Visualizing Data: Jan Tschichold, Graphis, And Josef Müller-Brockmann

This week in Visualizing Data, we were asked to look into the work of three designers:  Jan Tschichold, Graphis, and Josef Müller-Brockmann.  All three are Swiss, and based mainly in the mid-20th century.  Moreover, the three also seem to have a unified aesthetic sense that is based firmly in a simple, rigid, and linear form.


While the three certainly create some interesting images, I'm not totally sure what it is that might distinguish Swiss Modernism from Modernism in general.  Moreover, I found these three in particular somewhat difficult to research, and their presence on the web is not quite as prevalent as that of their more famous colleagues.


That being said, it's clear that there is a unity amongst their work:  all three seem to lean towards geometric designs that employ simple fonts, geometric shapes, and stark colors.  What's more, all three are hailed as innovators in this area.  As such, it may be that their innovations and style seem more mundane in today's climate where many of their stylistic choices have become part of the mainstream.