# vignelli-swiss-helvetica — Vignelli / Swiss International

- **School**: Information Architecture
- **Vibe**: Strict grid, Helvetica throughout, "six typefaces are enough"
- **Best for**: Wayfinding / transit systems, institutional identity, deeply ordered information
- **Touchstone**: 1972 NYC Subway map (Vignelli), Knoll catalogues, *The Vignelli Canon*

**Palette**
- Black `#000000` and white `#FFFFFF`
- Plus one of: red `#E2231A` / yellow `#F5C518` / blue `#0033A0` / orange `#FF6F00` (only one — never two accents)
- Cool gray `#8A8A8A` for secondary content

**Typography**
- Display & body: Helvetica or Helvetica Now exclusively. Weights: 400 / 500 / 700, no italic.
- Hierarchy by size, not weight or color
- Common scale: 72 / 48 / 32 / 24 / 16 / 12, all on the same baseline grid

**Spacing**: 8px baseline grid, 12-column layout, generous baseline-to-baseline spacing equal to or greater than the type size.

**Radius**: 0, always.

**Shadow**: none.

**Motion**: none, or instant. Swiss design is static by nature; if anything moves, it moves like signage being rotated into place.

**Signature moves**
- A bold horizontal or vertical color bar carries the section header in white Helvetica
- The grid is **visible** when it helps — column gutters sometimes drawn as faint lines
- Information sets (data, schedules, lists) get tabular layouts with strict baseline alignment
- Body copy is left-aligned in a single readable measure (~60–70 characters); never centered
- A single oversized number (chapter / section) sits at the top-left corner of each block

**Avoid**
- Serifs entirely
- Color combinations other than ink + ground + one accent
- Italic, drop shadows, gradients, any softness
- "Friendly" copywriting tone — Swiss is matter-of-fact

**AI prompt seed**
> Transit-signage style composition, large directional arrow set in black on flat field of single accent color, condensed Helvetica destination labels, no decoration, 16:9 flat vector aesthetic.

**Don't use when**
- The brand needs warmth — Helvetica + grid reads as institutional / cold
- The content is emotional / storytelling — Swiss strips emotion out
- Modernity / freshness is the goal — Swiss design now reads as classical / archival

---

> **Same school — Information Architecture**: [`pentagram`](./pentagram.md) · [`bloomberg-terminal`](./bloomberg-terminal.md) · [`tufte-dataink`](./tufte-dataink.md) · [`nyt-the-daily`](./nyt-the-daily.md)  
> **Browse all 25 recipes**: [INDEX.md](./INDEX.md)