockmann #5

 

Müller-Brockmann, Josef. "Musica Viva". 1958.

I took a bit of a different route with this piece given its lack of photographic element. I did however think it should be added to this series given that it follows every other characteristic of the Swiss style. Its minimalistic easy to read style mixed with its extremely asymmetrical layout and geometric figures makes for the perfect example of Swiss style. The typography of this piece is again sans serif and on a diagonal at the bottom of the image, adding to the asymmetry. I'm not sure why but I gravitated to the piece and plan to find a way to incorporate its concept into my own work. 

Josef Müller-Brockmann #4

 

Müller-Brockmann, Josef. "The Family of Man". 1957-58.

This piece is more centered in its approach to composition. The photography aspect is slightly lowered but still centered while the surrounding area is black, causing there to be a solid amount of positive and negative space. Aside for the title, the entire image is in black and white, which brings your eye back to the title. The layout of the text clearly follows the grid system with its asymmetrical flush left lettering and sans serif typeface. I found this image to be very appealing and easy to read, making it successful in this style. 

Josef Müller-Brockmann #3

Müller-Brockmann, Josef. "Werner Bischof". 1957.

This piece consists only of photography as the focal point rather than incorporating flat color to help with positive and negative space. Because of this, there is more room for the other elements of Swiss style to become more present. The sans serif typeface and asymmetrical font layout are two major components of the style. The minimal color scheme does a great job to focus your eye on the important red bolded information, another important element of the Swiss style. 

Josef Müller-Brockmann #2

Müller-Brockmann, Josef. "Überholem..? Im Zweifel nie! (Overtaking? When in doubt, never!)". 1957.

This piece again uses photography as the leading characteristic. This composition caught my attention with the use of off-center images where the vehicles are primarily off the page, while the biker is off-center, following the rule of thirds. What is also interesting is the stark contrast between the black and white photographs and the flat color road and background. It almost causes the image to have a collage like effect. I like the idea of using contrasting elements in my work such as photography versus flat color or illustration.  

Josef Müller-Brockmann #1

 

Müller-Brockmann, Josef. "Das Freundliche Handzeichen, Schützt vor Unfällen1954Das Freundliche Handzeichen, Schützt vor Unfällen". 1954.

For these next five pieces I focused on picking images that utilize photography as one of the main characteristics for Swiss style. Although each piece incorporates multiple elements of Swiss design, the use of photography over illustration is overarching. 

The image above by Josef Müller-Brockmann is a great example of Swiss style. What caught my attention in this piece is the use of double exposure imagery. The composition and color choices for this piece are minimalistic but eye appealing. The reaching hand is in the foreground of the image while the background image still manages to pull through to the foreground. I found this composition to be interesting and successful as a part of Swiss style.

Ernst Keller #5

 

Keller, Ernst. "Museum Rietberg Zurich". 1955.

This is the final piece of Kellers that I will be discussing. I picked to analyze this piece because it is very different from what we've already seen from Keller. Again, there is a lack of photography and the use of illustration in this piece, but what really caught my attention was the overall composition. From the color scheme to the use of positive and negative space, this piece stands out from others. It still does a good job in capturing the characteristics of the style, but it also does something we haven't seen much from Kellers other works. This piece is more detailed than usual. Still sticking with a theme of geometric shapes this image works to create a more cohesive rather than asymmetrical image. The way the snake wraps around the text boxing it into itself was an interesting way to lead your eye to the important information. Although this image stands out from the others it is still a valued image to understand when learning about Swiss style.

Ernst Keller #4

Keller, Ernst. "Twice as many free voters as members of all parties decide about party politics (Doppelt so viele freie Wähler als Mitglieder aller Parteien entscheiden unsere Parteipolitik) (Poster for Swiss Landesring political party)". 1946.

I gravitated towards this image for many reasons. The longer you look, the more you see in this image. At a quick glance I see repeated outlines of a person in a circular pattern. As you keep looking you notice how each outline contains two colors, giving depth and shadows the outline, making the image less flat. Again, simple minimal color scheme makes the busy image easier on the eyes. This image utilizes less positive and negative space than in Kellers other works, and again lacks an element of photography but still encompasses many of the of characteristics of the style.