Stylogeny combining Milanese Industrial Modernism × International Typographic Style

Try

Style combination · Pairs well

Milanese Industrial Modernism × International Typographic Style

Start from a Swiss grid and grotesque, then add Pintori-style colour metaphors to warm a corporate system without losing its order.

From the research on Milanese Industrial Modernism (Olivetti, Pirelli, Studio Boggeri)

Mix them and make something Milanese Industrial Modernism International Typographic Style

OrderMilanese Industrial × International Typographic
A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Milanese Industrial Modernism, their arrangement from Milanese Industrial Modernism, the finish from Milanese Industrial Modernism. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

01

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Milanese Industrial Modernism (Olivetti, Pirelli, Studio Boggeri) International Typographic Style

Type from International Typographic Style
Colour from International Typographic Style
Form from Milanese Industrial Modernism
Composition from Milanese Industrial Modernism
Surface from Milanese Industrial Modernism

02

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · International Typographic Style

Order

Inter Tight, standing in for Akzidenz-Grotesk

Text · Milanese Industrial Modernism

The Milan-centred school that married Bauhaus- and Swiss-trained discipline with Italian painterly wit for enlightened industrial patrons such as Olivetti, Pirelli and La Rinascente. Studio Boggeri, Giovanni Pintori, Max Huber and Bob Noorda built posters, ads and signage from geometric primitives, numerals, transparent colour planes and photomontage on white grounds, held together by a house sensibility rather than a rulebook.

Inter; Milanese Industrial Modernism used Akzidenz-Grotesk and Semplicità

03

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from International Typographic Style, with a counter-accent from Milanese Industrial Modernism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Milanese Industrial Modernism (Olivetti, Pirelli, Studio Boggeri) International Typographic Style

  • #f2f0e9 ground · 36%
  • #111111 ink · 14%
  • #e1251b accent · 18%
  • #f0b41c accent · 14%
  • #1f4e9c accent · 10%
  • #7a7a7a accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f2f0e9;
  --ink: #111111;
  --accent-1: #e1251b;
  --accent-2: #f0b41c;
  --accent-3: #1f4e9c;
  --accent-4: #7a7a7a;
  --font-display: "Inter Tight", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "Inter", sans-serif;
}

04

The two styles

An abstract geometric print with the words “più avanti” at upper left, a large yellow circle at upper right, and blue circles increasing in size from left to right. Red-orange, magenta, blue, and black wedges converge near the lower-left edge against an off-white background. 1933–1975 · Southern Europe Milanese Industrial Modernism (Olivetti, Pirelli, Studio Boggeri) The Milan-centred school that married Bauhaus- and Swiss-trained discipline with Italian painterly wit for enlightened industrial patrons such as Olivetti, Pirelli and La Rinascente. Studio Boggeri, Giovanni Pintori, Max Huber and Bob Noorda built posters, ads and signage from geometric primitives, numerals, transparent colour planes and photomontage on white grounds, held together by a house sensibility rather than a rulebook. The words “Urban Systems” appear in large black and red lettering at the upper left of an off-white cover. Tall blue, black and grey rectangular blocks rise from the bottom, with fine vertical dividing lines and a red circle at the upper right. 1950–1975 · Central Europe International Typographic Style A post-war refinement of the New Typography in which the mathematical grid, objective photography and neo-grotesque sans-serifs were used to communicate with clarity and neutrality. Taught at the Basel and Zurich schools, it became the default language of international corporate and institutional communication.

05

More combinations

With Milanese Industrial Modernism

With International Typographic Style

All 97 combinations with International Typographic Style

Every style combination