There’s something fascinating about witnessing the comeback of Swiss Design in contemporary visual communication. We thought we had left it elegantly buried somewhere, but here it is, haunting our Pinterest pages with countless references, fused with more contemporary styles that embrace the apparent chaos of modern communication.

We might even say it never truly left. In fact, in many cases, it quietly remains the golden rule of graphic compositions—an evergreen in academic settings—subtly integrated into beautiful layouts or as an alternative to column-based rules in digital products.

When in doubt, let’s clarify this powerful comeback by returning to its origins, when designers like Josef Müller-Brockmann and Armin Hofmann laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most influential styles in the history of graphic design.

Born in Switzerland in the 1950s, the Swiss Style—or International Typographic Style—was a child of the Bauhaus and European avant-garde movements. Its manifesto? Clarity, order, and functional beauty. The tools to achieve this goal were few but effective: modular grids to organize chaos, sans-serif typography to ensure readability (hello Helvetica!), asymmetric compositions to balance movement and structure, negative spaces to avoid clutter, and minimalist color palettes to communicate with impact and sobriety.

The essence of the style wasn’t merely aesthetic; it aimed to create a visual language that served the purpose of conveying information directly and without distractions. Amazing, right?

Today, Swiss Design is more relevant than ever. Its classic principles have evolved to embrace digital mediums, finding a home in websites, apps, user interfaces, and even virtual environments. Modular grids now structure responsive layouts that adapt to any screen, white spaces become strategic tools to enhance usability, typographic hierarchies ensure impeccable readability even on mobile devices, and minimalist color palettes continue to create visual harmony without overwhelming the user.

Let’s make it clearer with a relatable example, like UI/UX design applications. A well-designed grid is not just a relic of the past but a cornerstone for organizing visual and interactive content. White or negative spaces are never truly empty—they work to highlight key elements like buttons or calls-to-action. The choice of sans-serif fonts, with variable weights and sizes, guides users through an intuitive experience. And a limited color palette, with bold accents, creates interfaces that feel fresh, modern, and accessible—or as clients like to call it: LiKe ApPlE’s StYlE (no real apples were harmed in this statement).

But that’s not all. Swiss Design has also made an impact in 3D representations and virtual worlds. Here, its principles of order and clarity blend with new technologies to create environments that combine aesthetics and functionality. Imagine a virtual exhibition space where every element is positioned following an invisible grid, and where space is used with the same precision as a typographic poster from the 1950s. Think about it—but don’t steal the idea; it’s mine!  

For the little melons out there wanting to implement this style today, here are some practical tips:

• Design audit: Eliminate everything non-essential. Minimalism isn’t just an aesthetic choice but a strategy to focus attention on what truly matters.
• Grid prototyping: Use digital tools that support grid-based layouts to ensure consistency, especially in complex projects.
• Interactive spaces: Leverage white space to improve usability, especially on mobile devices. For example, increase button spacing to prevent misclicks.
• Sans-serif typography: Choose fonts like Helvetica or Univers, but play with weights and sizes to create effective visual hierarchies.
• Restrained color palette: Limit colors to a few primary tones, adding bold accents to direct attention.

And with that, I’ll leave you with one question: how can we rethink these rules for spaces like the metaverse, where chaos seems to reign, and adapt them to experiences that now respond more to the principles of entropy than order?