Comments on: The Evolution of the International Typographic Style: From Print to Web http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:03:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Usability Counts http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3098 Usability Counts Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:30:44 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3098 <strong>The Web Going To International Typographic Style? It’s About Really Clean Design....</strong> I have this love affair with Helvetica (note, I said Helvetica, not that bastard child, Arial) and other really clean type styles. It’s one of the reason I’m kind of futzing with this site on a semi-regular basis — I’m trying to... The Web Going To International Typographic Style? It’s About Really Clean Design….

I have this love affair with Helvetica (note, I said Helvetica, not that bastard child, Arial) and other really clean type styles. It’s one of the reason I’m kind of futzing with this site on a semi-regular basis — I’m trying to…

]]> By: mindy http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3099 mindy Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:47:55 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3099 Great post! I've definitely noticed the trend toward cleaner layout and type. Seems to partly be a backlash in response to all the pretty (but useless) pictures that used to be the meat of every site. The web is still so limited in regards to typography, which can be frustrating. That was one fun thing about print design - I could use any font in the world without worrying about a big fat static graphic, a weighty Flash file, sIFR, or ruining accessibility! Great post! I’ve definitely noticed the trend toward cleaner layout and type. Seems to partly be a backlash in response to all the pretty (but useless) pictures that used to be the meat of every site. The web is still so limited in regards to typography, which can be frustrating. That was one fun thing about print design - I could use any font in the world without worrying about a big fat static graphic, a weighty Flash file, sIFR, or ruining accessibility!

]]> By: Ryan Moede http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3100 Ryan Moede Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:07:19 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3100 Really cool post, and I'm glad you cited Derek Punsalan's site. I'm a fan of his work, and am rocking his Grid Focus theme for my own blog. Really cool post, and I’m glad you cited Derek Punsalan’s site. I’m a fan of his work, and am rocking his Grid Focus theme for my own blog.

]]> By: rich http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3103 rich Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:13:58 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3103 I certainly hope your observations are accurate and a we'll see more influence of the Swiss/International style online. Admittedly, I love the aesthetic; to my eye, it is the apex of geometry, ratio, and balance—all synergistically working together. Beyond its aesthetic style, the reason it works so well is that rational functionalism is at its essence. Hierarchy, grids, clean typography...everything works to streamline the transmission of information...and to do so beautifully. For so many websites, they either have poorly organized/hard to access information or distracting "bells & whistles" which detract from communicating (background soundtracks are one of my pet peeves!). So, if Swiss/International design sees some popularity online, I certainly hope that it is because designers recognize it for it's superiority in organizing info...and not just a surface-level "aesthetic du jour." If anyone is interested in more info/eye candy on this topic, I can't recommend highly enough the book "Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965" by Richard Hollis (isbn 978-0300106763). I certainly hope your observations are accurate and a we’ll see more influence of the Swiss/International style online.

Admittedly, I love the aesthetic; to my eye, it is the apex of geometry, ratio, and balance—all synergistically working together.

Beyond its aesthetic style, the reason it works so well is that rational functionalism is at its essence. Hierarchy, grids, clean typography…everything works to streamline the transmission of information…and to do so beautifully.

For so many websites, they either have poorly organized/hard to access information or distracting “bells & whistles” which detract from communicating (background soundtracks are one of my pet peeves!).

So, if Swiss/International design sees some popularity online, I certainly hope that it is because designers recognize it for it’s superiority in organizing info…and not just a surface-level “aesthetic du jour.”

If anyone is interested in more info/eye candy on this topic, I can’t recommend highly enough the book “Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965″ by Richard Hollis (isbn 978-0300106763).

]]> By: Hernan http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3106 Hernan Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:15:15 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3106 When I was going to school, my teachers (who abhorred computers) taught us about comps, rubilith, mechanicals and gouche as a medium for mock ups—I think I might be dating myself here. They also taught us The International Style or Swiss Style. The 'Text as Image' principle. I can't tell you how glad I am that there is a revival of sorts in the web medium but it has been around very early on by places like designersrepublic from the UK. I've been heavily influenced by some of the beautifully composed posters of the 60s and 70s and I think Americans are aligning themselves with europe's lead. The implied directive is clean design (I hope some of the largest e-commerce sites could take this approach). But then again, we as designers and visual aestheticians would be inclined to see the beauty of order and hierarchy in its most fundamental. Would the public at large appreciate this? Or even care? How many clients have you encountered that wanted blinky, flashy design with a ton of images? A lot. Speaking of lot, what about Otl Aicher? Would you consider his style under the same heading as Mueller-Brockmann? Great post Samantha, it's good to know others responding to the seemingly unknown great and rich history in typographic design of the International Style. I'm sure the film brought more focus and hopefully tuned some of the younger folk into it. When I was going to school, my teachers (who abhorred computers) taught us about comps, rubilith, mechanicals and gouche as a medium for mock ups—I think I might be dating myself here. They also taught us The International Style or Swiss Style. The ‘Text as Image’ principle. I can’t tell you how glad I am that there is a revival of sorts in the web medium but it has been around very early on by places like designersrepublic from the UK.

