Corporate Modernism vs Swiss
企業モダニズム / スイス・スタイル
Corporate Modernism comes from Contemporary Branding and Swiss from Functionalism. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Corporate Modernism
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The golden age of corporate identity established by Rand, Chermayeff and their peers: geometric marks, gridded standards manuals and disciplined application speaking for corporations in modernism's abstract language.
Swiss
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Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.
| Corporate Modernism | Swiss | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1950s–1970s | 1950s– |
| Family | Contemporary Branding | Functionalism |
| Kind | Style | Style |
| Cues | Abstract geometric marks / Standards manuals / Gridded application discipline / Single-color strength | Strict grid / Sans-serif type / Asymmetry / Objective photography |
| Best used for | Rebinding a company of many businesses under one identifying mark · Organizations with many branches where application drift must be held down by rules | Making complex information fast to read · Giving an organization rationality and transparency |
| Type | One type family fixed, the name locked as artwork down to its letterspacing | Neutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast |
| Composition | Grid and margins given as numbers, clear space around the mark written down | 12-column grid, left-aligned, asymmetric |
| Material | Single color as the default, hues assigned by use rather than by business unit | White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament |
| Caution | A manual with no one checking application lets exceptions pile up in the field and the force of unity goes first. | Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale. |