Josef Muller Brockmann was a Swiss graphic designer and a
teacher. He was born in the town of Rapperswil, Switzerland in 1914. Most of the
subjects he took in the University of Zurich were mostly design-based, as he
studied architecture, design and the history of art. After leaving university
Brockmann began his career by becoming an apprentice to designer and advertising
consultant, Walter Diggelman, but already had second thoughts. He left the
apprenticeship and instead audited courses by Ernst Keller and Alfred Williman
at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts. He devoted himself to being a
freelance designer and illustrator, and in 1936 opened up his own studio in
Zurich, focusing on graphics, exhibition design and photography. He was asked
to create some concert posters in 1951 for the Tonhalle in the same city of
Zurich, which he created and called ‘Musica Viva’.
These pieces were created by Brockmann, and just by taking a quick glimpse you can see how inspiring and influential he must have been to other aspiring graphic designers in that time. A lot of his work usually contains 2 or 3 colours, but that sometimes differs. The one with the black lines intrigue me because of the fact that it looks strangely like a 3D image, which could have been the effect he was trying to send out. The image with the two arrows really interests me because he uses negative space to try and make the viewer doubt which arrow they are supposed to be looking at, and in that perspective I think he managed to hit that target. I think that design is very innovative and the idea of two arrows is used by many companies and logos today. I really enjoy looking at the piece with the white lines and the blue background, as it is a very simple colour scheme, but needs only shapes to attract an audience. He used rectangles of different widths and lengths to create an almost futuristic look.
In Brockmann’s work, he makes good use of shapes and colours, and really knows how to combine the two into something marvellous. Many posters are usually crammed with a lot of objects and focal points, but Brockmann creates pieces that are very simplistic and easy on the eyes. This is a great trait of Brockmann’s, as he is able to keep a page shockingly simple yet also catch an audience’s attention rapidly. His work is a great example of Swiss style, as Swiss art usually excels in simple and clean art which promotes minimalism. Some posters and designs almost make me feel claustrophobic, as there is many a time where there is too much crammed onto one page, but with Brockmann and his Swiss design it is much more relaxed and free.
