The Swiss poster: history
Introduction
Swiss poster design enjoys an outstanding reputation internationally and has played a key role in the history of the poster around the world.
Lithography
The development of lithography laid the foundations for producing colourful, artistic posters cheaply.
The beginnings: tourism posters
Tourism came to Switzerland towards the end of the 19th century. The poster emerged as the ideal medium to convey the country’s appeal as a holiday destination.
The Zurich Concretists
Influenced by the theories of the Bauhaus, typography and Concrete Art defined the posters of the Zurich School in the 1920s and 1930s.
The object poster 1920-1950
The Basel School became especially famous for its Object Posters in the period between 1920 and 1950. These depicted objects in a simplified but realistic style together with slogans that were short and to the point.
The International style 1950-1970
Elements of the Zurich and Basel Schools came together in the International Style. Favouring an orderly and unified structure, it led Swiss poster art to international acclaim.
Postmodern posters, 1970 to today
Amid the Postmodernism of the 1970s and 1980s, the International Style gave way to new ideas, partly due to new technological advances such as phototypesetting.