Minimalism & Swiss Style
Also called: International Typographic Style, Swiss Minimal
A strict grid, a neutral grotesque, black on white and one signal red — clarity as the aesthetic.
minimalism-swiss / landingEN
minimalism-swiss / landingTH
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minimalism-swiss / componentsEN
minimalism-swiss / componentsTH
Design keywords
Say these words to ask for this style.
strict gridflush-left typeneutral grotesquehairline rulesone accent coloursquare cornersgenerous whitespacenumbered sections
Rooted in 1950s Swiss posters, this style lets typography and alignment carry the whole design. Layouts sit on a visible 12-column grid, headings are large and flush-left, decoration is replaced by rules (hairlines) and numbering, and colour is almost absent apart from a single accent. Corners are square and shadows do not exist.
Best for
- Studios, architects and agencies
- Corporate sites and annual reports
- Documentation and B2B SaaS
- Museums and cultural institutions
Avoid for
- Kids and playful consumer apps
- Brands that need warmth and emotion
- Gaming
✓ Do
- Align everything to a 12-column grid
- Create hierarchy with size and weight only
- Red only for small marks (squares, 2px underlines, numerals) plus one closing red CTA block
✕ Don't
- No shadows, gradients or rounded corners
- Don’t centre long text
- Don’t add decorative illustrations
Not to be confused with
Swiss Modernism 2.0 →Swiss Modernism 2.0 adds bold colour fields, motion and asymmetric experiments; classic Swiss stays monochrome and calm.Flat Design →Flat design uses many bright colours and icons; Swiss relies on type and grid with almost no colour.Minimalist Monochrome →Minimalist Monochrome is pure #000/#FFF with a didone display and no accent; Swiss uses a neutral grotesque, a visible column grid and one signal red.
On mobile
Use a 4-column grid with 20px gutters, a large left-aligned title per screen, and hairline-separated lists instead of cards.
Prompt builder
Paste into Claude, Cursor, v0, Lovable or any coding agent to recreate this style.
✓ Audited by agent review (3×)
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