# Swiss grid poster generator

Posters in the International Typographic Style: one modular grid places a large flush-left headline, a few lines of small text, and bars, rules, numerals and discs.

Open the generator: https://morph.ogeny.app/swiss/

## Design choices

- **Modular grid** (`layout.modular-grid`): Fields defined by rows and columns; every element snaps to modules. Set by “Modular grid”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/modular-grid/
- **Extreme scale contrast** (`space.scale-contrast`): Very large against very small elements, for drama and order. Set by “Extreme scale contrast”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/
- **Generous white space** (`space.generous-whitespace`): Emptiness is an active element: wide margins and quiet areas. Set by “Generous white space”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/
- **Geometric primitives** (`form.primitives`): Circle, square and triangle as building blocks. Set by “Geometric primitives”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/
- **Rectilinear** (`form.rectilinear`): Orthogonal bars, blocks and lines. “Geometric primitives”: Squares and bars. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rectilinear/
- **Rules & bars** (`ornament.rules-bars`): Thick bars, lines and dots as structural accents. “Geometric primitives”: Bars. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rules-and-bars/
- **Typography only** (`image.typographic-only`): No pictures; type carries everything. “Geometric primitives”: Type only. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/typography-only/
- **Rotated & vertical setting** (`type.rotated`): Lines set at angles, stacked or running vertically. Set by “Rotated & vertical setting”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rotated-and-vertical-setting/
- **Limited spot colours** (`color.limited-spot`): Two or three flat inks. “Colour”: Limited spot colours. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/
- **Monochrome** (`color.monochrome`): A single hue, or black and white. “Colour”: Monochrome. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/
- **Dynamic asymmetry** (`layout.asymmetric`): Off-centre balance from the tension between unequal masses. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/
- **Grotesque & neo-grotesque** (`type.grotesque`): Neutral, rational sans: Akzidenz-Grotesk, Helvetica, Univers. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grotesque-and-neo-grotesque/
- **Flush left, ragged right** (`type.flush-left`): Asymmetric, unjustified text setting. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flush-left-ragged-right/
- **Flat fields** (`color.flat-fields`): Unmodulated areas of colour. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/
- **Flat** (`surface.flat`): No simulated depth or texture. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/

## How it works

- One modular grid, derived from the format and the leading of the small text, places everything: the headline’s ink, every text block and every shape sit on its lines.
- Type carries the hierarchy: one very large headline, flush left, against small text in one size. Bars, rules, numerals and primitives take units as wide as the text columns, so every edge they have is an edge the text has; asymmetric and calm, with the parts spread over the height.

It never does:

- No concentric arcs or circle ripples, and no copy of a famous concert or exhibition poster: the figure is built from modules by the seed.
- No names of people, venues or works in the default text; no centred or justified setting.

## Controls

- `headline` Headline (default ""): Leave it empty and the variation picks a neutral word (Raster, Form, Ordnung, Grid…).
- `info` Second line (default "Form and colour in design")
- `columns` Modular grid (3–8, default 6): How many columns the grid has; the rows follow from the format.
- `contrast` Extreme scale contrast (0–1, default 0.85): How large the headline is against the small text.
- `whitespace` Generous white space (0–1, default 0.5): Wider margins, and fewer modules filled.
- `shapes` Geometric primitives (mixed | circles | squares | bars | none; default mixed): Which shapes fill the free modules.
- `rotated` Rotated & vertical setting (default false): The headline reads upwards along the columns.
- `colour` Colour (spot | one | mono; default spot)
- `grid` Show the grid (default false): Draws the modules and the baseline grid over the poster.

## About International Typographic Style

The International Typographic Style, often called Swiss Style, grew up in Basel and Zurich in the 1950s and became the common language of cultural and corporate design in the 1960s. Its posters look calm because nothing is placed by eye: a grid worked out from the format decides where every element starts and ends. A neutral sans-serif, set flush left and ragged right, carries the hierarchy through size, weight and position, and empty space is part of the composition.

This generator builds the grid first. The leading of the small text sets the unit: each module is a whole number of lines deep, the gutter is one empty line, and the format decides how many rows fit. The headline is sized so its ink spans whole columns and hangs from the top margin or stands on the foot of the grid; the information lines hang from module tops; bars, hairline rules, a large numeral, discs and squares fill the largest free part of the grid in units as wide as the text columns, so every edge lines up with the type. Turn on Show the grid to see the modules and baselines behind the poster.

The variation number changes the layout, the shapes and the information lines, which are generic dates, rooms and opening hours and never name a person, a venue or a work. Leave the headline empty and it also picks a neutral word, such as Raster, Ordnung or Grid. The type is Inter, an open-source neo-grotesque.

International Typographic Style in Stylogeny (1950–1975): https://stylogeny.com/styles/swiss-international/

## Recipe

```json
{
  "tool": "swiss",
  "v": 1,
  "seed": 18,
  "format": "portrait",
  "params": {
    "headline": "",
    "info": "Form and colour in design",
    "columns": 6,
    "contrast": 0.85,
    "whitespace": 0.5,
    "shapes": "mixed",
    "rotated": false,
    "colour": "spot",
    "grid": false
  },
  "palette": "swiss-international"
}
```