NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual

Imagine finding a set of brand guidelines designed by the great Massimo Vignelli. Apparently this first edition designed in 1970 for Unimark was discovered in a locker under some gym clothes! The manual has been kindly made available by the collective efforts of Niko Skourtis, Jesse Reed, Hamish Smyth. To view the full set of guidelines and why wouldn't you?! headover to standardsmanual.com Thanks for sharing guys.

A Grotesk Love Affair

Ryan Atkinson and Stephan de Lange created a poster featuring multiple examples of Grotesk fonts and then allowed people to vote for their favourite. The information was then translated into statistical data and used as the basis for the posters, set on a typographical grid and in the International Swiss style. Great fun idea and well executed.

LA Transat

Award winning Studio Dunbar of the Netherlands are one of my favourite agencies and their website always is a rich source of modern contemporary graphic design that is backed by classic Swiss design principles. La Transat is an international yacht race funded by French insurance company AG2R La Mondial. They approached Studio Dunbar to create the visual identity that would be launched in Paris and included 125 posters measuring 4 x 3 metres. The geometric shapes combined with colours overlaying imagery of water sports look fresh and dynamic. The style is based on international maritime flags representing the alphabet. Love it.

Vignelli Forever

Apologies for the lack of recent posts but after a busy period at the studio I had some well deserved family time in Majorca, Spain. Now fully refreshed and ready for some new challenges including taking up the pencil once more, shall keep you posted on how this turns out.

I'm a big fan of Anthony Dart's work and love these posters dedicated to the legend that is Massimo Vignelli. The posters are based on five phrases to live by (by the great man himself). For the other four in the series visit Anthony's behance page. Great work.

Swiss Passport

I came across a post at Modular Four that features these Swiss passport images and I totally agree with everything said. The bold design of its flag coupled with the words Swiss Passport in white Helvetica type is then followed by intricate geometric patterns that visually highlight the cross on each spread on the inside. The pages are designed, well considered and continue its fine heritage of design.

Fred Troller

Fred Troller (1930 - 2002) was an American graphic designer that emigrated from Switzerland. Born in Zurich in 1930 and graduating from the Zurich School of Design in 1950. Troller was best known for the fantastic graphic work for the Geigy Chemical Corporation. He later established his own design studio in New York working for clients such as Exxon, General Electric, IBM and American Airlines. Troller helped make the Swiss New Typography popular stateside. His work was heavily influenced by the Bauhaus school and his style was characterised by the manipulation of geometric forms, jarring juxtapositions of large and small types and visual puns formed from the fonts themselves. He later became an educator of design and taught at Cooper Union, the School of the Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design.

Max Huber

Max Huber (1919-92) one of the most influential Swiss designers of the twentieth century started his career by graduating from the infamous Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich under Hans Williman before joining an ad agency in Zurich and meeting with the likes of Max Bill and Hans Neuburg. To avoid being drafted into the Swiss army he moves to Milan to join infamous italian studio Boggeri. After returning from Italy he joins Allianz in 1942 and exhibits his abstract work at the Kunsthaus Zurich with the likes of Max Bill and Richard Lohse. With the end of the war he returns to Italy and produces some of his greatest work like the poster (above) for the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza di Gran Prix. In 2005 in Chiasso the m.a.xmuseo was opened in dedication to his great work.

Carlo Vivarelli

Carlo Vivarelli (1919-1986) was a graphic designer, painter and sculptor who was born in Zurich and studied at the renowned Kunstgewerbeschule from 1934-39 and in 1946 became Art Director at the progressive avant garde Studio Boggeri in Milan. During this time and when he returned to his native Switzerland he became one of the leaders of the Swiss Modernists and in 1958 became a co-founder of Neue Grafik magazine. In his later years he concentrated more on his concrete art and sculptures.

Max Schmid

Max Schmid (1921–2000) born in Rheinfelden near Basel served an apprenticeship in graphic design in the studio of Fritz Bühler where he also worked alongside Armin Hofmann. In 1948 he became art director of the pharmaceutical company Geigy design studio and for the next 23 years his designs opitimised what became known as the 'International Style'. For more of his outstanding work grab yourself a copy of 'Corporate Diversity': Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy, 1940-1970.

Studio League

As a lover of the 'International Style' I am always on the look out for the modern equivalent, particularly if it hails from Switzerland. Design studio League based in Geneva, have some great contemporary graphic design, some of which (see above) clearly follows a solid grid and where white space is equally considered as part of the design.

Jacqueline S. Casey

Jacqueline Casey (1927-1992) was the foremost US practitioner of the International Style, whilst staying true to its fundamentals, she infused it with a human, flexible sensibility. She was internationally recognized for her elegant posters for the MIT. A retrospective of this work called "Posters: Jacqueline S. Casey, Thirty Years of Design at MIT" was published in 1992 and is now extremlely difficult to get hold of. Take a look at this rare tome at designers-books. Examples of her work have been acquired for permanent collection by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, the USIA, and the Library of Congress. It was her wish that her fantastic posters would be donated to the RIT library.

2012 Olympic Posters

A fantastic set of posters designed in the International Style for the forthcoming Olympics in London 2012. Sadly Alan Clarke's proposed posters are not part of the official communications programme so the 'Transport for London' designs, shall unfortunately not be appearing in a tube station near you.

Amnesty International

Some great work created for Amnesty International by award winning Irish design team Swollen the minimal use of a bold colour and the solid grid giving great standout.

International Style Packaging

Not sure if these milk cartons, designed by Arantxa Reus, are just a concept, but I love the way Bold, Regular and Light determine whether the milk is whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed. If only shopping was this simple.

The Palace of Culture

Lovely piece of signage done in the International Style and utilising an unusual colour palette, cream and black. See more of Mihail Mihaylov's work over at Behance.

Typographische Monatsblätter

In 1952 Schweizer Graphische Mitteilungen (SGM), Revue Suisse de L’imprimerie (RSI) and Typographische Monatsblätter (originally founded in 1933) joined forces and merged into a single monthly periodical titled TM (Typographical Monthly). TM had some major contributors such as Emil Ruder that helped develop this publication into the premier Swiss typography and printing periodical of its time.

Armin Hoffman

It's hard to believe that the poster above was designed in 1954, the typography looks so current. Armin Hoffman was instrumental in developing the graphic design style known as the Swiss Style. He is well known for his posters, many of which have been displayed in major art galleries. He also published a book called his work, quest and philosophy displaying perfectly his economical use of colour.