SWISS POSTER
1957
ZURICH
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SWISS

POSTER

Bold typography. Mathematical grid system. Asymmetric composition. Zero decoration.

12COLUMNS
0DECORATION
1957ORIGIN
INTERNATIONAL STYLEMULLER-BROCKMANN
Structure

GRID SYSTEM

12 COL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
8 / 4 SPLIT
8COLS
4COLS
3 / 9 SPLIT
3COLS
9COLS
5 / 7 SPLIT
5COLS
7COLS
Scale

TYPE SCALE

160px
SWISS
POSTER HEADLINE
120px
GRID
MAJOR HEAD
80px
TYPE
SECTION TITLE
48px
FORM
DISPLAY
24px
FUNCTION
SUBHEAD
16px
INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE
BODY
10px
1957 — MULLER-BROCKMANN — ZURICH
CAPTION / YEAR LABEL
Components

ELEMENTS

PRIMARY / SECONDARY GROUP (gap-0, border-l-0)

COLOR BLOCK BUTTONS — hover inverts to black + white

STANDALONE PRIMARY

Color Block Invasion: hover flips entire bg. Snap transition-none. Active inverts to white bg.

Palette

COLOR BLOCKS

2024
RED#FF0000
ACCENT — HOVER STATES
2024
BLUE#0057B8
ACCENT — COLOR BLOCKS
2024
YELLOW#FFCC00
ACCENT — COLOR BLOCKS
PRIMARY
BLACK#000000
SECONDARY
WHITE#FFFFFF
Gallery

WORKS

6 ITEMS
2024

HELVETICA

Grid-aligned typographic content

1957

AKZIDENZ

Rational form and function

1961

UNIVERS

Mathematical precision in every stroke

1972

MULLER

The grid is the message

2019

BROCKMANN

Structure defines communication

1968

RUDER

Typography as architecture

Philosophy

PRINCIPLES

04
01

TYPOGRAPHY IS THE DESIGN

The typeface is not decoration — it is architecture. Every letterform carries structural weight equal to any grid line or color block.

02

THE GRID IS ABSOLUTE

12 columns. Asymmetric splits. Every element snaps to the grid with mathematical precision. Deviation is not a design choice — it is an error.

03

COLOR AS SIGNAL

Red, blue, yellow. These are not decorations. They are signals. A red block means urgency. A black block means authority. Never use color arbitrarily.

04

ZERO ORNAMENT

No shadows. No gradients. No rounded corners. No blur. If it cannot be explained functionally, it does not exist in Swiss Poster design.

Rules

MANIFESTO

DO

  • 01Absolute Objectivity: zero translate, scale, or shadow on any element
  • 02Snap Transitions: all interactions use transition-none — hard cuts like ink stamps
  • 03Color Block Invasion: hover replaces bg with solid black, text inverts to white
  • 04Typographic Highlighting: year/label switches to red on hover, transition-none
  • 0512-column grid with asymmetric splits (3/9, 8/4, never 6/6)
  • 06gap-0 with border-2 border-[#000000] as structural dividers
  • 07font-sans font-black for all headings — no decorative typefaces
  • 08uppercase tracking-widest for all labels and UI text

DON'T

  • 01Never use translate, scale, or rotate animations on interactive elements
  • 02Never use any transition duration (must be transition-none, always)
  • 03Never use shadows of any kind — zero shadow-sm or above
  • 04Never use rounded corners — rounded-none everywhere, no exceptions
  • 05Never use gradients or blur effects of any kind
  • 06Never hover only text color without background flip (Color Block Invasion required)
  • 07Never use gap-4 or any spacing — use gap-0 with border dividers
  • 08Never use dashed or dotted borders — only solid border-2
ZURICH — 1957 — INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE

TYPOGRAPHY IS NOT DECORATION.

IT IS STRUCTURE.

JOSEF MULLER-BROCKMANN — GRID SYSTEMS IN GRAPHIC DESIGN
SWISS POSTER

INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE — ZURICH 1957

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