Swiss/ Minimalist design style applied as a sustainable design
- Zsuzsanna Pehl
- Oct 17, 2025
- 5 min read
The belief that sustainable design is the future
“The future of sustainability is not a distant dream; it is a tangible reality waiting to be embraced. It is a world where businesses, driven by a commitment to sustainability and powered by technology, lead the way toward a greener, more equitable, and prosperous future.” - ESG Summit Europe, Leading investment for a sustainable future, Published on LinkedIn, 29 Sept 2023
Over the years, younger generations are becoming more and more influenced by sustainability and show increased awareness towards the environment.
According to the article written on terramovement.com by Mariam Simmons (29/12/2023) this is how currently different generations react sustainability:
Babyboomers: “While this group does not measure up to younger generations, statistics show that most of them rate sustainability as more important than brand names.”
Gen X: “Gen X has more trust in technology, and fostering sustainable innovations will grab their attention. “
Millenials: “With access to almost every information at the click of a mouse, millennials are way more knowledgeable than their predecessors. This generation uses the internet to learn and have a better understanding of climate change and global warming. “
Gen Z: “When it comes to demanding action for climate change from those in authority, Gen Zs are driven by changing the world for the better. This generation is aware of the impact of climate change in the world and is willing to adjust their behaviour for a more sustainable lifestyle for the future integrity of the planet. “
Sustainable graphic design is not just a temporary trend, it is our social responsibility.
Sustainable Design
“Sustainable graphic design prioritizes the impact the design has on the environment. The goal here is to minimize the negative implications of design practices on the planet by integrating sustainable and ethical considerations throughout the creative process. This involves making mindful choices about materials, production methods, and energy consumption.” Article written by Asimina Fotopoulou (graphic designer at Wattcrop) on www.wattcrop.com
The key considerations are:
1. Choice of materials
The paper for printed designs must be from a certified sustainably grown forest, but it can be also a recycled paper. Always use eco-friendly ink for printing. Use other recyclable materials.
2. Production methods
The easiest way to avoid waste is to use the minimum number of materials. Simple designs are usually using less materials. Create a design that is recyclable and/or composable. Don’t forget to make it clear to the user that it can be recycled, also give guidance on how to do it. Emphasize digital designs and processes such as sharing content through email or e-book. Contemplate the entire lifecycle of the design, from raw materials until disposal.
3. Energy consumption
Use eco friendly digital equipment in your workplace with better energy-efficiency. Try to avoid new equipment purchases each year. Set up an eco-friendly website by deleting unwanted content, optimizing images, and increasing load speed. Build a sustainable working environment where you recycle, switch off or unplug devices when they are not in use, or even install solar panels.
The Introduction of Swiss/Minimalist Design
The International Style movement has developed in the 1950s through the 1960s. The establishment of the dual vocational education in Switzerland has provided with the opportunity for designers to improve their graphic design skills though theoretical and practical trainings. This kind of teaching method is still existing until today in most of the art schools.
The International design also known as Swiss design uses simplicity where “form follows function’’ (said Louis Sullivan, architect) because it is easily digestible information within the space. Swiss design became a very popular form of style worldwide because of its clearness and lack of unnecessary decoration.
The main features of this movements were recognized by the grid system, which was already used in the Ancient Greece in a form of city planning, but the first book was written by Josef Muller-Brockmann in 1961 to help designers or book writers, and it remains relevant till today. As a result of using the grid structure, it will become clear that this method will leave a generous amount of whitespace in the composition which makes it easy on the eye.
“The use of white space is another technique inherited from the Swiss School in the tradition of the International Typographic Style. The free space allowed us to maintain the balance of the page. The use of empty space in the tradition of the Swiss school has become the basis of modern graphic minimalism.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Style_(design)
In most cases, the text’s alignment is shifted to the left side and uses San-Serif typefaces such as Helvetica, Arial, or Calibri, which are considered modern, minimal, and easy to read. Therefore, it’s often used by today’s designers for logos because it is contemporary and never goes out of style.
Additionally, we could often notice the use of Golden ratio on the design in a form of geometric shapes positioning.
“The golden ratio, also known as the golden number, golden proportion, or the divine proportion, is a ration between two numbers that equals approximately 1.618. Usually written as the Greek letter phi, it is strongly associated with the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers wherein each number is added to the last.” - https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/design/discover/golden-ratio.html
The movement idea is that if you can make something simpler, then you should. In my opinion, this kind of style is timeless and classic, and it gives a feeling of quality over quantity.
Similarities between Swiss design and Sustainable design
“Less is more” – this is one of the key elements of a Swiss design, where everything is functional. As we mentioned before, sustainable graphic design also highlights the importance of fewer (material/ink/etc) is better.
Negative space – not only that it uses less ink/less energy/ less loading time on a website, but it is a crucial part of the minimalist approach as it allows the viewer to focus on the more important part of the design.
Colour – using a limited (not more than 2-3) amount of colour does give a simple and sophisticated look but also will use less cartridges, which are filled with chemicals.
Conclusion
As we have seen it through the examples, both Swiss Design and Sustainable Design share the same basic principles. Also, they are highly focused on the reduction of clutter and/or waste therefore they work very well together to get the point across to the audience. In both design approaches it requires a concentrated intentional effort to achieve a great result, either if it’s drawing someone’s attention or saving our planet.
Written by Zsuzsanna Pehl (April,2024)
References:
Bibliography:
Don Norman - Youtube
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