Poster design

Member lesson

The Swiss poster and what it settled

Lesson 3 of 10 in Poster design.

Lesson

The Swiss school of the 1950s settled a set of questions so convincingly that its answers became the default everywhere. A mathematical grid, a sans-serif in a small number of sizes, photography over illustration, text flush left, and asymmetry as the organising principle.

An ink drawing of a drafting table holding a poster with a faint pencil grid, an off-centre photograph, a narrow column of grey bars and a steel ruler along the edge.
A poster built on a pencil grid, with the structure doing the talking.
Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The Swiss school: grid, sans-serif, photography, asymmetry, objectivity.”

    • International Typographic Style
    • Craft printing
    • Crop
    • Recognition at speed
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Balance achieved without a centre line. The school's structural signature.”

    • Type over image
    • ISO A series
    • Portfolio inflation
    • Asymmetric layout
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The claim that design should present rather than persuade. Contested from the start.”

    • Spec poster
    • Hierarchy
    • Client creep
    • Objectivity

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.