A Neue Beginning.

The Making of The Swiss Legacy

By Black Sheep Cycling

October 18^th, 2017

THE LATEST LIMITED COLLECTION BY BLACK SHEEP.

The Swiss Legacy has been a passion project of ours for some time. Beyond Fabian's legs, or Roger's racquet, the world’s most useful pocket knife, the watch on your wrist or even that hunk of chocolate you’re chowing, the Swiss have given us so much of what we love and cherish. All around us are trademarks of Swiss designers. It's everywhere. And right now, it;s going through rapid change. Change that has and will affect us, for the good.

“Removing the unnecessary and emphasising the necessary.”

Traditional Swiss Design, also known as the International Style, is incredibly controlled. And for good reason. It was originally developed to be a clear, concise visual language that could be understood across cultures. A style that, above everything, was about removing the unnecessary and emphasising the necessary. It created minimalism. You should see the Black Sheep office, it's a shrine to Swiss Design. The defining principles of Swiss Design, namely type, layout and colour, have created some of the world's biggest brands. Yet, like anything that has existed for half a decade with such control, it's now ripe for a counter-culture movement. Cue the *neue* wave of Swiss Design.

So what's neue?

In a direct rebut of the Alt, or the Old, young Swiss Designers are now adding their flamboyant personality to the style. The significance of this is huge given that generations were encouraged that personal preference was not part of good design. The changes are anything but grotesque. Like any good Swiss citizen, the youth are respecting the legacy of their parents by staying true to the guiding principles of layout and space. What you now see is this most amazing experimentation with graphics, colouring and humour. You see it in bus shelters and wall posters. You see it in the new collections of the world's biggest fashion labels, and in the branding of your favourite fast food chains.

"We went in search of those artists and regions that are reshaping Swiss Design"

This year we went in search of those artists and regions in Switzerland that have not just created Swiss Design, but that are now reshaping it. We went deep into Switzerland, to Zurich and St Gallen, to be exact. We stayed there, we researched it, we created it, we lived it.