Japanese Postwar Graphic vs Swiss Style

Japanese Postwar Graphic was influenced by Swiss Style.

Original specimen in the Japanese Postwar Graphic style

Japanese Postwar Graphic

The postwar generation of Japanese designers who fused Bauhaus rationalism with native tradition and Pop exuberance. From Kamekura's geometric clarity to Yokoo's psychedelic collage, it forged a distinctly Japanese modernism.

  • Geometric clarity fused with Japanese motifs
  • Flat planes and stylized faces from ukiyo-e and Noh
  • Bold, saturated, often symbolic color
  • Psychedelic collage and vernacular imagery (Yokoo)
  • Disciplined modernist grid and typography
Full Japanese Postwar Graphic guide →
Original specimen in the Swiss / International Typographic Style

Swiss Style

The mid-century gospel of objective design — mathematical grids, flush-left ragged-right sans-serif type (Helvetica, Akzidenz-Grotesk), generous white space, and photography in place of illustration.

  • Mathematical modular grid underlying every element
  • Neo-grotesque sans-serif type (Helvetica, Akzidenz-Grotesk)
  • Flush-left, ragged-right text setting
  • Asymmetric layout balanced by generous white space
  • Objective photography instead of illustration
Full Swiss Style guide →

At a glance

Japanese Postwar GraphicSwiss Style
Era1950s–1980s1950s–1970s
DisciplineGraphic DesignGraphic Design
RegionJapanSwitzerland, Germany, International
FamilyWorld, PosterModernist, International
Formal traitsflat-color, geometric, collage, modernistgrid-based, sans-serif, asymmetric, minimal

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