Josef Müller-Brockmann (9 May 1914 – 30 August 1996) was a Swiss graphic designer, author, and educator, he was a Principal at Muller-Brockmann & Co. design firm. He was a pioneer of the

International Typographic Style The International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style, is a graphic design style that emerged in Russia, the Netherlands, and Germany in the 1920s and was further developed by designers in Switzerland during the 1950s. The Internati ...

. Müller-Brockmann is recognized for his simple designs and his clean use of typography, shapes and colors which inspire many graphic designers in the 21st century.

Early life and education

Josef Müller was born May 9, 1914 in

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

, Switzerland. He studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

at both the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

at Gewerbeschule, and

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, german: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich' ...

(also known as Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich), where he studied with Ernst Keller and Alfred Willimann. He apprenticed in design and advertising with Walter Diggelman. In 1936, he opened his Zurich design studio specializing in graphic design, exhibition design, and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

. In 1937, he joined the Swiss Werkbund (Swiss Association of Artists and Designers). His favorite typeface to use was

Akzidenz-Grotesk Akzidenz-Grotesk is a sans-serif typeface family originally released by the Berthold Type Foundry of Berlin. ''german: label=none, italic=no, "Akzidenz"'' indicates its intended use as a typeface for commercial print runs such as publicity, tic ...

Career

During the 1950s, Müller-Brockmann explored nonrepresentational abstraction, visual metaphor, subjective graphical representation, and constructive graphic design. He used shapes to and other geometric elements to express his work, without illustration or embellishments. In 1950, he produced his first of many concert posters for the Tonhalle concert hall in Zurich, which became known as the Tonhalle Series or "Musica Viva". The Tonhalle Series grew increasingly abstract and focused on the feelings of the music. He used a visual form to translate the mathematical system that is found in music, playing with visual scale, rhythm, and repetition, while trying to stay true to each musicians composition who was featured on the poster. In 1952, Müller-Brockmann designed an "accident barometer" which displayed statistics on reckless driving, which was displayed on a large scale sign in Paradeplatz for his client the Automobile Club of Switzerland. In 1957, he began teaching at the

, replacing Ernst Keller as a professor of graphic design. He was professor of graphic design at Zurich University of the Arts from 1957 to 1960, and guest lecturer at the University of Osaka from 1961, and the Ulm School of Design (German: Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm) from 1963. In 1958, Müller-Brockmann became a founding editor of '' New Graphic Design'' along with Hans Neuburg,

Richard Paul Lohse Richard Paul Lohse (September 13, 1902 – September 16, 1988) was a Swiss painter and graphic artist and one of the main representatives of the concrete and constructive art movements. Lohse was born in Zürich in 1902. His wish to study in Pa ...

, and Carlo Vivarelli. In 1967, he was appointed as a European design consultant to IBM and formed his design firm Muller-Brockmann & Co. Müller-Brockmann's work is included in many public museum collections including the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

(MoMA),

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile (New York City), Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the ...

Museum of Design, Zürich The Museum of Design, Zürich (German: ''Museum für Gestaltung Zürich'') is a museum for industrial design, visual communication, architecture, and craft in Zurich, Switzerland. Overview The museum is part of the Department of Cultural An ...

(also known as Museum für Gestaltung Zürich), among others.

Personal life

In 1943, he married violinist Verena Brockmann, and together they had one son Andreas (born 1944). At that point he changed his last name to Müller-Brockmann. The first marriage lasted until 1964, when Verena was killed in an accident. In 1967, he married Japanese abstract painter Shizuko Yoshikawa.

Gallery

File:Josef Müller-Brockmann 1957.jpg, Juni-Festwochen Zürich (poster, 1957) File:Musica Viva. Müller-Brockmann.jpg, Musica Viva (poster, 1959) File:Josef Müller-Brockmann der Film.jpg, Der Film (poster, 1960) File:Gestaltungsprobleme des Grafikers 1961.jpg, Gestaltungsprobleme des Grafiker (book, 1961) File:Raster-Systeme-Cover.jpg, Grid systems (book, 1981)

Bibliography

Müller-Brockmann was author of several books on design and visual communication. * * * * * * * *

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Gallery

Bibliography

References

Further reading