51 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
51 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
# vignelli-swiss-helvetica — Vignelli / Swiss International
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- **School**: Information Architecture
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- **Vibe**: Strict grid, Helvetica throughout, "six typefaces are enough"
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- **Best for**: Wayfinding / transit systems, institutional identity, deeply ordered information
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- **Touchstone**: 1972 NYC Subway map (Vignelli), Knoll catalogues, *The Vignelli Canon*
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**Palette**
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- Black `#000000` and white `#FFFFFF`
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- Plus one of: red `#E2231A` / yellow `#F5C518` / blue `#0033A0` / orange `#FF6F00` (only one — never two accents)
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- Cool gray `#8A8A8A` for secondary content
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**Typography**
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- Display & body: Helvetica or Helvetica Now exclusively. Weights: 400 / 500 / 700, no italic.
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- Hierarchy by size, not weight or color
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- Common scale: 72 / 48 / 32 / 24 / 16 / 12, all on the same baseline grid
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**Spacing**: 8px baseline grid, 12-column layout, generous baseline-to-baseline spacing equal to or greater than the type size.
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**Radius**: 0, always.
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**Shadow**: none.
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**Motion**: none, or instant. Swiss design is static by nature; if anything moves, it moves like signage being rotated into place.
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**Signature moves**
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- A bold horizontal or vertical color bar carries the section header in white Helvetica
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- The grid is **visible** when it helps — column gutters sometimes drawn as faint lines
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- Information sets (data, schedules, lists) get tabular layouts with strict baseline alignment
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- Body copy is left-aligned in a single readable measure (~60–70 characters); never centered
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- A single oversized number (chapter / section) sits at the top-left corner of each block
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**Avoid**
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- Serifs entirely
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- Color combinations other than ink + ground + one accent
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- Italic, drop shadows, gradients, any softness
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- "Friendly" copywriting tone — Swiss is matter-of-fact
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**AI prompt seed**
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> 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.
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**Don't use when**
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- The brand needs warmth — Helvetica + grid reads as institutional / cold
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- The content is emotional / storytelling — Swiss strips emotion out
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- Modernity / freshness is the goal — Swiss design now reads as classical / archival
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---
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> **Same school — Information Architecture**: [`pentagram`](./pentagram.md) · [`bloomberg-terminal`](./bloomberg-terminal.md) · [`tufte-dataink`](./tufte-dataink.md) · [`nyt-the-daily`](./nyt-the-daily.md)
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> **Browse all 25 recipes**: [INDEX.md](./INDEX.md)
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