Letterpress vs Swiss

活版印刷 / スイス・スタイル

Letterpress comes from Relief Printing and Swiss from Functionalism. One is technique and the other style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Letterpress

Letterpress — Johannes Gutenberg, Gutenberg Bible, c. 1455 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainLetterpress — 金属活字（CC BY 2.5）Letterpress — コンポージングステッキ（CC BY 2.0）

Sets physical type, joining the repeatable order of text with the touch of impression on paper.

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.

LetterpressSwiss
Era15th century–1950s–
FamilyRelief PrintingFunctionalism
KindTechniqueStyle
CuesThe regularity of type / Impression into paper / Limited widths / Ink variationStrict grid / Sans-serif type / Asymmetry / Objective photography
Best used forTactile weight for books, cards and invitations · Making the choice and setting of type the subject itselfMaking complex information fast to read · Giving an organization rationality and transparency
TypeOne type family in limited sizes for the hierarchyNeutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast
CompositionRespect physical leading and margins; restrict alignments12-column grid, left-aligned, asymmetric
MaterialOne or two colors, thick paper, a slight bite and ink varianceWhite space and objective photographs; almost no ornament
CautionDon't over-perform deep impression and dry ink. Let type, paper, pressure and ink set the form.Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.

Put these two together

Relief Printing ／ Functionalism

IndexStyle