Risograph × Neo-Swiss Revival

Print neo-Swiss posters in two riso spot inks to add grain and warmth to a strict grid.

From the research on Neo-Swiss Revival

Print neo-Swiss grids in two fluorescent riso inks to soften their rigour with grain and overprint.

From the research on Risograph & Indie Print Culture

Mix them and make something Risograph Neo-Swiss Revival

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Risograph, their arrangement from Neo-Swiss Revival, the finish from Risograph. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

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.

Risograph & Indie Print Culture Neo-Swiss Revival

Type from Neo-Swiss Revival: Grotesque & neo-grotesque
Type as image
Colour from Risograph: Limited spot colours
Fluorescent & neon
Form from Risograph: Stylised figuration
Geometric primitives
Composition from Neo-Swiss Revival: Modular grid
Generous white space
Surface from Risograph: Misregistration & overprint
Grain & noise

The type

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

Display · Neo-Swiss Revival

Grid

Inter Tight, standing in for Neue Haas Grotesk (Christian Schwartz revival)

Text · Risograph

A contemporary culture of zines, art books, posters and prints made on Japanese Risograph stencil duplicators, whose soy-based spot inks (fluorescent pink, yellow, blue, teal) are laid down one drum at a time. Designers embrace the machine's limits: translucent overprints, slight misregistration, grainy coverage and coarse halftones give flat illustration and type a warm, handmade vibrancy at low cost.

Inter; Risograph used Neo-grotesques set large and Monospace and typewriter faces

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Risograph, with a counter-accent from Neo-Swiss Revival. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Risograph & Indie Print Culture Neo-Swiss Revival

#f4f1ea ground · 36%
#3255a4 ink · 14%
#ff48b0 accent · 18%
#ff4a1c accent · 14%
#f15060 accent · 10%
#1d3bff accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f4f1ea;
  --ink: #3255a4;
  --accent-1: #ff48b0;
  --accent-2: #ff4a1c;
  --accent-3: #f15060;
  --accent-4: #1d3bff;
  --font-display: "Inter Tight", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "Inter", sans-serif;
}

The two styles

Large pink lettering reading “PLANT CLUB” sits above a blue cat looking upward among potted houseplants and trailing vines. Bright yellow and pink offset shapes and grainy ink textures cover the cream background.

2008–present · Global / networked Risograph & Indie Print Culture A contemporary culture of zines, art books, posters and prints made on Japanese Risograph stencil duplicators, whose soy-based spot inks (fluorescent pink, yellow, blue, teal) are laid down one drum at a time. Designers embrace the machine's limits: translucent overprints, slight misregistration, grainy coverage and coarse halftones give flat illustration and type a warm, handmade vibrancy at low cost.

A typographic arts poster features enormous black words “New” and “Now” stacked on an off-white background divided by thin grid lines. Orange-red, blue and pale gray rectangular fields sit below, alongside smaller exhibition details and the words “Art Ideas People Today.”

2005–present · Global / networked, Central Europe, Western Europe Neo-Swiss Revival A contemporary revival of the International Typographic Style, fuelled by digital re-releases of neo-grotesques and by studios such as Experimental Jetset and Norm: modular grids, flush-left grotesque type, huge tightly set headlines and flat fields of black, white and one signal colour. It treats Swiss modernism as a living toolkit for posters, identities and the responsive web, sometimes with a knowing, citational wink.

More combinations

With Risograph

All 43 combinations with Risograph

With Neo-Swiss Revival

All 14 combinations with Neo-Swiss Revival

Every style combination