Push Pin Studios Style vs Swiss Style
Push Pin Studios Style arose as a reaction against Swiss Style — warm eclectic illustration against cold Swiss order.
Push Pin Studios Style
The eclectic, history-mining illustration of Push Pin Studios: flat decorative form, witty concept, and revived Art Nouveau, Victorian, and folk motifs. A warm, ornamental antidote to cold Swiss modernism.
- Flat, boldly colored decorative illustration
- Eclectic historicist revival of past styles
- Witty, concept-driven imagery
- Expressive, idiosyncratic line and silhouette
- Ornamental pattern and hand-lettered display type
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
At a glance
| Push Pin Studios Style | Swiss Style | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1954–1980s | 1950s–1970s |
| Discipline | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Region | United States | Switzerland, Germany, International |
| Family | Illustration | Modernist, International |
| Formal traits | flat-decorative, historicist, conceptual, ornamental | grid-based, sans-serif, asymmetric, minimal |
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