sdfkjh internal · swiss grid study

sdfkjh · design study

The Swiss grid

The International Typographic Style. A mathematical grid, flush-left grotesque type, one accent colour, and objective information. The grid is not hidden. It is the design.

Study page. Noindex; linked only from the home page. After the Swiss school of the 1950s: Muller-Brockmann, the Basel and Zurich programmes.

12 columns · baseline 8pxflush left · ragged right

The grid,
made visible.

Every element lands on a column and a baseline. Nothing floats. The measure is set once, then obeyed.

02 study
system
12-column grid
8px baseline
type
Archivo, grotesque
flush left, ragged right
colour
paper, ink
amber, one accent
rule
objective, not expressive
the content leads

the discipline

  1. The grid is mathematical.A fixed column and baseline system. Every element aligns to it; nothing is placed by eye.
  2. Flush left, ragged right.No centring, no justification. The left edge is the constant the reader returns to.
  3. Grotesque type, one or two sizes.Neutral sans-serif, set objectively. The type reports; it does not perform.
  4. One accent colour.A single strong colour against ink and paper, used as rule, bar, and emphasis. Here, amber.
  5. Whitespace is structural.The empty field is part of the composition, measured on the same grid as the type.
  6. Objective, not expressive.The design serves the information, and stops there.