Swissted is the brain-child of Graphic Designer Mike Joyce, combining a love of punk rock, indie and grunge gig posters with his own Swiss inspired modernist aesthetic. Featuring great bands such as Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Beastie Boys and The Cramps, the result is an unlikely pairing of seemingly un-related pop-cultures, collected in a new release from Quirk Books.
In their familiar large format, the book provides each piece (200 in all) on its own perforated page, allowing you to pull out and pin-up at your leisure, with each poster measuring in at approximately A3. The print quality is excellent throughout and there’s no escaping just how bold and eye-catching the work is.
To an illustration junkie like me who finds the whole minimalist movement a little tiresome, i’m surprised how much I enjoy these posters. It helps that Joyce doesn’t fall for the same old trappings of simply centring an iconic image in silhouette with some Helvetica underneath. He thankfully sticks to the constraints of bold shapes, lines and colours mixed with his favoured Akzidez-Grotesk type and explores every creative possibility therein; an exercise in pure graphic design.
The book is an impressive and exhaustive collection of work, that although doesn’t quite tickle my illustration bones, does appeal on a graphic level, and i’m sure type geeks and modernist designers will get a huge kick out of it.
Swissted – By Mike Joyce
Quirk Books
Paperback 208 pages
28.2 x 1.8 x 35.8 cm