Geigy's advertising in the Museum of Design
The Museum für Gestaltung Zürich is showcasing product and corporate advertising from the former Basel-based chemical company Geigy. The exhibition «Good Design, Good Business» features more than 300 exhibits created by the design studio at the company’s Basel headquarters between 1940 and 1970. We’re sharing more photos.
The exhibition features more than 300 exhibits from the studio at the company headquarters in Basel. On display are posters, advertisements, advertising cards, brochures, magazines and books, as well as records, promotional gifts and packaging. These include items from the studios of the subsidiaries in the USA and the UK.
Studio as a talent factory
The advertising department of the chemical company, which was considered one of the most important talent factories in Swiss graphic design at the time, combined product and company advertising and became famous for its "Geigy style". The factual, poster-like designs of the 1950s increasingly gave way to more diverse forms of expression in the 1960s. The company's own studio also had good contacts with the Basel General Vocational School and links with the Association of Swiss Graphic Designers (VSG) and the Swiss Advertising Association.
During the fifties and sixties, Roland Aeschlimann, Steff Geissbuhler, Karl Gerstner, Jörg Hamburger, Toshihiro Katayama and Nelly Rudin, among others, worked in the studio under Max Schmid's direction. Selected commissions went to freelance designers such as George Giusti, Gottfried Honegger, Armin Hofmann, Herbert Leupin, Warja Lavater, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Victor Vasarely and Niklaus Stoecklin. In addition to René Groebli and Peter Hemann, Jakob Tuggener and René Burri also worked as photographers for the studio, as did the architectural photographer Ezra Stoller in the USA.
Events
The Swiss contributions to design history can be seen in the gallery of the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich from February 4 to May 24, 2009. Two panel discussions will also be held as part of the exhibition:
On Thursday, March 5, 2009, Jean Etienne Aebi, Ruedi Baur and Stefan Haas will discuss "Good Design = Good Business? - Design as an advertising factor" The discussion will be moderated by Renate Menzi.
On Tuesday, May 5, 2009, Richard Hollis, Manuel Krebs and Lars Müller will debate "Swiss Style forever? - Swiss graphics today". Andres Janser will be the moderator. Further information on the events is available at here to find.
Zurich, poster collection
CH before 1963, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Graphics Collection
A comprehensive publication entitled "Corporate Diversity - Swiss Graphics and Advertising for Geigy 1940-1970" has been published on the subject of the exhibition with texts by Karin Gimmi, Andres Janser, Barbara Junod, R. Roger Remington and Yvonne Zimmermann.