I’ve been heavily influenced by some of the beautifully composed posters of the 60s and 70s and I think Americans are aligning themselves with europe’s lead. The implied directive is clean design (I hope some of the largest e-commerce sites could take this approach). But then again, we as designers and visual aestheticians would be inclined to see the beauty of order and hierarchy in its most fundamental. Would the public at large appreciate this? Or even care? How many clients have you encountered that wanted blinky, flashy design with a ton of images? A lot. Speaking of lot, what about Otl Aicher? Would you consider his style under the same heading as Mueller-Brockmann?

Great post Samantha, it’s good to know others responding to the seemingly unknown great and rich history in typographic design of the International Style. I’m sure the film brought more focus and hopefully tuned some of the younger folk into it.

]]> By: NatureLimit http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3112 NatureLimit Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:03:52 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3112 Really a good post.The web is still so limited in regards to typography, which can be frustrating. Really a good post.The web is still so limited in regards to typography, which can be frustrating.

]]> By: Joe Clark http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3113 Joe Clark Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:07:06 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3113 You might possibly have bothered to cite my blog posting on the topic from *five* years ago. You might possibly have bothered to cite my blog posting on the topic from *five* years ago.

]]> By: Samantha http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3114 Samantha Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:26:36 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3114 @Joe, I would have been happy to cite your post if I had used it as a reference. You are more than welcome to post a link in a comment if you feel it would add to the conversation. @Hernan I am not as familiar with Olt Aicher's work, but his work is stunning. The International Style was also very popular in Germany. I am also a big fan of Deutsches Institut für Normung, and honestly really should brush up on the history on how the two relate, differentiate. Maybe a future blog post? If you have any insight feel free to post it here. @Joe, I would have been happy to cite your post if I had used it as a reference. You are more than welcome to post a link in a comment if you feel it would add to the conversation.

@Hernan I am not as familiar with Olt Aicher’s work, but his work is stunning. The International Style was also very popular in Germany. I am also a big fan of Deutsches Institut für Normung, and honestly really should brush up on the history on how the two relate, differentiate. Maybe a future blog post? If you have any insight feel free to post it here.

]]> By: Aaron http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3115 Aaron Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:36:28 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3115 This is an interesting post about the intersection between design and technology. While designers have personal, aesthetic reasons for adhering to a grid, when it comes to the web, the nature of programming plays a huge role in layout. Clean, semantic mark-up has become the standard for web designers for a variety of reasons, and being based on the box model lends itself to grid based layout. What is interesting to me here is how much technology dictates the parameters of design on the web. The fact that web designers utilize other visual qualities of ITS is a testament to its' power and longevity, but I disagree that the recent Helvetica documentary is a predominant factor in the resurgence of ITS, at least when it comes to web design. This is an interesting post about the intersection between design and technology. While designers have personal, aesthetic reasons for adhering to a grid, when it comes to the web, the nature of programming plays a huge role in layout.

Clean, semantic mark-up has become the standard for web designers for a variety of reasons, and being based on the box model lends itself to grid based layout. What is interesting to me here is how much technology dictates the parameters of design on the web.

The fact that web designers utilize other visual qualities of ITS is a testament to its’ power and longevity, but I disagree that the recent Helvetica documentary is a predominant factor in the resurgence of ITS, at least when it comes to web design.

]]> By: Samantha http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3116 Samantha Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:14:51 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3116 @Aaorn Thanks for your input! I would agree that there are tons of advantages of using the grid where programming plays a huge roll. Especially with many designers using CSS frameworks, grids make build-out a lot quicker. I would not, however say that the film Helvetica is a predominant factor in this revival online. I have personally noticed a renewed interest in the ITS amongst all designers since the movie 's release. There has definitely been more chatter amongst the overall design community, and particularly more in the web design community online since it's debut screening at SXSW 2 years ago. I feel like the talk has picked up, but the actual use of ITS has far more factors, one predominant one being the grids contribution to easier build-out. @Aaorn Thanks for your input! I would agree that there are tons of advantages of using the grid where programming plays a huge roll. Especially with many designers using CSS frameworks, grids make build-out a lot quicker.

I would not, however say that the film Helvetica is a predominant factor in this revival online. I have personally noticed a renewed interest in the ITS amongst all designers since the movie ’s release. There has definitely been more chatter amongst the overall design community, and particularly more in the web design community online since it’s debut screening at SXSW 2 years ago. I feel like the talk has picked up, but the actual use of ITS has far more factors, one predominant one being the grids contribution to easier build-out.

]]> By: Duane King http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3117 Duane King Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:44:37 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3117 Great article and references! I recently heavily incorporated some of the logical thinking and hierarchical advantages of grid systems into my site, Thinking for a Living (http://thinkingforaliving.org/). For me, it was the best way to combine organized data and clean code into a flexible framework that allowed for a wide variety of content. I suppose it's a natural given the medium of the web. Great article and references! I recently heavily incorporated some of the logical thinking and hierarchical advantages of grid systems into my site, Thinking for a Living (http://thinkingforaliving.org/). For me, it was the best way to combine organized data and clean code into a flexible framework that allowed for a wide variety of content. I suppose it’s a natural given the medium of the web.

]]> By: Ian Galloway http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3805 Ian Galloway Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:06:48 +0000 http://www.badassideas.com/blog/2008/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-international-typographic-style-from-print-to-web/#comment-3805 The best style. Period. The best style. Period.

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