Experimental Type vs Swiss

実験的タイポグラフィ / スイス・スタイル

Experimental Type comes from Avant-garde and Swiss from Functionalism. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with different intent, which is the fastest way to tell them apart.

Experimental Type

Experimental Type — Barry Deck《Template Gothic》の見本 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Experimental Type — Zuzana Licko《Mrs Eaves》の見本 — Wikimedia Commons / CC0Experimental Type — Zuzana Licko《Matrix II》の見本 — Wikimedia Commons / CC0

Pushes letters from something read toward something seen and felt.

Swiss

Swiss — Josef Müller-Brockmann《Beethoven》ポスター 1955 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Swiss — Josef Müller-Brockmann《Musica Viva》ポスター — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSwiss — Josef Müller-Brockmann《der Film》ポスター — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.

Experimental TypeSwiss
Era1980s–1950s–
FamilyAvant-gardeFunctionalism
KindStyleStyle
CuesDistorted letterforms / Overlaps / Extreme letterspacing / Tension with legibilityStrict grid / Sans-serif type / Asymmetry / Objective photography
Best used forMaking the title itself the visual · Breaking déjà vu in music and cultureMaking complex information fast to read · Giving an organization rationality and transparency
TypeVariable, stretched, dismantled — support with a plain text faceNeutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast
CompositionRun type to the edges and partially conceal it12-column grid, left-aligned, asymmetric
MaterialMonochrome plus one color; warps and scanlinesWhite space and objective photographs; almost no ornament
CautionBreak everything and the way in disappears. Always keep one readable layer.Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.

Put these two together

Avant-garde ／ Functionalism

IndexStyle