Odermatt Exhibition Poster

Who is Odermatt?

Siegfried Odermatt (1926 Neuheim – 2017 Zurich) was an outstanding self-taught Swiss designer. He started as an apprentice in various graphic companies and for artists such as Hans Falk. In 1950 he founded his own studio. Years later he took on Rosemarie Tissi as an apprentice. In 1968 they set up the Odermatt & Tissi group studio together in Zurich, where they worked hand in hand until Odermatt’s death in 2017.

Although they worked together, each continued to work on his own. Both had their own style, yet they managed to develop a common visual language in constant interaction, characterised by being objective, clear and strict, concentrating the information on the essentials.

Some of his influences were Max Bill and Max Huber, which can be clearly seen in the reflection of the Bauhaus, the concrete art, and the functional design ideas, along with Northern Italian influences. Although he followed the principles of International Typography, such as flag text, sans serif typefaces and in terms of the organisation of space, Odermatt was noted for breaking the established rules, and was among the firsts to break with the modular grid. For this reason, his work has a playful touch implicit in that characteristic Swiss simplicity. The technique of Odermatt, who saw graphic design as an instrument of communication, was bounded to the use of typography, photography, and constructivist drawing. Much of his work is about typographic discourse, for Odermatt «typographic design in a single colour can achieve the visual impact and power of full-colour graphic design through the strength of concept and the orchestration of visual form, space, figure and tone».

He was a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 1974, alog with his partner Tissi. He has received several international awards, and his work has been shown in exhibitions and continues to be present in museums and galleries in Europe, the United States and Japan.