The term comes from the exhibition "Modern Architecture: International Exhibition", organised in 1932 at MoMA in New York by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson. In graphic design, it refers to the worldwide spread of the Swiss Style, driven by large companies and institutions seeking a clear, neutral and universal image.
Origin and date
Origin: First architecture, then graphic design, in Europe and the United States.
Date: The term appeared in 1932, and the graphic style spread mainly in the 1960s and 1970s.
Principles
Rigorous grids, neutral sans serifs, flush-left alignment, clear hierarchy, and the aim of a visual language understandable by all, whatever the language.
Key figures
Massimo Vignelli and the Unimark International agency, Otl Aicher, Paul Rand.
Associated typefaces
Helvetica is its emblem, alongside Univers and Akzidenz-Grotesk.
Legacy
It gave us a large part of modern corporate identities and signage systems, such as the New York subway signage and the identity of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Today's digital design systems are its direct heirs.