For my Typography class, we were tasked to make a report on a given period from the history of graphic design. My group mates and I were assigned to the Swiss Style. I took charge of making the slides, while my other two group members took care of the content. 

The Swiss Style is characterized by three characteristics as stated by Callie Budrick: cleanliness, readability, and objectivity.

We compared the anatomy of Swiss-Style fonts to other fonts to examine their differences. For example, Helvetica has horizontal terminals, compared to Times New Roman.

I also dived into showing the subtle nuances between the typefaces from this era, as most of them suffered from design compromises when the shift from metal type to digital type happened.

From this research, I also learned that the Helvetica typeface has gone through a lot of revisions, with Monotype releasing new variants of the classic typeface even today.

The other side of our presentation focused on the Psychedelic 60s: a cultural movement that originated in San Francisco.

The period was defined by typefaces that are illegible and intense. As designers focused more on the aesthetics, readers would often spend time trying to decode what is contained in a poster. 

Being the antipode of Swiss design, the era strayed away from using grids whenever they could, heavily distorting typefaces to catch the viewer's attention.

Below are two famous designers of the time: Wes Wilson, the father of the rock concert poster, and Victor Moscoso, a student of Josef Albers.