The Greatest Designers of our Age #2: Joseph Müller Brockmann
Introduction
My interest in Müller-Brockman was first piqued around 1991, (Yes I am that old). As a young design student, finding my way through the history of design, researching old masters and great influencers of the day, I didn’t know about grid systems then (I didn’t know much about anything tbh). I was fascinated by MB’s dedication to the aligned system and immediately enamoured by the rigid structure its order, and paradoxically, his outrageous typographical treatments.
Incredibly, even today, some of his designs seem incredibly modern. The sign of a true master. Of course, he had me a #helvetica, much like many of the ranged-left design fanatics that I used to frequent with, back in my London days. (See also: Mark Farrow)
MB’s influence on me, whilst I was at college, was so great in fact that I aped his style for my final degree show, designing posters for an imaginary Müller-Brockman exhibition of his life work. It didn’t go down too well with my tutors (and subsequently my degree examiner) as they felt it was to sparse and plain. I didn’t really give a toss, as I was in love with the incredible simplicity of MB’s style and his minimalist approach. I wanted to stay true to my newly found grid system and create my own vision. You mustn’t try to dilute an artist vision – stay true to yourself!
And so, without further ado, Mr Joseph Müller-Brockman.
The original Swiss Master
MB was an influential 20th-century graphic designer. (May 9, 1914 – August 30, 1996). He is probably the most well-known of all designers from Switzerland. Known for his minimalist geometric style, the leading Swiss School theorist has influenced many famous designers and is credited with creating the Grid System for design.
Born on May 8, 1914, Müller-Brockmann was raised in Rapperswil, Switzerland. He studied design, art, and architecture at a local vocational arts school and the University of Zurich.
In a later interview, the Swiss Style protagonist revealed that he ventured into graphics design by accident. He used to hand in illustrations instead when given written compositions at school. According to him, his teacher liked the illustrations and advised him to consider pursuing a career in art.
He started his career as an apprentice under the graphic artist Walter Diggelmann and in 1936, at the young age of 22, he created his own studio in Zurich, specializing in graphics, photography, and exhibition design.
Zurich Town Hall
Müller-Brockmann was already a leader of the Swiss School by his 40s, promoting the principles of the school globally with his journal Neue Grafik. It is probably unarguable that the graphic designer did his best work for the Zurich Town Hall, producing numerous poster advertisements for theater productions.
His posters, drawing from the Constructivism movement, were clearly distinctive from the ones before them. They had a glorious, abstract harmony that was different from the ordinary – bold, brutal and balanced. His pioneering with work with Akzidenz-grotesque remains a milestone in Swiss typographical work, and remains consistently influential in design, even today.
Müller-Brockmann believed that works of art that continue to enthrall people thousands of years after their origination do so through their unmatched harmony and proportions. To him, this measurability was what made artworks from places like ancient Egypt still relevant to this day. And old MB should know – as he is one of the very few people whose designs live on and continue to influence.
The Musica Viva and Beethoven posters were two designs for the Zurich Town Hall that Brockmann was particularly proud of. The Beethoven poster is possibly his most famous poster and has been imitated by many other designers. The swirling, rotating abstract shapes, as if moving in perfect harmony, reflect the smooth interchange of the orchestral players. It’s almost as if each musician is part of a perfectly aligned swiss watch movement, remaining miraculously close to each other, never touching, and yet coming together in a musical harmony to form the “music of God”: Beethoven.
It was Müller-Brockmann that introduced the Grid System for graphic design. This may be described as a two-dimensional structure featuring a number of intersecting axes for organizing or arranging content. It helps a designer to position text and images in a harmonious, rational way. With this system, Brockmann helped to popularize the Swiss Style and enabled a collective graphic expression. This would become something that would evolve into more than a national movement – the Swiss style became a global phenomenon that touched every man and woman who entered into the world of design.
Several designers, influenced by the ideas of Jan Tschichold, had sought to create a new system that would be more useful for achieving consistency of page arrangement after the Second World War. They had become somewhat disenchanted with the outdated, traditional page layout system. The book “Grid Systems in Graphic Design” by Müller-Brockmann helped to popularize the use of the grid for achieving a much-desired visual coherence.
Müller Brockmann’s work has been often copied but rarely bettered. Farrow Design has always been a big fan of his work. And I am, in turn, a huge fan of Mark’s work!
He said the grid system had been in existence long before he applied it to design. As far back as 1500 BC, or even farther, the Chinese had used the grid for town planning. Love the chinese. So bloody clever.
Bold Simplicity
Müller-Brockmann could be said to be a believer in the KISS principle or method. What that means is: keep it simple stupid. (Please keep in mind, my beloved designers, that this applies to EVERYTHING that you do. Even outside of Design? I’ll let you choose…#zenn).
People know him for his simple designs and clever use of typography. Even the international, non-english speaking public could easily grasp the message he was trying to pass onto them. The designs were simple, profound and elegant, nothing extra, a pure simplicity. As Dieter Rams famously opined “Less is more”.
The grid systems he created allowed designers to achieve this simplicity more easily. In the Eye Magazine interview, he suggested that “a simple, elegant ratio of proportions” is critical for enabling people of different cultures to find value in designs.
We now live in a “global village,” as some people describe it. The Internet has improved connectivity and communication across many countries. This reality makes Müller-Brockmann’s emphasis on simplicity even more relevant when designing. All classically designed type, unrealised or not, is influenced by Brockmann.
The Swiss designer’s studio helped to shape the career of many famous graphic designers. Unsurprisingly, MB was also a teacher – he taught at art and design schools in Switzerland, Germany, and Japan. Oh, those lucky students! His books provide a solid base for many young people considering a career in design. I thoroughly encourage you to go and get yourself some Mulller-Brockman action!
The Swiss style, as pioneered by Müller-Brockmann led to numerous innovations in design, and continues to influence today. This moment in typographical time is fortunately captured in time forever now, thanks to the wonders of the internet.
Brockman's time was a pivotal moment in design history, and acted as a gateway to consistently beautiful designs and easily accessible, structured content.
Brockmann may be long gone, but his ideas and visions live on. Thanks, Joseph!
